Town of Washington Democratic Committee

 2011 ended on a positive note for us: Hyde Park Town Board is completely Democratic, the City of Poughkeepsie, Pine Plains, Red Hook and Rhinebeck all have Democratic majorities on their councils, and the Village of Millbrook is now also a lovely shade of blue! Ryan Courtien in Dover and Virginia Stern in Stanford retained their positions as Town Supervisor, and we have 4 new Democratic Supervisors: Matt Kennedy in Beekman, Alieen Rohr in Hyde Park, Carl Tomik in Pleasant Valley, and Brian Coons in Pine Plains. We have also picked up town council seats in the Town of Poughkeepsie, Amenia and Northeast. We kept our many Town Justices throughout the county, and added a new Town Justice in Pleasant Valley. Our goal was to build the party from the ground up, town by town, and I think we did well. These last few days I’ve had the privilege to attend many of the swearing-in ceremonies, and I know that 2012 is going to be a proud and wonderful year for our party and our communities.

In the County Legislature we held our own in a particularly difficult year. Our congratulations to Barbara Jeter-Jackson and Alison MacAvery, our new Minority Leader and Assistant Minority Leader. Our immense thanks to Dan French, Marco Caviglia and  all our candidates this past year, and to all those who volunteered their time and energy to work on the campaigns, with a special thanks to the unions for their support.

I would like to extend our thanks to those who have served but decided not to run this year: Pat Meyers, Dan Kuffner, and our special thanks to Sandy Goldberg.

2012 promises to be a very interesting year with new Congressional, State Assembly and State Senate districts, new primary dates, and 2 potential special elections amongst the many changes we will face. We’ll keep you posted!

We have many races this year; Presidential, Senate, Congressional, State Supreme Court, State Senate and  State Assembly. Let’s stay involved. We must build on our message, and we must engage the Democrats in Dutchess County and figure out how to get them to the polls every year!

We will be having our next full county meeting soon in the new year, and  our spring brunch the 1st Sunday in May.

If you have any pictures from the swearing-in ceremonies please send them to Kris at kmunn@munn.com for inclusion in our website and facebook page.

As always, I thank all of you for all you do. My 3rd  annual New Year’s Wish: 

I wish us Health…

And the ability to take pleasure in the simple things.

 I wish us the Love of friends and family…

And a place of peace and calm within our hearts. 

I wish us the Beauty of nature…

And the ability to enjoy the divine within us all.

 I wish us Wisdom to choose wisely…

And discern those things that really matter.

 I wish us Generosity of spirit…

And a giving nature toward all mankind.

  I wish us much happiness…

And to know the laughter of pure joy.

I wish us all the best of everything…

And a very Democratic New Year.

 With Love and Gratitude,

Elisa

Margaret Fettes, who represented the Town of Washington for almost three decades in the Dutchess County Legislature, has announced her endorsement of candidates Stan Morse for Town Supervisor and Jeff Giardina for Town Board in the upcoming November 8, 2011 election.

Said Fettes, who was born and raised in the Town of Washington and became the longest serving member of the County Legislature :

“I support Stan Morse and Jeff Giardina for having fresh ideas, listening to the people, and studying both sides of the issue before coming to a conclusion.

Please vote on November 8. Remember the truth.  Only God knows how you voted unless you tell someone.”

The following article appeared in The Millbrook Independent (10.19.11 issue).

By Eve Propp

Peter Devers, a member of the Republican Committee, sent a letter dated August 9 to 38 residents whose address is 131 Millbrook School Road. All those people who have a Millbrook School address either teach there or work there in some other capacity.

Devers letter stated that ‘”voters MUST vote in the town in which they RESIDE” (his capitals). The letter went on to say that “you may find a sheriff on your doorstep. Don’t be alarmed you have done nothing wrong. The sheriff and his deputies are only there as agents of the Board of Elections.”

The Millbrook School, which encompasses 800 acres, is in both Stanford and the Town of Washington. Drew Casertano, the school’s headmaster said that until 911 was put into effect those living at the school had individual mail box numbers, and until approximately ten years ago they all voted in Stanford. But then some of them, his family included, received notices from the Board of Elections that they were to vote in the Town of Washington, which they have been doing ever since.

In the opening sentence of his letter Devers writes, “representatives of the Town of Washington District 2 Election Committee and the Dutchess County Board of Elections are in the process of correcting the voter registration rolls.”  When Devers was asked who is on the District 2 Election Committee he said he was and one other person. Upon reflection he called back to say that Robert Audia was the second member of the committee but, in actuality, there was no such thing as the Washington District 2 Election Committee. What he should have written, he said, was “the Town of Washington Republican Committee for District 2”. His letter implied , he said, “that there was a separate committee [for District 2] but there is not.’

Erik Haight, the Republican Elections Commissioner at the County Board of Elections, was in the process of correcting voter registration rolls. However, Fran Knapp, the Democratic Commissioner, knew nothing about what either Erik Haight or Peter Devers was up to.

According to information that came out at a recent hearing in the New York Supreme Court, Haight, acting alone, has been challenging the voter registration of senior citizens, the homeless, college students and the disabled who vote by absentee ballots, without Knapp’s knowledge or consent. Knapp, after consulting with the NYS Board of elections and the NYS Democratic lawyers council has brought an article 78 lawsuit in supreme court against Haight because of his efforts to as she said ‘to intimidate, confuse and purge voters, primarily Democratic voters.”

This action asks the court to stop and restrain the Republican Elections Commissioner from acting unilaterally without the Democratic Commissioner’s knowledge and agreement. Under NYS Election Law, all actions by the Board of Elections must be by a majority vote. One commissioner cannot act alone in conducting the board’s activities.

Haight claims that the paperwork regarding the registration challenges in questionwas “in the middle of the office for anyone to check including commissioner Knapp – she’s unwilling to act on the voter registration challenges.”

The case was heard on Friday, October 14 in Judge Charles Wood’s chambers in Poughkeepsie. Haight said he knew nothing of Devers letter before Knapp instituted her lawsuit.

Casertano, the Millbrook school headmaster, said he was “confused and frustrated upon receiving Devers letter and was eager to have the matter resolved so that he and the other school members can do their civic duty and vote.” He said he sent an email to Haight but never received an answer.

Of the 38 recipients of Devers letter, 5 are Republicans, 4 are independents, 10 are NOP and 19 are Democrats.

In campaigning Town and Village roads, it’s clear the main issues in the Supervisor’s race are keeping the community rural, not wasting tax dollars, and bringing our downtown back to life.  Pretty sound thoughts.

But another problem also comes up daily.  It’s the one party system  we’ve had for decades.  It keeps residents from playing a  role in  government.  Folks are tired of it.  When I say most of all Town Boards and Committees belong to just one  party, they shake their heads.   They don’t like  it.

People like to play a role in government,  some more than others.  The ones who want to serve don’t like being excluded from the process. They’re tired of seeing folks, some less qualified than they,  get the call.  Whether  you call it patronage, favoritism or nepotism, it’s all the same thing.  Good folks not being given the chance to participate.  It is “exclusion.”

I’m a member of the favored party, so I should be happy.  But my time in IBM and the military taught me  it’s best to have folks from all over the community participate, not just one segment.   When you let all folks in on the deal,  you get creativity, ingenuity and enthusiasm you otherwise miss.   I believe in and have always practiced  inclusion in my leadership roles.

The Town of Washington Democratic Committee has endorsed a top notch set of candidates for election in both the Town of Washington and the Village of Millbrook at their recent caucus.

Heading up the slate as candidate for Supervisor for the Town of Washington is long time community leader Stan Morse, a Millbrook business owner with his wife Mary, and a former IBMer with 30 years of military service. Members of the Town of Washington Democratic Committee were impressed by Morse’s knowledge of the environmental issues facing the town, his belief in fiscal responsibility and his record of staying informed about the important aspects of both village and town life.

The Town of Washington’s elected and appointed leadership has been overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans for more than a century, but Morse has made it clear that he does “not believe that any one political party has a monopoly on intelligence or ability to serve the community.”  A registered Republican — his wife Mary is a Democrat — he said he would make a point of choosing members of all parties to serve on town boards as positions became available.

Morse, currently the Deputy Mayor of the Village of Millbrook, authored the Vision Statement accepted by the Town Comprehensive Plan Committee earlier this year.  ”I am committed to preserving and protecting our community quality of life, both for today and for future generations,” Morse said. “I’m committed to a thriving Town and Village that work together toward the future.”

Endorsed for Town Board is Millbrook lawyer Jeff Giardina, who is a long time supporter of environmental issues in the region.  Giardina and his wife Maryrose have been engaged residents of Dutchess County for more than 33 years; he is committed to bringing new voices to the table in the Town of Washington.

For the Village of Millbrook, the Town of Washington Democrats endorsed incumbent Mayor Laura Hurley, incumbent Village Trustee Tom Whalen and  former school teacher Robert “Mike” Herzog, a first time candidate for an open seat as Village of Millbrook Trustee. A 26 year resident of the Village, Mike has been a tireless community volunteer serving as a coach and manager for Little League, swim team, soccer and hockey as well as a scoutmaster with Troop 31 in Millbrook.

The election is November 8, 2011. Polls will be open from 6 am to 9 pm.

Welcome to the Town of Washington Democratic Committee Website. The Town of Washington, located in the center of Dutchess County is one of the most picturesque and bucolic towns in the county.  The Village of Millbrook is the town’s commercial center with shops, restaurants, antiques centers, businesses, schools and the offices of local government.

• The following are some helpful links
• Village of Millbrook 
• PO Box 349/35 Merritt Ave.
• Millbrook, NY 12545
• 845-677-3939
• www.village.millbrook.ny.us
• Town of Washington 
• 10 Reservoir Drive/P.O. Box 667
• Millbrook, NY 12545
• 845-677-3419
• www.washingtonny.org
• Millbrook Online
• Millbrook Business Association
• Dutchess County Board of Elections-Voter Info
• Dutchess County Democratic Committee