Tonight's Democratic Convention was one for the ages. Rookie Democratic Chairman Julian Schreibman face's a revolt that threatens his chairmanship. I was stunned as I sat and observed what an awful job he did. Schreibman told County Judge candidates that rank and file committee members would not be involved in the decision making process, instead he would hand pick a committee to make a recomendation to Governor Patterson. He opens up the convention by saying that the executive committee voted 9-0 to allow him to decide who was going to get the nod and stated it would be Jonathan Katz. Scarry Terry Rosenbloom, a Schreibman ali then stood up and nominated Deborah Schneer. What insued was total kaos. Governor Patterson nominated Katz today and then Schneer won a razor thin vote on the 2nd round. So now we have Katz a sitting County Judge (assuming he doesn't decline the Governors nomination) and Schneer the party's nominee. What the fuck? The worst part of tonight for Democrats is that Don Williams will now be assured election to County Judge. Katz and Schneer, primary or not will tear the party apart. Julians back room dealmaking has been slammed in editorials throughout the hudson valley, this will have a lasting impact in races throughout the county.
I saw one other unprecedented endorsement tonight. Longtime legislator Sue Cummings retired from the legislature and the Democrats had no one to endorse so they cross endorsed a Republican. What the fuck! An open seat and asshole Schreibman can't find a candidate.
District 8 Republicans are in turmoil after Noonan's ousting and again NO candidates from Schreibman. What the fuck has this guy been doing? Does he know what his job is?
After tonights convention I can only say that Schreibman is supporting Republicans to win in 09 or he's a complete ass who has no clue what he's doing. Republican's are in terrific shape after tonight. Expect them to be energized and win some important seats this year.
Violation of County Ethics Law??
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The County Ethics Law was passed in 2008. It holds that county employees
and officials, including legislators “ shall not use his/her official
position o...
6 years ago
26 comments:
#1, patterson did not make a formal endorsement of Jon Katz. He was no fool in this case. If Katz won the convention he very well would have been given the appointment, now---------it would be foolish for the Governor not to choose Deborah Scheer, the convention choice by a large margin. If the Governor had endorsed katz why would it not be announced before the vote. BECAUSE THERE WAS NO APPOINTMENT!!!!!!!!!!
What about nominating Fientas for Alderman. She supported Cahill for Mayor. She backed Quigley for Comptroller.
Here are your own words from a prior post about her
"Sooo let me get this straight, Jen fuentas rails against elliott Auerbach in his bid for comptroller because he voted against prevailing wage to save hundreds of jobs in Kingston, and than she goes and votes to do the exact same thing for no particular reason??? What a hypocrite!"
At last night's convention it was said that Governor Patterson called Mr. Katz to say he was appointed.
If that is not a formal endorsement then what is?
1:15 is right. I won't support her. Where was she when we needed her in the races for Mayor and County Comptroller?
This is no assurance for Williams. In fact, this turmoil is exactly the type of thing that can raise the profile of an off-year election. The Bernardo thing stinks of corruption though. I think that will raise a red flag. I know I won't put a sign out with that name in front of my house.
It was no different back in 1990 when then Gov. Cuomo appointed Mary Work to a judgeship vacancy in Family Court. She DIDN'T receive the Democratic nomination at the unofficial convention: Lou Klein did.
But she went on to defeat the convention's choice in the September primary, and won the general election when the Republicans had an edge in enrollment.
please confirm if there was indeed an endorsement. If there was, nobody was told. Julian looked like a lost puppy last night, his own group of morons turned against him. Being the county chairmen isn't the breeze that the Schreibman/Stewart team figured it would be. It's amazing to me that a New York lawyer will never measure up to a small town bar owner from Boiceville when it comes to strategy and political smarts. Enrollement isn't everything, you have to have the brain power and the savy, something Julian, Harkavy, Rosenwhatever, and Hunter will never have. You have to take advantage of issues when they arise, this crew can't handle the job. Must be driving them crazy.
You don't know squat. The Governor put Schriebman in an awful predictament. Rather than coming out with his appointment he gave a vague hint, but no guarantee, that Katz was the choice but did not allow his choice to be announced. Schriebman to avoid a conflict nominated Katz with the support of the full Executive Board, but allowed a full an open convention. Schneer was selected. This only goes to show that Katz didn't do his homework, Schneer did. Democracy is not always neat and tidy, but it certainly happened last evening.
10:26 is correct. Democracy did happen last night, and Schreibman doesn't like it. It is common knowledge that Julian was advised not to go ahead with his kangaroo commitee, he was advised that he should not be instructing candidates not to visit town commitees or campaign, and he was advised that there was a good chance that with the turmoil in Albany these days, that the governor would NOT be making an appointment before the convention. What does he do, he nominates the candidate he thinks the governor would nominate and then tries to end aditional nominations. He stuck his neck where it should not have been and got it cut off. He placed himself in a bad predicament by thinking he and his people were smarter than those familiar with the politicol process.
Anyone care to list each of the bench candidate's experience?
Or does experience not matter?
I can tell you this
My guess is that Schneer didn't do her work. Stewart Fraser did it.
Nig difference.
He won't be able to do the job for her if she gets elected.
And what must Albany think of Ulster County know. I'm sure they might like us to be overtaken by Connecticut or Pennsylvania.
Yes Paterson should have made the appointment, but now what does he do? Nominate Katz who couldn't win the convention or nominate Schneer who won't win in November. Either way he looks silly.
to 1:51
As far as I am concerned, Schneer did her own work. Fraser, or anyone else never called or contacted me on her behalf and I voted for her.
Why you ask? Because Schneer asked for my vote and worked for it, personally. She explained her positions and answered my questions. The other guys apparently didn't care what I thought, Schneer did.
Katz and Miranda never asked me for their support, and trust me, I had not made up my mind until the day of the convention. They never even tried to get it, never not one time. Schneer did. End of story.
People do not like to be taken for granted. This is a lesson to all politicians if you ask me. A humble, hardworking candidate has as good a chance as an insider who is being shoved down everyone's throat. Mike Hein are you listening?
I was one of the people that thought that Obama would lose because I underestimated the popular disgust with the Republican brand. I wouldn't put any money on a Democratic loss no matter who the candidate is.
7:08, you should be ashamed of yourself. How could you select a less qualified candidate because you felt you were "taken for granted"? It was not hard to find out the candidates' qualifications whether they came and begged for your vote or not. Your job was to pick the candidate who would make the best judge and have the best chance of prevailing in November. Nobody besides the arrogant, infantile, short-sighted Democratic Committee members thinks Schneer was the right choice. Did you think whoever you chose would automatically win the election? With no national elections at stake and no recent jail fiasco to rally Democrats, even a strong Democratic candidate would have had a tough time against Williams, with his experience and name recognition.
And, just out of curiosity, what were Schneer's "positions" that so impressed you? What grand changes does she have in mind for criminal jurisprudence in this county?
10:54- It's "whomever" in the accusative case. Your lack of education explains your assumption that anyone cares about experience and that William's experience would be an asset rather than a liability.
Hey 8:55, no one wants to hearing your fucking grammar lesson. Save it.
"No one wants to hearing" ??? What a piece of shit you are! Learn English before posting you little moron. Nobody wants to read crap from a third grade dropout.
Wow, it looks like the Katz supporters are much worse at this losing stuff than Justice Katz himself.
Could that be because it derailed someone's personal agenda,again?
Democracy is not perfect and occasionally we are allowed to make decisions that fly in the face of perceived popular sentiment.
It was our decision to make just as it is Mr. Katz's decision to accept the vote of the Committee and live with the result.
Chill out and accept defeat the same way you would have accepted victory. That is the sign of a true Democrat.
I think the reaction is just fear that Shneer is less likely to win. If we stick together we can elect anyone.
Sue Cummings is not even running.
@ 10:10. Though probably not intended, your comment could be interpreted to imply that Schneer isn't a great candidate but, with Democratic unity, we can get her elected anyway. I think we need to focus on whether she really is a stronger candidate than Don Williams. And I think the answer is yes.
Schneer went to a top law school and has supposedly impressed everyone who sat down and talked with her. So, it sounds like she has the intellect required for the bench. On the other hand, word is that Williams is not particularly gifted in the brains department.
Also, the odds are that Schneer has more of a judicial temperament than Williams has. He's been on one side of the aisle forever, while Schneer has several years already on the bench. Plus, Williams does not have a reputation for being fair or open-minded. Now, some, maybe most, would argue that a pro-prosecution judge is a good idea. But putting aside the prospect of a partial judge allowing an innocent person to be convicted, there's the very real negative economic impact that is caused by a biased or intellectually subpar judge. An unfair or boneheaded ruling by a judge leaves open the possibility of an appeal and, ultimately, leads to great expense to the taxpayer. A fair and intelligent judge would save money and allow for a more efficient and effective county court.
While Schneer does have less experience in criminal law than Williams, she can pick up a textbook and learn the statutes. She'll also have clerks and other staff to assist her. In the long run, the absence of a criminal law background shouldn't be a key issue.
That's my case for Deborah Schneer. Any thoughts?
I think we need a democratic primary for county court judge. That would be democracy.
Update this month?
I have tried to post numerous times, but have yet to see my comments. Why?
7:40PM
Each comment is posted. You must be doing something wrong.
1:01p.m. Makes perfect sense to me.
The Democratic Party needs to unify around her candidacy. In observing Judge Schneer moving through the appointment process and convention I saw a well organized person who did her homework. She communicated with the committee members and showed sincere humility in receiving both the nomination and apppointment. Humility is an intangible quality that is hard to find and essential inorder to be a fair-minded judge.
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