REJECT ATTACK POLITICS AND TEA PARTY SENTIMENTS ON ELECTION DAY Voters in Bethlehem should take the vitriol directed at Supervisor John Clarkson by Republican candidate Fred DiMaggio and his surrogates with a grain of salt. When it comes to political attacks, Mr. DiMaggio has a well-deserved reputation of playing fast and loose with the truth. When he ran for the town board in 2009, Mr. DiMaggio was censured by Fair Campaign Practices of the Capital Region for making multiple false and misleading attacks against his opponent in that race. Suffice it to say, Mr. DiMaggio is up to his old tricks again. The claims being made regarding Bethlehem’s budgets and taxes are pure fiction. Mr. DiMaggio’s campaign is largely being funded by out-of-town groups. Each of Mr. DiMaggio’s negative mailers states that it was paid for by “NYRSC,” which is located in Albany NOT Bethlehem. While Mr. DiMaggio first denied any involvement in these mailers in an interview with the Times Union, a few days later he was forced to come clean to the Spotlight and admit responsibility for the “NYRSC” mailers. Will Mr. DiMaggio also take responsibility for – or at least condemn – the anonymous websites and emails assailing Supervisor Clarkson and other Democratic candidates with the most appalling and false personal attacks? For example, one scurrilous email called Supervisor Clarkson’s father – a veteran who served in Korea – a “draft dodger.” Councilman Bill Reinhardt was also gratuitously attacked for driving a large automobile despite the fact that he uses it to transport his disabled daughter. Mr. DiMaggio, who previously worked as a political operative in the Pataki administration, has trumpeted this year’s Republican slate as “Bethlehem United.” The fact is that Mr. DiMaggio’s slate is an unremarkable union between Republicans and the kind of right-wingers who have contributed to the appalling dysfunction we have witnessed in Washington, D.C. over the last several months. For example, in an April 18, 2012 letter published in the Spotlight, Mr. DiMaggio stated that “a ‘NO’ vote on [the Bethlehem Central School District’s] budget is a positive vote for our kids, this school district and our town.” Thankfully for the students of Bethlehem, 62% of voters rejected Mr. DiMaggio’s “tea party” priorities then, and Bethlehem’s schools were recently ranked as the best in the capital district. Conservative Party town board candidate Linda Jasinki’s political views are even further to the right than Mr. DiMaggio’s. Imposing this fervent anti-government philosophy on our town would be disastrous. Mr. DiMaggio’s tenure as chairman of the Bethlehem Republic Committee also raises questions. According to a letter published in the Spotlight on June 26, 2013, when committee member Jared King attempted to raise a dissenting point of order during a closed-door meeting, Mr. DiMaggio threatened to call the police and have Mr. King thrown out if he didn’t remain silent. Would Mr. DiMaggio react the same way to dissenting views at a town board meeting? Although I did not initially support John Clarkson’s insurgent candidacy for supervisor in 2011, we were elected together and both began serving on the town board in 2012. Since that time, I have come to know Supervisor Clarkson as a thoughtful and moderate pragmatist with a bias towards action, a willingness to challenge the status quo, and an overriding objective of always doing what is in the best interest of the citizens of Bethlehem. Before becoming Supervisor, Mr. Clarkson worked for the state as an expert in local government efficiency and finance, and the town has benefited immensely from Mr. Clarkson’s expertise over the past two years. Together with the town board, Supervisor Clarkson has cut spending, reduced the size of the town workforce through attrition, privatized Colonial Acres Golf Course, consolidated the town’s ambulance services, established a multiyear budgeting process, enacted a model ethics law, and saved money through shared services and modernization while preserving critical town functions. As a result of these and other reforms, Bethlehem was awarded $776,000 this year from the New York State Local Government Performance and Efficiency Program (the largest grant to any town in the state). While we have accomplished a great deal over the past two years, there is much left to be done to continue the work of transforming Bethlehem into a model of municipal government. The next step is the re-election of John Clarkson as Supervisor, Nanci Moquin as Clerk, Bill Reinhardt as Town Councilman, and the election of Julie Sasso to the Town Board, Brent Meredith as Highway Superintendent and Andy Kirby as Town Justice on November 5. Jeffrey D. Kuhn Chairman Bethlehem Democratic Committee
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 18:22:38 +0000
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