Last week Susan Zimet joined the race for Ulster County Executive, touting her experience as a County Legislator and a former Town Supervisor. While I support Mike Hein and feel he is head and shoulders above any announced candidate, I like Susan a lot and hope the race is run on the issues and in a fair manner.
Both candidates for Executive have vowed to support the party's nominee and not have a repeat of last years D.A. race. It's good to see both candidates start out in an honorable manner.
For Comptroller, it looks like on the Democratic side David Donaldson and Elliott Auerbach will be the only candidates that will be seeking the nomination.
No Republican candidate has announced yet for Exec or Comptroller.
NY Assembly's 101 district has one announced Republican candidate, Robin Yess, has ditched her candidacy for Exec and opted to run against Kevin Cahill. Mike Stock is also looking at a possible run.
Assemblyman Kevin Cahill is in a strong position for reelection, his recent appointment to the state's Energy committee will likely help boost his fundraising capabilities. His top notch constituent service and personality makes the guy virtually unbeatable.
37 comments:
Sue has a lot of fellow legislators ticked off because she is taking full credit for things she had only a minor role in.
Beradi is playing possum. He'll be back.
April 26, 2008 Hugh Reynolds writes:"Hein has a clear advantage here, given his administrative experience. Zimet is a legislator seeking an executive position. Hein is an executive seeking an executive position."
What personality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11:15: I am sure Democrats across the county can't wait. Is he going to play the role of Bradley at the convention?
Jeremy:
Frank Skartados (D-Milton) is announcing today his bid for the 100th Assembly District, which is currently held by Tom Kirwan. Frank is, among other things, a club owner in Dutchess County and a farmer in Milton. His announcement will be at his farm, Alyssa's Fields, at 1900 Rt. 9w, Milton, at 4pm.
Frank's got an uphill battle ahead. He can use all the support he can get. Let's give it to him.
Jon Sennett
Did I just see another Bradly correlation? The clear difference here, is Sennett was qualified and Bradley wasnt. Where as both Hein and Zimet are qualified.
putting your personal feelings of friendship aside, you pick the candidate whom has the financial interest of the county in their vision.
Lets not forget that Hein's sight is 20/20.
Who cares what Hugh Reynolds says? Remember "Vincent-G.-Bradley-Jr.-son-of-the-late-Supreme-Court-Justice-Vincent-G.-Bradley-Sr.?" Try as he might, Hugh couldn't change the outcome of the election. Then again, Jeremy tried like hell to get Sennett elected, and he couldn't do that either. I guess the voters are smart enough to not get all their information from a blog or the Freeman.
5:13 PM got it exactly wrong.
Although Jon Sennett was my choice and I believe the better choice for DA, both Sennett and Bradley Junior were well qualified for the office by any reasonable measure.
It seemed that supporters of Bradley Junior were persuaded that Bradley's familiar name made him more electable over a less well-known Jon Sennett. Thats why so many Demcrats were conflicted over the race.
In the Hein and Zimet contest, only Hein is qualified. If you put the interests of our county above silly Susan Zimets ego, you will pick Hein because he is the candidate who has the administrative skills and experience to put the financial interest of the county first.
Zimets "vision" is limited to admiring her own reflection in the mirror.
Lets not forget that Hein's sight is 20/20.
Hein is an opportunist - GOP'er turned Dem to keep his job.
He lacks the political acumen.
Remember he is related to Hewitt too.
Who are you kidding? Reynolds bet the farm on Bradley and the election went to Carnright.
Frank Skartados is a great guy, whatever I can do for him I will. I'll post something on his candidacy this week.
I be a votin fo' Klint-Brown
Remus
7:58 PM: This "political opportunist" arguement you make is silly.
Hillary Clinton was a "Goldwater girl." Ronald Reagan was a new-deal Democrat. Is there any thinking person who doubts that Hillary is a Democratic candidate and Reagan was a Republican?
Hein was once a Republican, and switched his enrollment to Democrat. Hein is a Democratic candidate. It would appear that an overwhelmng majority of Democratic elected county officials, including popular County Treasurer Lew Kirschner are supporting Hein. Are they all opportunists too?
Hein has some credeibility issues as a democrat but Zimit has issues of credibility in general. Who knows where she will side on an issue. So with these two I'll take Hein. He has the ability as a proven administrator and seemed to work well with all. In regard to Donaldson and Aurebach I'll go with Donaldson. He has a long record and has been able to work with all as the Chairman while still seeming to be quite independent. Aurebach runs a Village on the verge of bankruptcy. I think the team of Hein and Donaldson will win this November.
I would find it impossible as a long-time Democrat to support any candidate for County Executive, the voice of Ulster County, who aligns themselves with the platform of the Conservative Party.
Progressives should meet Hein and ask him tough questions, get him on the record and then give him campaign contributions merely to get their hooks into Hein so they can drag him to the left. Screw the conservatives.
Pro-choice, pro-human rights, pro-environment, pro-education, pro-health care, pro-arts and culture, anti-war... these (among others) are essential Democratic values to which candidates must agree. Hein will share these values, or the conservatives can have him.
I dont know why you want Political accumen for this position. Zimet has done nothing for tourism, her pals in the legislature have done nothing for the county. Way too political. We need someone to do a job for the county and the people. Zimet will appoint all her pals for supporting her. Thats how they do it. You support me I support you. Ulster County has an opportunity here, dont blow it. Zimet has not shown leadership only her ability to be a partisain. Get and give support. Please do not allow her the opportunity to keep this county in the dark. We need some growth and leadership. Take a look at Hein.
great:
In the Hein and Zimet contest, only Hein is qualified. If you put the interests of our county above silly Susan Zimets ego, you will pick Hein because he is the candidate who has the administrative skills and experience to put the financial interest of the county first.
Zimets "vision" is limited to admiring her own reflection in the mirror.
Lets not forget that Hein's sight is 20/20.
wow:
http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/2544
10:35 Again, what proof do you have that Hein is aligning himself with the Conservative Party?
If you are pointing to Paul Hewitt, he is a DEMOCRAT.
I would like to first address the idea that Hein was once Republican and now is Democratic... its a little like Deja-Vu if you ask me... I dont know about anyone else, but One Vincent Bradley Jr., band wagon hopper is enough in Ulster County for Me.
Also, Sue Zimet has been actively involved in everything she has ever participated in, way back to when she was in New Paltz, and kept Wal-Mart out of the town to keep our local businesses up and running. Sue Zimet stands where she feels is RIGHT about an issue, and refuses to let other things persuade her, to me that shows some stregnth. She thinks with her head AND heart, and has compassion for those around her, even if she does seem to talk an aweful lot. (shes a politician, how can you hold THAT against her)
ALSO, we're concerned about tears in the party? Well, lets go back to the DA race, Did Sue Zimet not FULLY behind the Democratic Candidate Jon Sennett? WHere was Mike Hein? I don't recall him shaking any hands, kissing any babies, or signing any checks for Mr. Sennett's campaign. So personally, I will not support someone who affiliates himself with Republicans AND Conservatives, however claims he is a democrat.
Sue Zimet may be alot to handle, but she is good natured, has the right agenda, and is passionate about all that she does. If Sue wants something for this County, you can be darn sure that she will make it happen.
And frankly, if both candidates are well qualified, all we can go on is their personalities, history and loyalty to this party and the ideas and values of this party.
Im sorry to say, Mike Hein has his own agenda, and I feel it is shameful for him to expect all of us to support him, when merely 6 or 7 months ago he was nowhere to be found for our County District Attorney Race.
And just because he makes it a point to say he was a supporter in a meeting NOW, does not change the fact that he was not around THEN.
Take a look at what he has been doing, do we really want him controling thousands of employees and millions of dollars?!
Why does it always have to be about the party? It has been party politics that have held Ulster County back for years. First it was Republican politics and giving jobs to friends and then when the Democrats took over it was more of the same. It is supposed to be about serving the people not the Party. Zimet and her group of supporters are about the photo opps not about growing the econome in Ulster County. Businesses go to other counties that we should be attracting. It is a shame that we allow this. Time for some qualified people and not more politics as usual party hacks. Get past the buddy system.
Zimet is a hack and there's no need for her in ANY postition in this county
I agree with the past few posts. Keep politics out of this race. We don't need Zimet and her friends to keep this county in the doldrums any longer.
Didn't Sennett become a Democrat in 2005?
10:05 AM - Let's get real - Susan Zimet likes to take credit for keeping WalMart out of New Paltz, but the fact is that WalMart withdrew the proposal when then-Mayor Tom Nyquist declined to provide water and sewer services to the WalMart proposed at the Plesser property site. Zimet has made a career of claiming she lead the anti-WalMart activists in New Paltz, when in fact the leaders were Dave Porter and the late, great Chet Mirsky. Mirsky and Porter wrote a book titled MegaMall about fighting WalMart, which provides best source documentation of just how insignificant to the war against WalMart Zimet really was. Zimet is just one of those people who likes to elbow her way to the head of the parade and pretend she was the band leader.
What qualifies Zimet to be County Executive? Spporters say the four chaotic years when she was Supervisor of New Paltz. Let's get real: At the time, the town government had an annual budget under 10 million and less than 100 employees, and more than 30 of them were Police. To cut town expenses, Zimet irresponsibly proposed abolishing the police department without regard to protecting the public safety. Zimet's proposal was controversial and unpopular. She later claimed it was merely a negotiating position relative to the PBA contract, as if proposing to bust a bargaining unit is the right way to leverage salary negotiations for essential services. The woman is a menace.
If you won't support someone who affiliates himself with Republicans AND Conservatives, better watch out for Zimet.
Behind the scenes in the town of New Paltz, it's been a different story: she offered advice and support to a Republican college student named Russ Ferdico when he ran for mayor against Democrat Tom Nyquist- and she wasn't even a Village resident. There were indications that she was advising her Republican friend Glenn Noonan when he ran for Assembly against Kevin Cahill. Zimet supported Republican Jack Zand when he ran against Democrat Don Wilen at the end of his first term as Supervisor. The high watermark was when Zimet ran a totally obnoxious, personal campaign against Democrat Carol Roper when Roper ran against Zimet on the Republican line for Supervisor. Zimet always puts her personal ambition first, party and patriotism second, and works against political enemies - be they Democrat or Republican, Conservative or not. That was the true purpose and intent of the county ethics reform she sponsored to punish John Parete, to make him choose between his position as county chair of the Democratic party and his job as county election commissioner.
Zimet does not have the right temperament for an important executive position.
To 9:34
what are you talking about and where did you get your information?
Sennett was a registered Democrat from the time he was registered to vote... what HAPPENED to CAUSE THIS COMMOTION was THIS:
He MOVED from the City to Ulster County, in the process he filed a change of address form... IDK if you have seen one, but I have filled plenty out in my day... he did NOT Select what party he was to be affiliated with, and did not realize that if he left it blank it would default to something else. He made a mistake, it did NOT default to his previous standing as a Democrat, and as soon as he found out he fixed it.
It was a system error as well as a communication error, Sennett NEVER registered under ANY OTHER PARTY ever.
Sorry about your being so mis-informed.
Hein has little experience from which to extract only the negatives as has been done with Zimet. That is a distinct advantage.
However, it is abundantly clear that the negatives which have been repeatedly pointed out, bring to the forefront character flaws that are not well suited for the office of County Executive or any Executive for that matter.
Zimet's perceived selfishness and delusive distortion of her involvement in everything from preventing Walmart from coming to new Paltz, to all the Ulster County Legislature has accomplished, has alienated any support she could have mustered.
Why did Carol Roper, a supposed Democrat, oppose Susan on the Republican line? Why didn't she primary Susan, and if she lost, throw her support behind the Democratic incumbent? Shame on Carol Roper...
Also, many towns and villages are consolidating and/or abolishing their police departments. New Paltz, like every other town and village in the county, is already covered by the Sheriff and the State Police (and campus police, though their jurisdiction is obviously limited). Duplication of services is costly to the taxpayers. There are 20 towns in this county and only a fraction of them have their own police department. Their are two sides to the police department issue.
Admittedly, Susan is known for taking credit where credit isn't necessarily due - she needs to stop rewriting history.
There are 8 towns plus the City of Kingston who have police departments: Shandaken, Shawangunk, Olive, New Paltz, Rosendale, Lloyd, Marlborough, and Saugerties. Two villages have police departments: Ellenville (in the Town of Wawarsing) and Saugerties. Saugerties is the only one who has both town and village police. So, maybe Susan's proposed abolition of the town's police department might not have been the smartest idea, even though they are still protected by the State Police and Sheriff's Dept (and the campus police). All I know is, the taxes in New Paltz are exorbitant, and she was trying to reduce the budget to make New Paltz a more affordable place to live.
Hein negotiated health insurance premiums for the county and saved 4 million a year. This dropped property tax burden by 7 percent. He delivered an administrators budget that cut spending. Zimet had no trouble voting to approving the budget.
She is out of her league.
Zimet is a phony! Why can't people see that? Next, maybe she'll try and take credit for inventing the internet. Sorry, that was Al Gore...another phony. Let's give credit where credit is due.
to 11:13. At least Gore has actually done something. He has some credibility.
start a comptroller post board. Donaldson should not even be a legislator. He is a power trader. You vote for me and I will give you a committee. He takes credit for everything on the legislature. He is certainly not the right person to be comptroller, he is all about politics not Ulster County.
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