Legislators scramble on sex offenders Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
I attended the meeting of the Schenectady County Legislature the other night, and I don’t know when I have seen such frenetic back-pedaling. It surpassed even the City Council’s back-pedaling from a mid-term raise for Mayor Stratton last year. It was like a rugby scrum in reverse. The problem was what to do about a package of sex-offender residency restrictions that the Legislature passed in June with the clear purpose of pandering to popular fears and which backfi red on them. One person can say, well, I made a mistake and now I’ll try to set things right, but a group of people acting as a public body seem never capable of such straightforwardness. So the legislators tugged and grappled, and in the end they come up with a tangled mess, which is, however, better than what they began with. I’ll give them that. Most importantly they repealed the authority they had bestowed on themselves to evict former sex offenders from their current homes, even though the chairwoman, Susan Savage, refused to concede even that much, and Bob Farley, who passionately defended the law in June, then later said he had second thoughts, did yet another flip-flop and voted with Savage to keep it in place. Why? “There were many citizens in Scotia who asked me to do that, and I agreed to do that,” he told me after the meeting. (I’m glad there weren’t many citizens in Scotia who asked him to jump off the Western Gateway Bridge.) As for not allowing newly released sex offenders to move into areas within 2,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and so forth, the legislators dropped the lowest level of offenders from that restriction and then, having solidified the change, created an unwieldy new body to advise them on what kind of law they should have. After they already passed it. “We’re doing things backwards,” objected Michael Eidens, the member who has stood for sanity. But never mind. The majority Democrats on the Legislature were simply accommodating the minority Republicans, by incorporating all the Republicans’ proposed amendments. It was just more tugging and grappling. The advisory board, with 33 members, including three legislators apparently empowered to advise themselves, are to study such innovations as a “secure housing facility” for sex offenders in Schenectady and other matters too fanciful to enumerate. Missing from the deliberations was any recognition that limiting where former sex offenders may live has not been shown to have any effect whatsoever on reducing sex crimes, much less on “protecting children,” which is the magic phrase that these legislators endlessly repeat. “Sex offenders have the ACLU; kids have to depend on us,” declared Ms. Savage, piling conceit on slur. This was the same Ms. Savage who, presiding at the public hearing, allowed a belligerent speaker to browbeat a New York Civil Liberties Union representative in the audience rather than address the chair as is customary. Their law doesn’t even single out those who committed crimes against children but treats all offenders equally. If you repeat a lie often enough, it does get around, I grant that. Witness the headline the next day in this newspaper: “Law to protect kids is altered.” Not a scintilla of evidence that residency restrictions protect children was even offered, much less confirmed. They just kept repeating it, like an incantation. Well, at least Ed Kosiur left his tape measure at home this time, so maybe that was progress.
Courts, governments don’t protect children DONNA BROWN Warrensburg
Who’s going to speak for the children who cannot speak for themselves, children who experience abuse and neglect every day of the week, as just a way of life to them? Will family/domestic courts speak for them? I wouldn’t bet my life on it. These courts are insensitive to the best interests of the child. They are more concerned with the rights of the parents and their best interests. Parents have the responsibility to love and protect their children. When parents cannot or will not, whose responsibility is it then? I would like to think if would be Child Protection Services (CPS). This is a governmental agency that responds to child abuse and neglect — physical, sexual or emotional. I feel that there are serious inadequacies, breakdowns and gaps in CPS. One need only look at local, state and national governments’ records of failure when it comes to protecting children, to make a judgment of their inability to do so. Parents who have been reported to CPS numerous times and have a history of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, should be identified as high abuse risks. Forty to 50 percent of all children who die from abuse and neglect in our country had previous referrals to agencies mandated by law to protect them. The CPS philosophy of reunifying abused children with their offenders leads to abusive families just recycling through protective services. It shouldn’t hurt to be a child, but sometimes it does.
She added that she wouldn’t support creating a stricter residency restriction for Duanesburg. Each town could create its own rules, although supervisors have warned that could lead to one-upmanship with each town expanding its restrictions to push sex offenders into other towns
Only if they are so pompous as to worry only about their own re-election or for the next guy/girl to run on the fear mongering........
Sex offenders are EVERYWHERE.......caught and NOT CAUGHT!!!!!
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
That was a very interesting read Rene. I liked the part where Kosiur stated that the sex offenders failed the polygraph test when asked if they violated parole. If they're violating parole then what's going to stop them from moving into the 2000' zone? The problem is nobody is doing any follow up on these sex offenders when they get out of prison. If they violate parole they should be thrown back in prison to finish out their sentence.
I have left the last three County meetings shaking my head. It is unbelievable. One legislator who claimed he was going to vote to rescind both laws ended up voting in favor to spite an Albany County Legislator who came to express her opinion. I don't understand their aversion to putting the facts in place first, then establishing a law. I agree with Mike Eidens, rescind the law, establish the committee, then enact a law. I wonder what they will do if the findings of the committee are to rescind the law???
This entire sex offender law will be a thorn in everyone's side. The residency restriction is still a valid issue. It is apparent that the city was 'forcing' the sex offenders 'out' of their city. 1000' is sufficient. 2000' is overkill. The 2000' is unrealistic and unattainable. It was an arrogant, blaten attempt to 'stick it to the counties' BY OUR VERY OWN ELECTED COUNTY LEGISLATURES! Our very own elected officials that were elected to represent us, forced sex offenders on us. They were clearly not looking out for our best interest or OUR CHILDREN! It was all smoke and mirrors. Or as I would say, 'all bullsh**'. They ALL say that they are looking out for the safety of the children. What children? Who's children? Clearly NOT the children who live in the surrounding counties.
I don't really care what country legislature had a so called 'change of heart'. They all knew exactly what they were doing, right from the get go with their first intitial vote. They all voted with their own political agenda being first and foremost. Clearly NOT US...THE PEOPLE!!!
They are all back pedaling to try to bring some sense to this senseless law. They will all be fighting for position. They are ALL clearly incompetent at best.
Ms. Lazzari may be a good representative, but let me say, sadly, that the rest of this dysfunctional county legislature has rendered her, and a few others ineffective. I hate to say it folks, but even Ms. Lazzari is not an effective representative for the people. As hard as she may try, the arrogant democratic dictatorship, has rendered every single representative ineffective.
Believe me people, we will get screwed again by OUR elected county legislatures. The ENTIRE bunch needs to be voted out. We need ALL new people as our representative. They have ALL failed miserably to govern the people!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I'm very very very incensed that the State leaders have their heads so far buried in their buildings/stadiums etc with their namesakes that they cant make a statement about the state itself......LAW WITH BITE IN IT.......
there is a rift in the state and the leaders are jockeying for position and power....divide and conquer....placate and smile....SHOW ME THE $$ TRAIL....who is eating it????
There are complaints of not enough $$ for law enforcement.....where is it?? ....who are the arbiters???
....the constituents are left without answers and made to take a back seat to all kinds of beaurocracy including the unions.......where are the leaders??
Mr.Spitzer???? Mr.Bruno??? Mr.Silver????
What are ya'll doing??
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Senders, Maybe they will tell us what they are doing when they all climb out of their sandboxes. I just wish they would all stop for a minute and be embarrased for themselves, I know I am. They are nothing more than oversized babies.
When they are done with their studying....maybe we will have answers as to what exactly is a sex offender and what society will call 'normal sex' behavior or 'deviant sex' behavior......and while they are at it they could check and see how much viagra and cialis is on the streets in schenectady......who the meth cookers/users are etc etc.......who hangs at the 'adult' stores(I guess they are called that for a reason )........
fear has a great way of blowing smoke.........
they cant protect our children or us.....BUT....as leaders they are supposed to get 'one mind' for all......or what was that we used to say????.....
oh,,,now I remember:
One nation under God, INDIVISIBLE,,,LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
As I hope to write about in detail later today, the Quncy, Massachusetts, Patriot Ledger, has started the Gatehouse series we featured below in this post, with “Sex Offender: A Flawed Law - Right Next Door” (Aug. 26, 2007, pt. one of two), and Massachusetts’ Metro West Daily News has an excellent editorial “Wise veto of a flawed law” (Aug. 26, 2007), that declares “The proposal [which would ban sex offenders from 95% of the City of Marlborough] is politically popular but, as we’ve argued in this space, impractical and misguided. While the city’s police chief and solicitor raised objections during the council debates, Mayor Nancy Stevens was quiet — until Thursday, when she wisely vetoed the measure” as unconstitutional and likely to give the public a false sense of security. (Yes, on the same day that the Schenectady County Legislature voted to reaffirm its unwise sex offender residency law, Mayor Stevens of Marlborough had the courage to veto the politically-popular law sent to her by the City Council.)
THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS,,,,THIS IS NOT UTOPIA OR SOME HOLLYWOOD SET FOR SOME KIND OF STORY BOOK LIFE.....JUST AMERICA, PLANET EARTH
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Pedophile says he’s forced to leave Calif. LOS ANGELES — A self-described pedophile is leaving California after a judge ordered him to stay away permanently from places where children gather, the man told a TV station for a report that aired Sunday. “I have to leave the state, really, I can’t live here under this Orwellian protocol,” Jack McClellan told KABC. “It’s nightmarish.” McClellan did not say where he planned to go, and he did not immediately return a message left on his cellphone by The Associated Press. McClellan has been unemployed and living out of his car since arriving in Southern California this summer from Washington. McClellan, 45, came to the attention of authorities for a Web site where he posted photos of children in public places and discussed how he liked to stake out parks, public libraries, fast-food restaurants and other areas where little girls congregated. His Internet service provider took down his Web site more than a month ago.
Ms. Lazzari may be a good representative, but let me say, sadly, that the rest of this dysfunctional county legislature has rendered her, and a few others ineffective. I hate to say it folks, but even Ms. Lazzari is not an effective representative for the people. As hard as she may try, the arrogant democratic dictatorship, has rendered every single representative ineffective.
Bumble, I have to take issue with your suggestion that the residents of Schenectady County must replace the entire County Legislature. Mrs. Lazzari and Mr. Eidens have both exhibited rationality and genuine concern for their constituents. I would also suggest that Ms. Johnson places her constituents before her party as evidenced by her initial opposition to Kosiur's Laws. I was somewhat dismayed, however, when she stated to me that she must vote in the best interests of her constituents (in her district) rather than for what is in the best interests of the entire county. But, to be fair, that is her responsibility as an elected representative.
We must sort the wheat from the chaff. If you vote for those who are running against the incumbants, you may end up with something worse than what you started with. Although I am not familiar with Mr. Godlewski and his record on the issues while on the Rotterdam Town Board, I would certainly not support him over the likes of Carolina Lazzari. She has attended numerous Town of Duanesburg meetings, thereby exhibiting her interest in the views and opinions of the residents who she represents. You should note that my support is non-partisan as I applaud the actions of Lazzari (R), Eidens (D), and Johnson (D) pertaining to the issue of sex offender residency.
That said, I believe that that Savage, Dagastino, and Kosiur must go!
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