I said in November when Mr. Hein first announced that I was going to wait until late February or early March before I looked at this race for County Executive. Over those months, I have had time to research what the qualifications are for the position and in my opinion there is no one that is qualified to lead this county as our first executive more than Mike Hein. As County Administrator Mike Hein has shown the proven leadership skills to lead this county in the right direction. I will be pleased to support him to be the Democratic nominee for Ulster County Executive.
With that being said, there is a fundraiser for Mr. Hein next month that I encourage people to attend. Details below.
You are invited to Join the Committee to Elect Mike Hein as the First Ulster County Executive
Where : The Reservoir Inn
159 Basin Rd (off Route 28), West Hurley
When : Friday, March 14th 6-9pm
Buffet/Cash Bar/ Live Band - $30.00 person
RSVP to 331 3638 by March 10th
Checks payable to:
Committee to Elect Mike Hein
PO Box 3005
Kingston, NY 12402
32 comments:
Here we go again. Starting to back candidates before the party has made a choice. Bad decision Jeremy. What if Mike doesn't get the Democratic nomination?
I support Mike Hein because I feel he is the best qualified. If Mike Hein does not get the nod than I will support that party's nominee.
It's no different then the presidential race, I support Hillary but I would be proud to support Obama if he wins.
Jeremy, how can you say Mike Hein is the best (most?) qualified when you don't know who the other candidates may be? There's no doubt that Mike is highly qualified, but no one knows yet if there is someone who is more so.
Do you have any problem with the fact that he has only been a Democrat for less than 2 years? He changed after the election in November 2005 and the Democrats took over. It become official after the 2006 elections. Look it up, it is true.
Isn't that one of the problems you had with Bradley?
Don't be a fool. You are being used. He is Republican in opportunistic Democratic clothing.
We as a party should encourage Republicans, Independents, and others to become Democrats.
I didn't support Bradley becasue I felt Sennett was better quailified..that simple..party enrolment had nothing to do with it.
Bullshit Jeremy, Bullshit. Party enrollment had nothing to do with it?
I'm not going to get into a huge debate over this but NO party enrollment had nothing to do with me supporting Sennett over Bradley. Did Bradley's enrollment and Sennett's for that matter, become an issue during the campaign? Yes. But that had nothing to do with my personal choice to support Sennett over Bradley.
When all is said and done, Mike may be the best candidate. Right now, he is the only candidate.
Let them all declare and come forward, let them speak their peace, Lets keep our minds open, and choose the best.
Committee members should not be declaring support for anyone yet.
The best way to avoid the disaster of last year is to have a fair and open process. Anyone who is willing to put themselves on the line and run for the office should not be pre-judged or ruled out before they have had a chance to plead their case. When the candidates come to speak, they should not have to look accross the table at a committee person that has already decalred support for a different candidate.
We have chance to do this right. Let's not screw it up again.
Jerermy,
How much did Hein kick to you for
your Fundraiser?
Young Man you dissapoint me. Hein
is no more a Democrat that Rickey
Cahill.
GO SUE ZIMIT!
Jeremy, Please take this down. We need to heal our party and this does not help us down that path. I agree with the poster who said that all committee persons should refrain from endorsements until the convention has made it's choice. They can vote for the favorite then. This is not the Presidential campaign with people scattered all over the country. This is local and it has lasting effects.
I know very little about Mike Hein, but I've seen Mr. Berrardi's (another possible candidate) posts on different blogs and I've been very impressed.
Please tell us more about the different potential candidates...
I remember a poll you ran and it appeared (if memory serves me right) as if Mr. Berrardi did well in that respect.
Thanks.
N.S.
Bravo, Jeremy. Perhaps your endorsement is premature in the sense that all candidates have yet to announce, but there is no question in my mind that given the known field of Democratic candidates who have been flirting with entering the race -- namely Cahill, Zimet, Rodriguez -- you selected Hein, the only one who is well-qualified.
11:45PM has got it right. All committee members should allow the process to move forward and play it self out. Jumping on early band wagons led to a disastrous division within the Democratic Party.
Certainly Mike Hein has all the qualifications to be an excellent County Executive. This has nothing to do with Mike, it has everything to do with the viability of the Democratic Party. If after our convention, no one else has thrown their hat in the ring, Mike should get the total support of the party.
11:37 AM :
Thank You, however, I strongly disagree with your assessment about Mr.Cahill..he would have made a great exec....his appointment by Speaker Silver pretty much tells me he is staying put.
OK Progressive Democrats This IS
CLEAR.
Hein has the Conservative Party Nod
all wrapped up. Never before has they gone with anyone this early.
His Campaign Treasurer is the husband of the Conservative Party
Chair......
Looks like Mikey promised some things to the folks on Row D.
The only thing Hein Changed was his
enrollment. If the County was in
GOP Hands or was to go back to there control how fast would Mike
run to the Board of Elections and beg forgiveness to Mario, Spada
and the rest of them?
Where is the 'movement' that came from the DA'S Race just last year?
Since this is primarily a democratic blog-- I find it particularly disturbing that in a recent Blaber's News and Commentary Poll-- Mike Hein falls behind Republican Jerry Benjamin in polling votes. Mike Hein needs the strong support of the progressive democrats to win; otherwise, the same fiasco that happened last year will again repeat itself in November.
The enrollment issue will not go away. Hein should expect a serious challenge about it. Maybe a preemptive explanation would quell some of the troublemakers?
10:45 PM must be Charlie Landi - that's definitely his terminology. Once again, the Bradley supporters can't accept the fact that Bradley sucked - he was unqualified, unethical, and obviously not too bright. Had he been registered to vote where he lived, when he moved up here, he could've enrolled and been a Dem in Ulster County. Instead, Bradley continued to vote illegally here in Ulster County while living in NYC. Bradley supporters are so shallow, they can't see that the only reason why they supported him was because of his father - yet they continue to point out enrollment as an excuse. Sennett supporters denied Bradley a Wilson-Pakula not because of his enrollment (or lack thereof), but because he is a dullard. The committee nominated Jon Sennett because he was (and still is) the most qualified. No one cares who Mike Hein's father is; his enrollment shouldn't be an issue. If he's the best out of all the Dem nominees, then he should get the endorsement. But, no one can say he's the best until all come forward. The Dems have to put the most-qualified person up, no matter how recently (s)he became a Democrat, how long (s)he lived here, or whomever his/her father is. We can't risk having a Republican as County Exec. Under the Republican legislature, we had two double-digit tax increases in a row (the second time around was going to be 49% - they "lowered" it to 39%). Ulster County citizens and businesses can't afford Republican "leadership".
The process is very clear.
Candidates come forward and look for support. It's almost March and the convention will be held in June, so anyone who is interested in running for County Executive and gaining the support of delegates to that convention should be out there right now looking for support. It's not reasonable to expect delegates to remain "neutral" until the convention.
Mike Hein had the guts to state he is a candidate. He has the qualifications for the position. He's an enrolled Democrat looking for the support of the party, so why would there be an controversy over Jeremy Blaber or any other Democrat coming out in support of a declared candidate.
If there were two or three candidates declared then each one has the legimate chance to go for the endorsement, but you can't beat somebody with nobody. Mike Hein is declared, until someone else is declared, Hein can be presumed to be the candidate and go on and gather all the support he can.
Jeremy your right on track with Hein for Co. Exc. He has made the Dem Majority look pretty good over the last two budget cycles. Also, this arguement about how long he has been a democrat is crazy. Jonathan Sennett has not been a life long Dem, its only recently he changed his enrollment to Dem I heard Sennetts wife is contenplating changing from Rep. to Dem. what are we going to say to her, "your not welcome".
There will be a primary for Co. Ex. May the best Democratic candidate win and we all get behind whom ever that might be.
It should go without saying, but Zimet is totally unqualified to be county exec.
Democrats, please face facts: Zimet is quite possibly the worst administrator on this planet.
Oh, I know what your thinking - thats such an overstatement! True- there may well be some worse administrator hidden behind a hopelessly cluttered clerical desk in a small midwestern burb someplace, and I suppose that we could attempt to find that person, just to be fair... Before we settle for Zimet, I think that we owe it to ourselves to carefully look under every rock for a worse administrator, to search high and low to root them out. We must searchd every office in the land to identify the actual worst administrator on the planet.
Otherwise, Zimet will have to do.
Please, I beg of you in the name of all that is copied, stapled and filed alphabetically... Let's not make the mistake of giving Zimet a county job of serious consequence. County executive is too important a job.
Committee people do not need to remain neutral until the convention, just until their committee hears the candidates and votes. Supporting one candidate over another after all have had the chance to present themselves and their ideas to the committee is fine.
The problem here is that each prospective candidate is going to appear before the committees to answer questions and explain their positions. When they appear, they should be trying to convince the committee people of the value of their candidacy not trying to change someone's mind who has already declared their support for someone else.
Choose sides if you must after your committee has heard, considered and discussed.
I will take Hein since he is the announced candidate.
But here is my preference.
Cahill over Hein-Zimet-Donaldson-Sottile.
Hein over-Zimet-Sottile-Donaldson.
Donaldson over Zimet-Sottile
Sottile or Zimet? Move to another County or voter Republican.
I can only imagine the never ending cycle of back room deals and promises made in this county executive race-- never intended to be kept in the first place in the name of political expediency.
4:38 P.M.*** Hector? Z'at chu?
I'm a Democrat.
I haven't decided yet who I will vote for.
I like Mike Hein a lot, as a person, as an administrator, and as a candidate for County Executive.
If he seeks the conservative line, I will not vote for him...and I'm not the only one.
Mike, I hope you're reading this.
It might as well be written in stone. He does not need to seek the conservative nomination. He has been handed that nomination by decree.
He is running no matter what, he will pull a Bradley, and the domcratics will be left with the choice of supporting a competent and qualified administrator for executive who is not a fully committed democrat or following last years path and giving the office to a rebublican.
Sort of like trying to decide whether we like a particular kind of food while it is being shoved down our throats by people we don't trust..
Mike is definitely going for the Conservative line - his treasurer is Paul Hewitt. I'm not sure if he's the husband or son of Bonnie Hewitt, the Conservative Party Chair. This is all well-planned to guarantee the Conservative line.
The bottom line is that there will be a primary for the democratic nomination for county executive in September. Given the voting characteristics of our party's primary voters-- it is not wise at all for a democratic candidate seeking the nomination going into a primary with the conservative party nomination in tandem. Democratic primary voters simply will not accept this. Thus, a repeat of last year's election will mostly occur.
So maybe I am a little dense but here's a question.
Isn't this where our party leadership is supposed to step up and take steps to avoid a replay of last year?
Where is the plan of action? The writing is on the wall, the same pattern is playing itself out and there is a deafening silence from the county party leadership.
You're not dense 8:15 - there is no party leadership. Parody allows the committee to be a free-for-all; thus, there is no unity, and there won't be until he goes.
BILL BERARDI WILL MAKE HIS ANNOUNCEMENT SOON , HEIN/ZIMET BEWARE
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