The Pieman sent us his endorsements. It seems like a wasted effort. The Uncle expects that all his darling, little Anonymi have pretty firm views of whom they will vote for. But what the heck.
The Executive Board of SOCA At Work/OCEAN is endorsing the following candidates:
*Elaine Slobod for State Supreme Court Justice
*Myrna Kemnitz for County Legislator for the 7th District (Monroe)
*Lorraine McNeil and Michael Aronowitz for the Woodbury Town Council
*Brandon Nielsen for the Blooming Grove Town Council.
We are endorsing a mix of Republicans and Democrats. We believe that, in local politics, party affiliation matters far less than character and ability.
We would be happy to email a full explanation of our choices to anyone who contacts us at nyocean@gmail.com.
We ask that you learn the issues, question the candidates and vote.
The single largest bloc in any election is always those people who stay home.
Once we defeat apathy, everything else is easy.
Jonathan Swiller, Chairman
Nanci Binder, Vice Chairman
SOCA At Work/OCEAN
65 comments:
At the Senior Center Lorraine McNeil said she worked with a deal with KJ stooping the annexation, but she also backs the village board and they just gave them the water towers? We could not ask questions so I would like to know does she still back the Village and would she have let them break every rule in the zoning book. Or was her deal to help them find WATER?
very good question .......I'm waiting for her to respond to your question ............
Let's be real here- at least McNeill recognizes the fact it was the TOWN Board who first addressed the fact that the water tower property was illegally subdivided, and they ALL did absolutely NOTHING!!!!! At least she's not being a HYPOCRITE like ARONOWITZ and QUEENAN, who now condemn the Village Board for trying to work out a legal remedy, when in fact THEY sat on the TOWN Board with their blinders on! Yes, it is the TOWN board that could have halted this thing months ago!It was under the TOWN's watch- THEY were in charge of the zoning and planning boards in 2006! But now, disgracefully, certain members of the Town board want the public to conveniently forget that THEY dropped the proverbial ball when THEY chose to sit on their butts and not do a damn thing! Must be nice fellas to have such a convenient scapegoat in the Village board! Don't worry though- hopefully it will come back to bite Aronowitz on election day!
Isn't that Mike A's m.o.- didn't he flip-flop on the 5 laws, now he's flip-flopping on the Village Board, the one he backed??? Seems like he sways whichever way the best wind is blowing. Typical of the worst kind of politician- one that can't be trusted.
NEITHER side can trust him
FOOD FOR THOUGHT ... I was ammused at the 2 letter endorsements in the photo news for Mike" the flipper " Aronowitz ............they were both written by 2 town officials who's salary (raises ) are decided at budget time (month of November ) each year by the Town Board of which Mr. Aronowitz is a current voting member .....
Carol Herb's letter in the Photo News says that "thanks to Michael, the pond has been enlarged and improved." Untrue. Thanks to the hard work of the Park Commissioners the Pond was improved. And the stage was built by a Boy Scout working on his Eagle project. Let's give credit where credit is due. Approving a project doesn't make him responsible for its completion. Aronowitz must really be grasping at straws if this is all his letter-writer can come up with. And Carol's daughter writes that Mike is "the only one [running] that will listen to residents..." I guess Desiree socked it to you, Lorraine! I agree with the previous poster who said that Aronowitz is like a candle in the wind.
And she's right, too. Lorraine doesn't listen. She just votes with her cronies. Get rid of both of them and get some new blood on the Town Board. Sure would make Queenan mad! (Have you ever seen him happy?)
If your complaint about Mike Aronowitz and the water tower is valid, then doesn't it apply to John Burke as well?
It most certainly does!! (But, sadly, Mr. Burke has no competition.)
And, curiously, why do you say "if"? Do you not agree Mr. Swiller that since the TOWN Board KNEW it was an illegal subdivision in 2006, an entire year before it was thrown at the Village board, that indeed the TOWN board should have acted, and acted in a dramatic fashion??
Instead of trying to work WITH the Village Board, once again, it appears that the majority of the Town board wishes to work against them. In this case however, the TOWN board is 100% wrong. They had the opportunity, with the zoning laws behind them, to go after the owner of the property in question and KJ, and make them adhere to the rules...WOODBURY'S rules, but they opted to look the other way. Now, over a year later, they want to simply point their crooked little fingers, while dismissing the FACT that they themselves are to blame! It's time the residents understand exactly what is going on here.
I thought that Mike Queenan was "called the Flipper" as he was the Town Board official who completly changed his position on the creation of the village ...Now you say Mike Aronowitz is called "the flipper " How many " flippers " do we have on the current town board??
Flipper: A politician so fickle and shallow that he changes his mind to a position that you oppose.
Statesman: A politician so thoughtful and open minded that he comes around to see the rightness of your position.
Apparently Mr. Burke is a flipper too, because he was one of the original creators of "the Village" and now he's doing eveything in his power to undermine them. Flipper III!
In case you didn't know, Ralph is an aid to senator Larkin, and yes Swiller, you are a dick!!
I believe the word is "aide".
Don't try to change the subject. Aronowitz shouldn't be re-elected. His big claim to fame is the Walmart sign and the dog park? How about having a back-bone and standing up for something before you see how the rest of the board is voting, or before Ralph tells you? We don't need the same old "yes" man on the board. At least Lorraine speaks her mind, and has stood up to the likes of KJ and Serra!
Isn't she being sued by Mr. Serra...and who is paying her legal bills for her actions ??
After reading several of these interesting comments, and finding Supervisor Burke's My View in the THR, I have to report that it does look like he and the Town board dropped the ball. Why didn't they go after whoever subdivided that property?
Swiller writes "We are endorsing a mix of Republicans and Democrats. We believe that, in local politics, party affiliation matters far less than character and ability." Mike A has neither!
I'll second that !!! and add that Mc'Neill is in the same category........The Republicans in this town couldn't even find a qualified candidate to run for supervisor and had only the retreads to run for the town board positions ......enough is enough!!! VOTE them out of office and put in some new blood, they can't do any worse !!
Actually I read John Burke's my view and have a totally different perspective. The town board had a time line of events starting when they were first notified about the water towers. A paper trail to back them up. Why don't you FOIL it?
Why would they act if they couldn't. The water towers weren't built on their watch. As far as the supposed illegal subdivision goes until something was built on that parcel it wasn't illegal.
Yes Ziggy Brach sold a piece of land to KJ and KJ filed the deed with the county. All done legally under NYS law.
What was illegal was the construction of water tanks on the property. The town board warned the Village of KJ that they had to go before the zoning board, DEC and county to get approvals before construction.
We all know the person accusing the town board is a village board member. Maybe even Mr Crouse who blames the town board for just about every bad decision they have made thus far.
It's easy to blame others but you people are in office a year now. Stop blaming the town board, the weather, global warming and whatever else you could think up. People are tired of that.
Now to get back to Mike A and Lorraine M. What's bothering me the most is the Dems have come up with no real candidates. The only way Bo and Carlton could win is if they ride on John's coattails, and that would be a crime. I heard that Bo said he would control growth if he were elected. GUESS WHAT BO ,THAT'S THE VILLAGE's DEPARTMENT. Clueless or what? Do we want a misinformed idiot running around town hall?
I don't I have to work there.
It seems that most of the bullshit that is spread around this site comes directly from the people "who work there" nice to know that "the people who work there" love to talk trash and cause problems, while constantly pointing the finger at everyone else and crying out to anyone who will listen, look what I did! I'm so great! I'm really helping, why don't you SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB! your not helping, your just making it worse for the rest of us!
Hey Moron- Conveniently you leave out the first part of Mr. Burke's "My View", in which he states that Thomasberger sent Brach a letter in August of 2006 advising him that he needed to come before the TOWN of Woodbury zoning and planning boards for approval of the subdivision, hence ILLEGAL subdivision.Why they hell didn't the TOWN board act then and there??? Was it because they were afraid of the legal ramifications per Szegedin's return letter? WHo are the real "yellow" ones in this case?? I agree with you, it IS easy to blame others, and that's exactly what Burke and Aronowitz are trying to do when in fact they were party to dropping the ball.
According to Burke, he knew exactly what KJ was going to do with the land. Shame on him for letting it happen!
Hey town worker, stop making accusations- I am not Crouse, or anyone else on the Village Board. Just a resident who is fed up with the egos on the Town Board. Both boards should be working as a united front, but instead, John seems insistant on assigning blame.
When the village board insists on acting as if they are the only governing agency in Woodbury then they deserve to have blame pointed at them!!
Check the law pal. For the most part they ARE the governing board in Woodbury. Too bad Burke and Caruso didn't think about that before they scared everyone into voting for this damn Village on just about the same footprint as the Town. (Guess they never anticipated people waking up to their crap, and then denying King Ralph his throne!)
The problem is that the Town Board sees their power and control slipping away (and hopefully their salaries) and they are panicking. So, in their deserate attempts to stay on top, they sling mud. They all need to grow up!
O.K. if you say so. You can all attack me because I am a town employee, but I have worked with some town board members for along time and I resent that some of you say nasty things about them It is perfectly clear to most of us that you are the village board members so stop denying it.
As far as the town board salaries, they only make $8,000 a year. The Supervisor makes $58,000. Big deal!
If you as village board members feel you deserve more then give yourself raises.
If you continue to bash the town board I see only trouble down the road.
They all have a lot of support from the community and the only reason I voted for any of you people is because Gerri and Lorraine told me that you were great people who only cared about the community and WANTED TO KEEP EVERYTHING THE SAME.
I live and pay taxes in this town/village.
I do not make a lot of money working for the town but for the most part they are good employers.
Believe me I am not the only one disgusted by some of the behavior and things said.
it's sad that you as a village board member or one of their spouses attack and blame the town board. The only Village board member I respect is JoAnn Stabile. I hope she continues to stand by her campaign promise.
Ignorance must be truly blissful in your case town employee. Why is it so hard for you to accept the fact that I am of absolutely no relation to any Village Board member? Can't an ordinary resident pay attention and have an opinion? Like you, I am a resident who works very hard to live in Woodbury and pay my taxes and support my family.
The problem that I am having is watching John Burke, and other members of the Town Board undermine the Village. He wanted the Village, but ONLY if Ralph Caruso was running it. So, now that it didn't turn out that way, he's managed to run to the papers, and fight the Village at every turn. Do you understand that by State Law, the Village must take over certain services previously run by the Town? Both the Town and Village pleaded with Albany to pass special legislation, but the powers that be said NO. Their thoughts were that Woodbury asked for the Village and we got it- right down to the letter of every law on the books,so now we have to just live with it.
Well, the Village Board, acting within the law, began taking over the necessary departments with as little disruption as possible. It was John who tried to rev up the employees and insinuate that they would be losing something, when in fact they lost nothing.
Now, with the towers, why not do your homework? Read John's "my View", and you will see that he and the Town board knew exactly what way going on, but instead of trying to cut KJ off at the pass, they did nothing. So, when it fell squarely in the Village's lap, they checked with their lawyers, weighed the cost to the taxpayers vs the ultimate outcome, and chose what they felt was best to do at this moment in time. So, now John thinks it is in Woodbury's best interest to once again condemn the Village, rather than try to work together. Ever hear of united we stand, and divided we fall? Apparently John and certain members of the Town Board haven't, and unless they put their collective egos aside, and all ten members for the Town and Village Boards start COMMUNICATING and WORKING TOGETHER, we're (including you and I)all doomed.
I hear what you are saying and I am no John Burke fan, but I did my homework and I know the law.
Again no action could be taken until the actual water towers were in the beginning stages of construction, or even the threat of construction.
The subdivision you claim is illegal wasn't actually illegal until they had a use for the land which is now the water towers.
I think your dislike of John Burke clouds your perspective on what's really going on here.
All I've read on this blog is bashing without substance. I think the Village needs to take more responsabilty for their actions. It's easy to blame others.
I see some jealousy on the village board members part as far as power and control. An agreement was signed between the two municipalities now let them both do their jobs. But the village at every turn has questioned the town on it's decisions regarding items like the roads. For goodness sake the village signed an agreement that basically said the town should take care of the roads now the Mayor has a hissy fit and questions whether the town has the authority. The village attorney is a bully who knows by advising his board to take over everything he gets more money for his firm which he is a partner. Do you understand everyone is talking about this! Not just the town employees it's also friends and neighbors.
Did you also know an article 78 only costs about $2,000 to file? The village made it sound like it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. That's a joke. You file the article 78, argue the issue and win or lose. At best it would have cost us $7,000-$8,000 dollars. Big deal. Some people will not be misinformed or munipulated. Iv'e been around too long.
I see the village undermining the town. Blaming them for everything. The town board members have an opinion and they stated it. I respect them for that. Sorry they could not agree with the village. I think they believe a mistake was made and they have to disconnect from the village before they are dragged into a bad situation. I give my bessing on the agreement that was signed by the village and KJ. Who will be blames when KJ brakes the agreement?
Since the last poster seems to know his/her stuff, could you clear something up for me since I've been following this blog's discussions: In his My View, Mr. Burke stated, "The following day (which according to Mr. Burke's timeline would have been 8/31/2006), the Woodbury building inspector sent a letter to Brach explaining that he MUST obtain subdivision approval from the Woodbury Planning Board before filing a subdivision plan."
So, then, WITHOUT appearing before the planning board, how was Mr. Brach able to subdivide and sell the sub-divided lot to the Village of KJ???
Sir/madame, you can't have it both ways. Logically, either Mr. Burke was wrong in his statement and the bldg inspector was wrong in his letter, OR it was an illegal subdivision. Which was it???
Is an Article 78 what the Village would have filed? I think you need to check that out a bit further friend.
"Do you understand everyone is talking about this! Not just the town employees it's also friends and neighbors."
This is your typical example of kids playing "telephone" then, because maybe two to five people show up at the Village board meetings, and they're not taped, so where are ALL these people getting their info. Sounds like a fishy story to me, with alot of axe grinding going on!
But even funnier is the mailer that came out today with what appears to be three gentlemen with some brains according to their mailer. But between the three of them, couldn't they have come up with something just a tad bit more original than "Community" Team? Makes me question them there brains!
come on don't you understand, these idiots are attempting to confuse the chuck D's of mayberry! oops, woodbury, community, give me a break, not so long ago the "community" party was suppose to save us from Ralph C. and company, these three idiots are using word play to lure us woodchucks into voting for them while confusing everyone that they are associated with the winners of the last elections, Hey John B, when do we get the mass midnight vote for me flyers on our garbage cans and everyplace else they will stick to!! probably in the next week. Community team, my ass!!
You know what pieman, you're dumb!!!!
Wow, someone in Town is really paying attention!! there on to you Burke and Company, they know that your full of shit and trying to continue your games of bullshit and deception, keep it up Burke, you and your merry band of idiots are destroying the town, look in the mirror and admit that all your bullshit won't help, K.J. has already won and you will never be able to reverse what has already steam rolled into place.
Nice one, Where is your comeback Swiller? too busy trying to come up with a real zinger to baffle us. Come on fat John, we know this is your web site, say something dumb and try to throw us off like you normally do, DICK!!
All this is just words. Do it with action. Vote Swiller's cronys off the board and then maybe there will be peace and quiet around here. Those of you that say they would leave if that happens....we'll miss you.
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NOT!!
I HEAR YA!!
OK, so in the end where does that leave the residents of Woodbury?
Scenerio- a)John, Mike A & Lorraine retain office- Ralph is still in control thru John & possibly Mike A.
b)John, Amidee & Carlton win office- Ralph REALLY takes over because he is running the Democrats through John, and Amidee & Carlton will blindly follow John.
Again, where does that leave us?
Seems the best thing to do in an awful situation is vote for Lorraine. At least then we know for certain that one Anti-Ralph vote will remain on the board!
Your logic has a flaw in it. I have not seen any indication that Haviland and Levine will blindly follow anyone. They seem to be there own person(s). The only ones they have said they would follow is the wishes of the people of Woodbury. By the way, you aren't the "people". What you are is not identifiable yet.
Try listening to them. Word for word, they're Burkes clones.
Please... has anyone followed Haviland's letters last few elections? Or the continued blanket endorsements of Burke and co in this one? He even goes so far as to imply his opponants are sign-stealers, which is funny if you look at whose signs have vanished, election after election...
As for Levine, its hard to tell who he'll listen to when he doesn't even appear at meetings...
How about this one...
To the editor:
John Burke is asking homeowners to elect Levine and Haviland, both having excellent administrative experience, so that John can better do the peoples’ business.
Levine and Haviland, if elected to the Woodbury Town Council, would complement Supervisor Burke’s striving to represent the homeowners interests. They will bring balance and good stewardship to our town.
On Nov. 6th, vote straight across the Burke line.
RJ Donnelly
Highland Mills
What's wrong Robert "Bob" J Donnelly, afraid to use your whole name on such a poorly written letter? Although, if you really read between the lines, you'll see that it's saying Burke needs Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb elected with him so it can be Burke's Town Board as well! Never happen!!
In this week's Photo news, the so-called "Voice of Reason"-Woodbury's own "Bo" Haviland, has gone above and beyond in proving that he can ramble on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, even in letter form!!!
THE PARTY IS ALMOST OVER FLASH JOHN BURKE AND ALL DEMOCRATES WIN ON TUESDAY... WOODBURY IS SAVED FROM THE DEVELOPERS YES YES YES
Bo got it right the signs were taken down by the same people who took them down last election right js ??
Here's a "Voice of Reason"- we certainly DON'T need Bo, who has absolutely NO command of the English language, talks in circles, and doesn't ever seem to have the correct answer and couldn't find it if his life depended on it, NOR do we need Carlton, who hasn't had the chance, due to his busy schedule, to regularly attend any meetings in the Town or Village. Perhaps JOHN needs them to fulfill his and Ralph's dream of taking control of something, anything...but we, the residents of Woodbury certainly don't need two more puppets on the board!
Anonymous said...
THE PARTY IS ALMOST OVER FLASH JOHN BURKE AND ALL DEMOCRATES WIN ON TUESDAY... WOODBURY IS SAVED FROM THE DEVELOPERS YES YES YES
FLASH Village controls developers dummy!
thank you jonathan... sorry you are right the village is controled by developers... right again
Let's get it all out of the way now! Develop as much as possible so that there is no more BS about developing. As long as the developers follow the laws, you almost can't stop them. Go Village!
and when they don't like the law, they convince flipper mike to change his vote so they can get their way. never did hear an understandable reason from the flipper why he changed his vote. and all his campaign literature conveniently leaves out the whole issue. if it was such a wonderful thing, how come he isn't using it to get himself elected?
Geri and Mike Q made no bones about supporting Woodbury Junction and they still won.
When will you people ( the republicrats) understand that although that issue was of great concern for you, it wasn't for the majority of the voters because if it were Gianzero and Queenan would have lost their election.
Remember Conroy only lost by about 100 votes. It was no landslide for Burke.
To the poster that knocks the village officials sorry that you can't except defeat. You need therapy to get past your feelings of hostility. It's not healthy.
Go Village People! But remember to play nice and respect all--
The dog park isn't a big thing for most voters, but Mike Aronowitz uses that in his publicity. I think Woodbury Junction is far bigger than a dog park, issue-wise, that is.
But again, get it through your fat head, the Village controls the zoning and planning- PERIOD- END OF STORY- so John, Bo & Carlton, no matter how much you whine, hold your collective breath or point fingers, even if pigs were to fly and all three of you get in, THERE ISN'T A DAMN THING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!!!
Let's get this straight, whether you like Woodbury Junction or hate it, the facts are that any developer who borrows money to buy land will either have to develop it or sell it.
Call that "blackmail," "extortion" or the realities of the market place - it is still a fact.
It is a second fact that the highest bidder for that land would have been K.J.'s vaad ha kirya.
It is a third fact that if KJ had bought the land, which is next to ACE Farms, they would have owned over 600 contiguous acres running from Bakertown right into the heart of Central Valley.
It is quite possible that the courts would have allowed them to annex those 600 accres.
I prefered Woodbury Junction to having to risk annexation. Ralph and John didn't.
Hey idiots, whats to stop certin people from KJ from having (so called) friends, Manny and Co. from buying homes inside Woodbury junction and then reselling them immediately to current residents of KJ that could walk through the woods to the nearest temple, Go up to the top of whirly heights off of route 208, it's already happening, if you idiots think that Ralph, John B. Bo, Carlton? Lorraine, Aronowitz, The Village board, Mayor, or Rich Goldin can stop this you guys are not using your heads, green (cash) will always win bullshit, Noo Brodsky would never sell to them!! remember money talks and bullshit walks, there is already a list of several residents from woodbury that have volunteered to do this very thing, think about it!
That's exactly why the locals in government need to stop bickering, and stop annointing themselves as Kings to watch over the other presiding government. They all need to join forces, but sadly it isn't the $$ that will prevail, it will be the biggest egos!
If people from Kiryas Joel (or anywhere else) want to buy homes in Woodbury Junction, why should they need front-men to do it?
The homes should be for sale to anyone who wants them.
My only concern has been the annexation of Woodbury land into KJ, and that can never happen with Woodbury Junction because the town owns land between the Junction and ACE Farms.
Beyond that, I don't have any problem with anyone buying homes there.
Why do you?
Yeah, this line of thought is frankly offensive to me, and it risks confirming the fears of those who warn the people of KJ we're all bigots who hate them.
They have every legal right to live in our town, and I think its fantastic that they walk through the forest to services. What a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of nature before worshiping God. And maybe, just maybe it might lead these new neighbors to a better understanding of why the people of Woodbury care so much about our trees.
Situations like this break down barriers. Spreading fear and animosity will only escalate the tensions between our communities and do a great disservice to us all.
People, don't worry about annexation, the good folks from KJ that buy in Woodbury Junction, won't need to annex, and to the person that is worried that we in Woodbury all sound like bigots, sadly its to late, we have done nothing here to show anyone anything different, while the in-fighting continues, KJ takes a wait and see approach and laughs at all of us.
Hell, I live in Woodbury and I am joining our friends in KJ laughing at ALL of this!
I agree, the point isn't to keep the hasidic out, it is to prevent annexation. the town board minus John Burke voted for Woodbury Junction to create a barrier of town land to prevent annexation not to keep the hasidic people out. Stop with your fear tactics, it doesn't work. We are too educated. Tell it to your ignorant uneducated and always confused friends.
o.k. Swiller, aka Dickhead!
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