TIMES UNION ENDORSEMENT 11-1-2013

Follow the link for the TU endorsement http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-Yepsen-for-Saratoga-Springs-4944682.php

FOLLOW THE MONEY

I got this information in the mail and thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I’d tinker with it a little.  Remember, Shauna Sutton-Dowd holds 2 FULL time jobs of at least 40 hours a week per job.  Yes, that’s 80 hours a week.  What kind of job can she do without overlapping one with the other?   Shauna also has been making noise about Yepsen taking money from unions.  I checked her donations on line and she has taken big money from large contractors, plumbers (who are union people), a local lumber company and the City’s outside attorney firm that Johnson and Sutton chose to represent the City in its lawsuits or other dealings.  Sutton will have to work with these donors so she is playing the blame game, when she herself could be accused of going the deed also.  Yes, that is Shauna smoking a pipe, working nights in a costume.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

$120,000.00 & BENEFITS

CITY HALL - $60,000.00 &

GRAVE DIGGING - $60,000.00

ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION

As we near Election Day and the removal of those darn signs, we were discussing the choices this year.  It’s not that one Party is better than the other although each Party will say they are, but it’s all about the candidates.  This year it happens that the Democrats have the better candidates running for office.

You can’t top Joanne Yepsen, she was our rep on the County Board of Supervisors and throughout her tenure did a very good job and was an excellent partner along with Republican Matt Veitch.

Shauna Sutton on the other hand has a record that is mostly bad.  Why?  Well for starters she is not well liked by those who work with her in City Hall (there has to be a few exceptions), she is not liked by many people she meets and even quite a few Republicans won’t be flying with her.  One of the things she said in the paper and at the debate is that she saved the City $32 million dollars with settlement of contracts this year, heck our whole budget is $38 million dollars.  She was part of the biggest cover up in Saratoga’s recent history.  Hiding public information when the City built the Woodlawn Parking Garage and then you had to FOIL any public information that you, a citizen, had the right to have.  Playing games with 2 or 3 building inspectors when they wouldn’t name her tune, that’s right games.   Hiring a City Planner that was dismissed from Wilton (could she be a friend)?  Spewing along with the Mayor that the money for the Garage was a combination of public and private money when the lot was owned by the City, the City financed the garage along with the downtown merchants.  The downtown merchant’s money came from the business district taxes which in fact is public money.  Where is the private money?

Sutton is also anti small business, ask the small businesses on the West side that Sutton is trying to close.  It seems if your name is not Bonacio, Roohan or Julie Bonacio you can forget about getting a building permit in the City or cooperation or a CO, which by the way the Rec operated for quite a while without a CO and that was just dandy with Johnson and the wannabe Mayor.  It seems that some builders can get fast tracked and also the Planning Board rules have changed to facilitate these large contractors, just look at who is contributing to Sutton’s campaign.  It is the right of the Mayor along with his Deputy (Sutton) to mould very important Committees but during their tenure every Democrat was replaced by a Republican, so much for equal representation,

Nobody knows John Arpie, so not too much can be said about him except he doesn’t know squat about paint (inside joke John).

We know the job that John Franck does and he does it well.  He does not play political games in his capacity as Commissioner and has even started programs during his tenure to help citizens understand how to go about lowering their assessments if the committee sees a reason to do so.

Skip Scirocco just doesn’t get it.  The City looks a mess.  Broadway is always dirty, Congress Park is a disgrace and the final straw was the back room deal he made to sell water to Wilton when we do not have enough water for Saratoga.  What happens when the Weibel Ave. project is done and Sonny buys more property out there and they start sucking water?  When you go by our reservoir on 50 take a look at how many inches the water level is down.  Skip keeps telling us that we have all the wells we need but where’s the water?  We need a change.

Dick Wirth had his chance and didn’t get anything done.  If he did he never spoke about it at a Council meeting.  Tony Izzo spoke more in a month than Wirth did in 2 years. Mathiesen ran on a platform and won; he also has carried out his promises and has gone above and beyond expectations.

The Supervisor race should be an easy one to pick.  Veitch has the experience and the know how to get things done.  The race will be between Martin and Ivins.  Martin is far and away the better candidate.  He has worked with the Supervisors in his capacity as County Clerk and can solve and articulate the problems not only as a representative of Saratoga Springs but as a County rep as well.  We also feel that having two smart and well spoken Supervisors one a Democrat and a Republican on the Board will represent all of Saratoga Springs

FIND THE MONEY

Anyone that would like to, can see what a candidate has received in donations by following this link,  http://www.elections.ny.gov/recipientstext.html  and putting in the last name.  I did this and was quite surprised at some of the filings.  While we all know the Republican Committee, both City and County have more money than the respective Democratic Committees (there was never a real representative Democrat Party in Saratoga until about 12 years ago), you can tell who is dropping the G bombs on their candidates.  If you look and check it out, the Republican Committee has infused Sutton’s campaign with more than $6,000.00.  Also, the majority of Sutton’s donations are $1,000.00 or more and she has many family members donating quite a bit of cash (which is no surprise), her family has big money and there is nothing wrong in helping out family.  I do however notice the businesses that have been courting her and it does throw a red flag up.

Yepsen’s donations looks like they have been coming in from more people donating smaller amounts ($50.00 to $75.00) range, not that she hasn’t gotten some larger donations but not nearly as much as Sutton and I don’t think Yepsen has had any $500.00 - $1,000.00 per plate dinners as we know Sutton has had a few.

Looking up Bill McTygue’s donations, he also has donations from family members, but probably 1/10^th of Sutton's, as a comparison.

I was very surprised to see that Skip Scirocco has quite a number of donations from contractors, plumbing firms, engineering firms, etc.  Surprising because it sends a message even if not true that Scirocco is being given donations from either businesses that did work and want to keep doing business with DPW or that they want to work with DPW.  I would think that businesses would either donate to both candidates or to none at all, but Holy Joker, that’s just what I think.

Franck’s donations have been coming in mostly at $100.00 per.

Arpei’s donations aren’t looking good; it seems that the bulk of the money is coming from family, the Republican Committee and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority.

Well adios for now and remember if you see Bonita Sellers coming down the Street, Al Calucci (Dick Wirth’s choice for Deputy Commissioner) can’t be far behind.

Follow the link and look at the info for yourselves, you can look up anyone in NY State.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Yes, we are having fun on our vacation.  We are staying overnight and I have a chance to read the home town paper and was I surprised by an article or two.

First of all, I spoke with a friend who knows such things and it seemed that a large group of Republicans switched Party’s for this election and joined the Independence Party, thereby giving Sutton and Arpei the number required to force a primary in September.

I still think that this primary will be a good litmus test for the general election.  The primary vote will indicate how many votes the 2 candidates get then deduct at least the 58 of the Republican who switched to guarantee they got the ballot (as they would have voted Republican anyway).

Now comes the money part.  According to the Saratogian, Yepsen after expenses leaves her with $17,724 balance, “Most of Yepsen’s contributions come in $100 or $200 increments. She reported 106 contributions Monday and said the number was doubled after Friday’s fundraiser.”

Sutton on the other hand has not had a fundraiser to date and it is starting to look like another big money campaign money matter, as in the momentous misstep during the 2005 campaign that led to a Democratic sweep. The Republican candidate was having $500.00 a plate dinner fundraisers and Sutton looks to be doing quite the same thing minus the dinners.  Sutton’s donors and amounts of money given so far are: 

The Republican Party - $2,400.00

Wally Allerdice - $1,000.00

Richard & Bonnie Sellers - $500.00

Marcia Mac Donald - $1,000.00

Kathleen Smith - $1,000.00

Amy Smith - $500.00

Sheila Sperling - $500.00

Ann Hiller from Ga. - $500.00

Scott Johnson - $1,000.00

Carusone & Carusone - $1,000.00

http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/reports/rwservlet?cmdkey=efs_sch_report+p_filer_id=C00635+p_e_year=2013+p_freport_id=K+p_transaction_code=A

 So, Sutton has 10 donors plus the Party’s money giving her $9,400.00.  Think of a few donors giving thousands of dollars against many donors giving smaller amounts and you may say to yourself who is for the people over big money?

There is no campaign filing page for Arpei yet.

Saratoga’s general elections are by rule, won by a few hundred votes and the Independence Party plays a role in the elections and again with the Republican move to the Independence Party they would vote Sutton anyway. .  The election will also boil down to how many cross over votes a candidate can muster.  The City’s declining Republican registrations along with an increase of Democrat and Independent (or, no Party), may end the Republican domination that has existed since Saratoga Springs became a City.

WHY, WHY, SHAUNA, WHY, WHY?

If the stories from Shauna Sutton’s friends are true, look out for a blast of negative suppositions spewing out in July.  This will be a nasty campaign as we mentioned before as evidenced by Suttons role as the hit lady of Johnson’s last run for office.  However, the tactic may back fire this cycle as many voters were very turned off by the Johnson camp false and very negative sprint to the finish, some even say that that tactic Sutton took in the last week of the campaign actually helped Brent Wilkes, Johnson’s opponent.  Wilkes as you remember, lost by a thin margin for being a relatively unknown in local politics.

Much of what was said by Sutton against Wilkes at the time was proved to be lies and really in poor taste by Capital District newspapers, something we can look forward to in this election campaign against Yepsen also.

Rumor also has it that big news will be coming in September, when everyone is back from vacation or from renting their homes out to track visitors, regarding Sutton and Arpei.  The news if it can be proved (and it looks like it will be) is so bad regarding Sutton she may, like so many of our State representatives be looked at for possible theft of services by taking money from the City in a no show job, while spending more time playing with graves.  There is supposed to be video from an unnamed source, who followed Sutton for 1 month, it is said the film has date and times, which will be easy to check with FOILED time cards.  Sutton also never went back to City Hall at night as she claimed when this came out in early Spring, when it was brought out about the time she MUST spend in City Hall and the time she said she made up nights to compensate for the days she worked at the cemetery. More news on this as the facts come in, but this could deliver a serious blow to Sutton and those who are playing the role of advisor’s to her campaign, as it could cast a shadow on them also, (guilt by association).

 Also, what will she do as Mayor as far as nepotism when it comes to her family and friends?  She hired her brother to a cemetery position of “head plumber”.  Here is an interesting fact:  cemeteries are not charged for the water they use.  Greenridge Cemetery had a water leak from June of last year and it wasn’t fixed by the "head plumber" until June of this year.  How much water was wasted when a 45 minute job took a year to fix?  The question, if she runs the City as she does the Cemetery by this one example, what will it cost us, the taxpayers? (see Rec. Center losses).

John Arpei who is running for Commissioner of Accounts has more baggage than Elizabeth Taylor used to tote around.  This is one of the reasons he has not publicly come out of the closet to say he is running (he is, don’t worry).  I don’t think the Party wants him to answer any questions about the position he is running for or any answers he will have to provide about the jobs he has had, organizations he was involved in etc., until it is absolutely necessary.  Look at late September to hear from him after Sutton or whoever is leading these campaigns runs interference for him.  When the election season rolls around for good, this exposure could be devastating to his run for the roses.  If the Republicans were serous about defeating Franck, the Party should have done a better job vetting him. 

Well Bat Fans, until then.