Could we really see Jeanette Provanzano become the first chairman of the County Legislature? Well if you ask Jeanette, she'll tell you that she has the support from the Democratic caucus but Dave Donaldson is said to be closing the gap. The interesting thing is that this may not be a decision that is decided in caucus, as is tradition. Donaldson has the option to take the vote to the entire legislature and court the GOP as well. The question than becomes, is it wise for Donaldson, who would win handily over Jeanette in a full vote of the legislature, to break from tradition? Now normally the answer is absolutely not. If you don't have the support of your caucus than you concede. However, Donaldson should ask himself if Jeanette had the votes to take him out by courting the gop would she do it....only if the answer is yes, should Donaldson cross that bridge. For the record and to be fair, I support Dave Donaldson for reelection as chairman.
Another Leadership position up for grabs is for majority leader, which Provanzano has vacated to run for the chairmanship. Hector Rodriguez and Brian Cahill are both going for the position. I'm friends with Brian and Hector both, so, I refuse to make any comments or predictions on that race. They're both good people and the county would be well served with either one of them as the majority leader.
31 comments:
Please let Dave continue his chairmanship. Jeanette would be a disaster. She has terrible people skills, is dumb as a stone, and can't make a grammatically correct sentence. Jeanette has no more than a high school education. She is nasty, condescending and far too partisan. She'd be an awful choice to be the face of Ulster County. I can't imagine people coming from other parts of the state or even outside the state and having her be the first person they meet. Jeanette would set any progress firmly on its ear! Keep Dave as Chairman - no matter what promises were made to you (ahem, Brian), legislators need to stop thinking of themselves and think about what's good for the county. People elected you to represent them, not to represent yourself.
Jeanette 11 votes, Donalsson 11 votes( you always have a few snakes this is politics) Noonan14 votes. here we go remember Alfonso
I would hope that Dave nor Jeanette
does not go to the Republicans and ask for there support. Let the Majority make the call.
It would be a terrible thing to have JP as Chairperson. She publicly supported Bradley for DA. It's all about her and her power base. This is not leadership.
I fail to see the point of getting the opposite parties support just so you win for chairman. Doesn't that alienate the majority of the your own party?
It would be an absolutely foolish mistake for provenzano or donaldson to go to the republicans for support. It would result in a irreparable splitting of the democratic caucus. Even worse than it is now. It would be a very selfish act on anyones part who secures the chairmanship by crossing party lines.
So now you don't know who will be Majority Leader? Give it up Blaber.
The legislature needs a new chairman....Donaldson brought nothing to the table and was lackluster at best. They did nothing constuctive over the last two years except the jail investigation and where did that get us...no where close to finding out what happened. There are people in charge of committees that bring no experience to them, spend very little time on them and do not do their jobs. The economic development in this county is nil and Donalson did nothing to help it. Time for somone else to take a crack at it. This thing needs to be shaken up or they will all be out in two years. A change needs to be made at the top in hopes that things will happen. With Donaldson there, we will have staus quo and that was not good over the last two years. Give Jeanette the chance.
Going outside of the caucus for Republican support may be necessary to prevent Einstein Provenzano from winning the chairmanship. The Republicans did it with Sinagra vs. Alfonso. It has never been necessary before, but this time it is critical that Dave keeps the chairmanship. If anyone is concerned about irreparably (sp?) splitting the party, then Jeanette shouldn't challenge Dave at all. This is a terrible time, after the Sennett vs. Bradley fiasco, to continue the divide. Jeanette should be promoting unity and healing - her trying for the chairmanship proves that she doesn't care about anyone other than her own power. Btw - Brian Cahill would be a better majority leader than Hector or Jeanette - he's smart and fair.
Chairman Donaldson may not be a dynamic personality, but he is respectful and fair, and as far as most can tell, bases his decisions and recommendations on what best serves the people of Ulster County. The average resident is pleased when taxes are low and there is no fiasco reported in the media. This administration did keep taxes in line, got the jail opened, settled the suits, and commenced the investigation. County government is leaner and most County Department Heads and employees are working very hard. If the County can complete the alternative energy initiative to attract new commerical development, I'd say it's been a pretty good two years. There's no reason to think the next two years won't be even better. The voters will return the Dems to office if the in-fighting stops and the Dems don't become lazy and arrogant like the Republicans became after decades of re-elections. Jeanette is a long time devoted public servant, albeit too partisan, but should stand down in favor of Donaldson's continued leadership. Other Dems should set aside their displeasure with Donaldson just because they didn't get what they wanted. Again, Donaldson hasn't committed any errors justifying his replacement and has tried to run an inclusive administration, even with those so strongly fighting for their own personal agendas. All factions have to forgive and move on. United, the Dems will be able to achieve great accomplishments in the next two years.
1:03 PM: I know exactly who will be Majority Leader and yes, I have a favorite but I will not comment on it.
I'm glad you know Jeremy even though the vote hasn't taken place yet. Please enlighten us. I am sure you are backing the winner.
I'll e-mail a friend to whom I think the winner is and I'll publish it when the vote takes place. It's no ones buisness who I'm supporting..they're both good people.
tO 1:14 PM Thanks, SMART & FAIR, that would be a real treat in the political arena, instead of a bunch of self serving egomaniacs running from their own personal problems in the public forum.
Please run an ad for a few more in the local paper.
Spill it Jeremy. It would give you huge credibility with your readers if you actually do know.
Who is the moron that said Jeannette is splitting the party? She has every right to challenge if she feels she has the votes. If Donaldson was doing such a great job he would not be in danger of losing and would be able to muster the votes to keep the chairmanship. HE will be the one that splits the caucus by going to the republicans. By doing that, he will be giving the republicans a level of power over the next two years that they should not have. He will also certainly alienate the dem's that did vote for Jeanette because they were not happy with his previous term as leader. Wake up! The only one not following "party" politics is Donaldson. If he loses in the caucus and goes to the republicans it will be an obvious power grab by him, which we have all seen before. This will then be about Donaldson and not the dem caucus, which is indicative of where he stands and what we can expect from him. Jeannete has every right to challenege him if she and other dems are not happy with his previous term. They would clearly kknow better than Blaber. His time is up.
Is it me, or does Sennett (in the picture with Jeremy) look like he is fading away. Actually, I think he is looking more like a cut-out that can be bought at FYE.
Hector is not qualified to be the leader of anything. Has this guy even held a job since he became a legislator? What actually does he do all day What must people who come from outside the county to meet with our county leaders think when they get a load of him? Is there a less qualified elected official in New York State. Just because the people in his deistrict elected him does not mean that he should be leading anyone.
As far as Chairman goes, what is the difference? The choice is between two old time Kingston-centric politicians, neither worth a spit. I would hope one of the newer Legislators would step up at the last minute.
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1:01 - you're obviously not too bright yourself - the only reason why Jeanette has any support is because of the Parete clan - it's so predictable who is supporting her and why. She's splitting the caucus because she's challenging the incumbent, and forcing the Dems to choose. Everyone knows Jeanette is stupid and condescending. Of course she has a right to challenge Dave - but remember, Dave is a true Democrat. Though he initially supported Bradley, once Sennett got the nomination, he put his personal opinions aside for the good of the party. That's a lot more than Parete, Cahill, Hinchey, Landi, Sottile, DiBella, and Provenzano did - they continued to support the Conservative candidate because of their personal relationship with his father (they're all way too old to have any dealings with Jr.). Now, Jeanette is pandering to the Parete clique by promising them their coveted committees and they line up behind her. Their support is not based on what a good job she'll do (because she'll be a disaster), it's based on what she'll do for them - all too selfish. To his credit, Dave doesn't play that way.
Kevin Cahill supported Jonathan Sennett.
The Republicans are torn between the two... They are going to vote in a block based on which candidate can offer the best deal and will be the best for the county. Jeanette is far too partisan and truly lacks leadership qualities. From a political standpoint she would be the best choice for the Republicans as she would screw up the legislature so badly that it would ensure a Republican comeback in 2009. On the otherhand Donaldson is clearly the best leader to move the county forward. A tough choice for the Republican... Support Jeanette to ensure a 2009 Republican comeback or support donaldson for a better government... The Dems had best look for the lead of the Republican block vote or they will be on the outtside for the next 2 years
If either of them go to the Republicans to get the votes, it certainly would be a hollow victory for the chairmanship. How selfish can you be?
to 9:42 - name-calling (i.e., calling Jeanette stupid) is unnecessary and serves no purpose. Instead, how about adressing the fact that Jeanette lacks the skills to be an effective leader and unifier? Jeanette would be unable to not only unify the Dems, but also would not be able to unify both sides of the aisle. It would be difficult, at best, for her to accomplish anything because of her poor people skills. If the Republicans vote for Jeanette, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot (the same goes for the Dems). They know that things would fall apart under her "reign" with the hope that it would give them a better chance to take back the legislature in 2009. But, they also need to understand that should things go poorly in the next two years, then there is enormous anti-incumbent fall-out. So, if Dems and Reps want to keep their seats, they need to do what's best for the county, not what's best for themselves.
Jeremy you have to get off this "Cahill supported Sennett" crap. You are delusional. There is no question who Cahill was supporting throughout that election. Wake up. He nominates Bradley and then later when asked if he was supporting Sennett in the same sentence he says "I felt Bradley was best candidate but," He supported Bradley and sat out the election and said what he had to, to keep you and anyone else happy. He spoke out of both sides of his mouth. At least Hinchey had the guts what everyone knew out loud. Cahill was a complete washout and lost my respect and my vote no matter what he runs for.
hey 7:50 - interesting take - if the Republicans think that allowing the county to go down the toilet is in their best interests, then I know why I vote Democrat. The voters are smarter than you give them credit for, and they'll remember who put Jeanette in charge and those legislators will have to accept the blame. If Republicans think that it's to their benefit to put Jeanette at the helm, they're sadly mistaken. I think you should give Republicans more credit - they're smart enough to know a good thing when they have it. Supporting Jeanette would in no way ensure a Republican comeback in 2009. Keep Donaldson!
Someone illuded to a hollow victory if one of them went to the Republicans... Get real.. are you that nieve???? They are BOTH meeting with and/or calling individual Republicans as we speak... BOTH of them... So who ever wins only wins a hollow victory??? That's politics. Wake up and smell the rotten roses...
If the loser in caucus, requests their supporters to go to the full Legislature united and unanimous, the Republican support would not be needed. I think it should be a condition of accepting a nomination for Chairman. Time to start patching things up no matter who wins.
The Majority and Minority Leaders' selection only remains within the caucus. Though the Chairman's election within the caucus has traditionally been respected by the minority party, since both parties have to deal with the Chairman, I can understand why the other side would want input. Jeanette has her supporters, not because she'll be any good, but because they have an axe to grind with Donaldson. But if she wins, both Dems and Republicans will have to deal with her. As such, they should have a choice if there is a contested race. I don't know how many times there has been a contest within a caucus - but I'd venture to guess (and I could be wrong), that every time there is, the vote opens up to the other party.
Jeanette will win the Democratic vote. Donaldson will not pull enough Republicans because many of them can't stand him. Dave is desperate to hang on but from what I hear he is finished.
What could be wore than having an unemployed clown being majority leader?
For the good of the Democratic Party we need to get rid of Dave. I hope he quits the legislature when he gets defeated.
Hugh Reynolds (no relation to Bill Reynolds) is now flip flopping in his column. Last week it was "Provenzano's support was weakening", and Donaldson was "gaining ground". Today it is "Provenzano is solid".
This guy has no clue what he is doing.
I swear, it depends on who Reynolds had beers (usually too many) with the night before, or the night he does, write his column as to what the "facts" are.
How does the Freeman not see that Reynolds is so disconnected from what is really going on that just about anyone walking around uptown Kingston or drinks at Ugly Gus's could write the bullshit he does?
The Republicans like Dave way more than they like Jeanette - I've talked to some Republicans who can't stand her and that seems to be the sentiment throughout the caucus. They're not that stupid that they'd go with Jeanette.
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