By now you should have received notice that there will be a full Committee meeting on Saturday, July 21 at 11 a.m., Kingston City Hall, to determine whether or not to grant Vincent Bradley, Jr. a waiver to run in a primary against the Democratic endorsee, Jonathan Sennett, D-New Paltz. Though we know that this is an extremely inconvenient day and time, it is imperative that everyone on the Committee come out and vote.
This waiver, also known as a Wilson-Pakula, should be used to cross-endorse someone from another party when there is no suitable candidate available. Mr. Bradley had many opportunities to plead his case with the Democratic Committee that he would be the Democrat’s best candidate for District Attorney. On June 4, the Democratic Committee voted to endorse Jon. Since Mr. Bradley has been unable to accept the results of our vote, we are now faced with a possibility of a primary, which is a waste of valuable resources.
Those who support the primary insist that all of the enrolled Democrats should be offered the opportunity to vote for the candidate to run in the General Election. Like it or not, we do not live in a true or direct democracy – we have a representative democracy. As Committee members, we represent our Democratic constituents, which is why we have an unofficial convention with weighted votes. When a town holds a caucus, all enrolled voters are invited to nominate a candidate. This is possible because they don’t have 33,000+ voters. If we had a direct democracy, then we’d never have a convention, and all nominations would require the invitation of the 33,000+ Democratic enrollees to vote.
Subsequently, Mr. Bradley has accepted the endorsement of the Independence Party as well as the Conservative Party which is contrary to the Democratic Party’s tenets. If anyone truly wants to vote for Mr. Bradley, they will still have the opportunity to do so on one of those two lines.
Let us point out, as committee people, we represent a particular number of Democrats in our district; thus we have weighted votes. We don't all go to Washington or Albany to vote on a bill. When a bill is defeated, it doesn't go to a referendum because the minority whines that they lost.
The towns in Ulster County have caucuses - those are examples of direct democracy. All Democrats (or republicans) are invited to nominate and choose their candidate. Since we have 33,000+ Democrats in Ulster County, we can't have caucuses. That's the purpose of having the committee. Otherwise, instead of the convention, we'd be going to the voting booth every year to choose which candidate to endorse. By granting the waiver, we're saying that our vote was meaningless, let's ignore it, and spend the taxpayer's money.
Should the waiver be granted, Jon Sennett’s campaign for District Attorney will be spent on winning the primary, instead of focusing on issues and his Republican opponent. Resources would be better spent on Jon’s ability to lead the ticket and win the election of himself and other Democrats. If the divided committee is working for their candidate to win the primary, then it’s not working on the other candidates’ races. Allowing a primary will delay progress in getting everyone’s message out to the voters, thereby risking victory for many Democratic candidates.
Jon is a progressive and energetic candidate with fresh ideas for the District Attorney’s office; the Committee obviously agreed he was the best candidate to put forward when we voted on June 4. Please come out and vote, once more, to reinforce the fact that we still like how we voted on June 4. We need to achieve party unity now, not in September.
20 comments:
A clear and concise summary of our representative form of government, and how it plays out in Ulster County. Every registered Democrat will be represented through our vote on Saturday. Ultimately we will all answer to them when we carry designating petitions and ask for their vote next year.
No voter will be denied the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice in the District Attorney's race come November. They all have ballot lines.
Democracy is for those who show up. Let's all show up an let the chips fall where they may.
Bradley is a non-enrolled candidate who has accepted the Conservative Party nomination.
This is not good for Democrats who strongly believe in a women's right to choose.
He is asking the party to change its procedure just to let him have a second chance. Why bother having a nominating convention. He has just insulted and wasted the time of smart committee members.
Those of you who wanted to block a primary from the beginning are the ones hurting the party. Anf further we don't need a progressive in the DA's office. Crime is crime and should be punished accordingly. Prevent crime, have reasonable plea bargains, give logical sentances, etc., but I don't think I want a progressive in that seat. Let Jon be a progressive public defender.
With all due respect to Mr. Harkavy.....Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. The representatives are charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest.
All registered Democrats are only represented on Saturday if you grant them the right to hear TWO qualified candidates on the issues. Your choice to willfully silence the majority should not be miscontrued as representative democracy.
Send Bradley packing!
If Sennett is so popular, what is the big deal? He should win easily. Let ALL Democrats decide who represents them. The people who show up Saturday are as partisan as any group anywhere. They definitely will not represent rank and file Democrats.
"Mr. Bradley has accepted the endorsement of the Independence Party as well as the Conservative Party which is contrary to the Democratic Party’s tenets"
Since WHEN is it an outright contradiction to be democrat and conservative? I am so glad to be a republican. We have and love our liberal repubs like Rudy, and have and love our more conservative repubs like Thompson.
The end of the 'Democrat' party, as it was defined 50 years ago is in chaos, and will disapear so long as people like anonomous 3:56 think the party is a single issue party, and exclude for single issue ideas. It is IMPOSSIBLE for millions people to agree on EVERYTHING!
Also, yes we have a representitive democracy, but the direct democracy starts at choosing that representation. This choice should not be left to the few 'privileged'. This, as exampled by the Parate fiasco, can only lead to favors and corruption. If the democrat voters in the county want Sennett, they will turn out and vote for him, same with Bradley.
To 10:08 p.m.: Excerpt from The Conservative Party of New York State: We support the restoration of the death penalty.
The Conservative Party staunchly believes that all human cloning must be banned and that stem-cell research is limited to adult stem cells and fetal cord blood research.
We support parental notification and/or consent prior to the performance of an abortion on an unmarried minor and we support banning the procedure known as Partial Birth Abortion, the elimination of Medicaid funding of abortions and support Informed Consent.
We support enactment of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which would punish an assault on an unborn child.
We support a constitutional amendment that will define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. We also believe that any attempt to amend the Human Rights Law to include "transgender" language as a special class of citizens should be rejected.
We continue to oppose Casino Gambling. (Ask Bradley what his spokesman does for a living.)
To 8:47: The Democratic Committee did what it is supposed to do - just because you don't like how they voted, doesn't mean it now has to go to over 34,000 registered Democrats, of which only a handful will come out and vote. If the convention was meaningless, then why was it held in the first place? This is typical of a representative form of government - and, ironically enough, Bradley is denying the Wilson-Pakula to Carnright on the Independent and Conservative Party lines. So, it's OK for him to ask for it, but he doesn't feel that it's OK for anyone else to have it. What a hypocrite Bradley is! Anyone who would give the nod to Parete's stacking the executive committee for their vote lacks the integrity to be DA. Bradley should have told Parete that that it is unethical and he'll have no part in it. Instead, he obviously went along with it. I hope the Committee sees him and Parete for what they really are - Pete Savago wannabes - and vote NO on Saturday!
Hello to all who suooort Bradley. Your dopey candidate did not win On June 4 because he did not impress the majority of committee members. This race has become all about how he has been denied. To use a baseball analogy...he did not win enough games to go into the penant. There is no crying in baseball. Maybe his beloved Morganthau will take him back.
I really think all you anti Bradley people are full of Sh*T. You are all afraid of Sennett losing a primary. Well I have news for you he will either lose to Bradley in a primary or lose to Carnright in the general election. Harkavy that goes for you too, quite smug if must say. That is my opinion.
Sennett is getting bad advise from his advisors. He'll pay for it on election day.
pen·nant (pĕn'ənt) pronunciation
n.
1. Nautical. A long, tapering, usually triangular flag, used on ships for signaling or identification.
2. A flag or an emblem similar in shape to a ship's pennant.
3. Sports.
1. A flag that symbolizes the championship of a league, especially a professional baseball league.
2. The championship symbolized by such a flag.
Perhaps you should work on your baseball analogies.
In response to 10:08's diatribe regarding the Conservative Party, I find it amusing since at the Conservative convention there were more Democrat candidates than Republicans lobbying for endorsements. While the Conservatives may be an anathema to some Democrats, there is always a long line of them seeking Row D. With respect to a W.P., the Conservatives voted not to have a primary. This does not prevent the candidates from obtaining the required signatures for an Opportunity To Ballot. I feel this poster's comments further illustrate the division within the U.C. Democratic Party which will lead to their demise.
Bradley's warm and fuzzy letter makes you sound like a lifelong Dem. If you didn't mean to cause factions in the Party why did you initiate and promote false statements about Democratic candidates?
You may have forgotten that the District Attorney's Office works on truth, facts and the pursuit of justice. You can't say you followed these during your campaign.
The Democratic Committee will be voting a second time to can your sorry campaign.
You maybe a good sergeant, but not a good chief.
To 9:04 - perfect! That's a scary thought for anyone to grow up to be like Hector!
Blaber tells the truth! Sorry if you don't like the sound of it.
Free advise to Mr Sennett.......
The political reality is in a three way race your toast! You have no crossover appeal!The only way you MAY be DA is to give Bradley the Primary and beat him.In a three race it will be tough for Bradley to win but hell have a good chance. Mr Sennett has zero!
That last blogger is full of crap. To try the reverse psychology thing is lame, and no one's fooled here. What he really means to say is it will be tough for Bradley to win in a primary, and impossible for him to win in a three-way.
Dear Mr. "Toast"
Learn how to spell advice.
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