Guilderland Election Results

The Guilderland election results for 2009 are in. Short story: For the next two years at least, Guilderland belongs to Ken Runion.

Details and some thoughts below:

For Supervisor:
Kenneth D Runion Jr 4,647
Peter A Golden 3,629

For the math-challenged, Runion won by over 1000 votes. That's a big win.

For Town Board:

Paul C Pastore 4,665
Patricia J Slavick 4,605
Matthew D Nelligan 3,571
David B Fraterrigo 3,165

Back in 2007, these were the vote totals for Town Board (the only contested race):

Mark E Grimm 4,187
Warren Redlich 3,961
David A Bosworth Jr 3,730
Michael F Ricard 3,723

The most obvious detail is that the Dems won in 2009 by a far larger margin than we did in 2007. Another note is that turnout seems slightly higher this year, and that's before absentee ballots are counted. The 2007 numbers probably include them.

Of course I'm disappointed. I'm also surprised. Our candidates worked hard. They spent a lot of money too - maybe three times as much as we spent. It seemed that Runion was particularly weak - with incidents like the Ghost of Altamont bringing him lower. His policy decision to raise his own pay while cutting paramedics seemed odd in an election year.

Political types can quibble about what the result means, or about what our team did wrong. That might be a worthwhile discussion if it was a close race. But it wasn't. To me, Guilderland voters sent a clear message. They want Ken Runion to run Guilderland. I will be quieter for the next two years.

Guilderland - The website issue

It's not the biggest issue, but the incumbent town board candidates (Dave Bosworth and Mike Ricard) claim that they have improved the town website. It's new and improved, now interactive!!

Baloney. The site is not interactive. It's guilderland.org - check it out for yourself.

I'm more qualified to improve the town website. I said this in a recent post in more detail, but just check out my blog. I incorporate photos. In the last post I even embedded a YouTube video. I'm not saying this is difficult, but I did do this myself. Ricard and Bosworth can't even put together their own websites. If you do a Google search for them, you find my pages about them.

They claim the town website as one of their biggest accomplishments. If that's the best they can do, I hope voters will see I can do better than they have done.

Guilderland - Vision, open government and economic development

The Guilderland election is fast approaching - voters will choose on November 6th.

Our opponents have criticized us for not putting forward our "vision" for Guilderland. Like much of their other criticism, this is nonsense.

I speak for myself on this, though I think my running mate (Mark Grimm) agrees with much of the vision I set forth here. We have been talking about these things for the entire campaign.

First and foremost, we will change politics in Guilderland. The current administration hides what goes on in Town Hall. We had to dig to find out what they have been hiding. Through FOIL requests and research at other agencies, we have found all kinds of insider dealings - Ricard's lowball assessment and zoning break, and Bosworth's non-profit funnel. All of this is described in detail on the Guilderland NY website.

Mark and I will push for truly open government. Town information, such as the budget, should be available online. The Town has finally put the budget online, but only because of Mark's efforts. The budget they publish is barebones, inaccurate, and difficult to understand for most people (including for me).

The contrast between them and us is shown in the Town website. They trumpet their success in creating an "interactive" website. The town website (guilderland.org) is not interactive. There is not much information. For an example of a really good municipal website, check out this one for the Township of Brick, NJ. I know something about websites. I'm building a Traffic Court directory site that is used by over 40,000 people a month (and growing rapidly). My law firm website and my blogs are visited by thousands more. If elected, I will push for a more informative and truly interactive website - one that allows citizens to comment and to encourage discussion.

Notice that both Mark and I have websites, and that we have a joint campaign website as well. Bosworth and Ricard have no websites at all. If they have a vision, they are certainly not making it accessible.

Another stark contrast is economic development. The current administration has no interest in this. They are pandering not merely to the NIMBY (not in my back yard) mentality, but even more to the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) and NOPE (Not On Planet Earth) attitudes of the extremist fringe. The town's "Economic Development Director," Donald Csaposs, spends his time sending letters to the local paper attacking us and posting outrageous comments on local blogs such as on the Times Union website. Look around Guilderland and try to find where he has improved economic development in the town. You won't find anything.

Take a look at the area around the former Bumble Bee Diner and the former Polito's property:



The area shown in the picture has a number of properties that were developed many years ago. Nearly all have failed and have been vacant or grossly underused for many years. This could be called suburban blight. The current administration has no vision for how to revive such properties. We do have a plan.

This area has two features that make them ideal for development. First, they are already developed. Redeveloping them does not require cutting down trees or otherwise disturbing an existing natural habitat. Second, they are on a state highway (Route 20) and at or near an intersection with a second state highway (Route 146). If any area of town should be zoned to allow greater commercial use, state highways and their intersections are the most appropriate.

This area is perfect for sensible commercial use. The zoning code should be amended to allow more choices for property owners in a spot like this. By saying this I am not saying that we allow for unrestricted use. Zoning can allow for more uses, but with sensible restrictions.

For example, car dealerships could be allowed, but with restrictions designed to limit their impact on the community. Done well, this would lead to low-volume dealerships that create little traffic but still allow for development.

Commercial development is a good thing for our town. A vibrant commercial sector improves the tax base and generates revenue from both property tax and sales tax. It also leads to more services being available for town residents. Some of us don't like that we have to go to Schenectady or Latham to buy a car and get it serviced under the warranty.

Currently, commercial development is concentrated on the eastern end of town. In particular, the town is very dependent on Crossgates for tax revenue. The mall is not doing all that well, and the town is woefully unprepared for the possibility that it might fail - which would dramatically reduce the tax base as well as sales tax revenue. This would lead to a large increase in taxes for everyone. Encouraging sensible economic development in the rest of town would make our tax base more stable.

The same idea for sensible growth applies to the western stretch of Route 20. Concerns about protecting views led to zoning that allows for no commercial development at all. This is foolish. Commercial uses should be allowed. The viewshed should be protected by appropriate setbacks and height limitations. Development in this part of town will not create traffic problems. As those who commute to Clifton Park know, the heavy traffic volume goes the other way. These businesses would create westbound morning traffic and eastbound evening traffic - the opposite of the current rush hour flows.

These are just a part of the vision. We have talked a lot before about fair tax assessment and fair zoning - eliminating the insider deals. There's more. We should protect the Pine Bush by zoning for the environmental concerns now, rather than waiting until objectionable developments are proposed. I hope to put this in more detail in a future post.

Guilderland Town Board - Redux

I went to the Guilderland Town Board meeting tonight, and spoke during the Public Comment period.

Trying to force a debate, I put it right to Mike Ricard. He had made his bold vow to debate anywhere on any topic. I reminded him of this, saying that I wanted to debate in Town Hall, and on the topics of fair tax assessment and fair zoning.

I then asked him to name three dates. He did not respond. Supervisor Runion intervened on his behalf, saying the comment period is not for political grandstanding. I asked Runion to explain this "protocol." Was he saying that Ricard was not allowed to answer my question?

Runion gave another mumbo jumbo response. I asked again if Ricard was not allowed to answer. Runion said that I was correct, that Ricard was indeed not allowed to answer.

This is just amazing. A sitting legislator allowed someone to tell him he was not permitted to respond to a question from the public.

I want to assure Guilderland voters of one thing. If I am elected to Town Board, and a member of the public asks me a question, I will respond. I will not hide behind anyone else.

Debunking Mike Ricard & Dave Bosworth

We got the new issue of Our Towne the other day. On page 7 there's a full-page ad for Dave Bosworth and Mike Ricard. It's a bunch of half-truths and I'll break down the details below.

Claim: Decreased Town Tax 8% since year 2000
Truth: Town spending is up 70%. Where did this money come from? One thing you can be sure of is that it didn't come from nowhere. Of course it came from taxes.
The half-truth is that the property tax rate is lower. However, since the town did a revaluation in 2005, the total property value is up dramatically, and total property taxes are also up. And in their time at least two significant parcels of land have been taken off the tax rolls -- Western Turnpike Golf Course and DiCaprio Park - shifting more of the tax burden onto homeowners.

Claim: Established sound fiscal management and budget practices
Truth: This claim cannot be verified because the town hides its budget information. You do have to wonder where the additional 70% in spending has gone, since public services have not improved much, if at all (see below).

Claim: Secured over 1 million dollars in state and federal grants to enhance town services.
Truth: Since they're claiming this over a period of 8 years, that works out to around $125K/year. That's a small drop in a 35 million dollar annual budget. And again, it's hard to see where services have improved.

Claim: Increased recreational opportunities at Western Turnpike Golf Course, DiCaprio Park and Tawasentha Park
Truth: The golf course has not changed significantly since the town took it over. I've been playing this course since the 1970s. It was a nice course then, and it's still nice.
DiCaprio Park is an addition, but the Town stopped a private alternative from being built that would have cost nothing to the taxpayer and added to the property tax base.
One of the biggest failings of Town government under Bosworth and Ricard is the failure to deliver improvements despite all the increased spending. Town spending is up 70% since 1999. This is a much bigger increase than other towns in the area like Colonie. Where is the money going? Colonie has a gorgeous new park - Crossings at Colonie. We take our kids there and see many other Guilderland families. Guilderland has nothing comparable.
We also take our kids to go swimming at pools in Clifton Park, where my wife's parents live. Their pools are much nicer and better maintained than the Tawasentha Park pool. When I was out getting signatures one woman told me she wouldn't take her kids to the town pool because it's dirty.

Claim: Spearheaded sound zoning and planning practices, as well as stricter enforcement of local zoning laws
Truth: Guilderland has always had strict zoning laws and enforcement. The current government has done little to change this.

Claim: Adopted the strongest Ethics Law in NYS to prevent political favoritism and foster open and honest Town governance
Truth: This one is so phony. Guilderland town government is rife with political favoritism and our officials are doing ever more to hide things from us.
Town Hall is filled with cronyism and insider deals. Town employee Don Csaposs gets paid over $50K in taxpayer dollars. His job function appears to be focused on writing letters to newspaper editors attacking political opponents. Mike Ricard got a sweetheart deal on his tax assessment.
Dave Bosworth runs a "non-profit" that gets all its money from the Albany County government. The same Albany County government that is dominated by Democrats who, in turn, are controlled by none other than county Democratic co-Chair Dave Bosworth. And who is the treasurer for this non-profit? None other than Pat Slavik, another Bosworth crony on the Guilderland Town Board who he has now put up for County Comptroller. Bosworth and his wife get paid nearly $200K from this taxpayer-funded non-profit.

Open governance is a complete fiction. The Town Board keeps hiding more and more of its doings. Details of the police chief's termination are hidden. Budget information is hidden. I could go on and on.

Claim: Improved public access ... by televising Town Board, Zoning Board and Planning Board meetings.
Truth: This is old news, and I'd swear at least some of these meetings were televised before they were elected anyway. And since the town board is all of one party, filled with cronies, there is little actual debate in public. Decisions are made behind closed doors and then revealed at the meeting without any of the discussion.

Claim: Established a Town Wide newsletter and a new, improved, interactive Town web site
Truth: The newsletter is a tool to increase name recognition for the incumbents - they're using taxpayer money for their campaigning. They also remind you to pay your taxes and brag about minor improvements they made with your money.
The web site is a minor improvement, but is not interactive. There is no opportunity for the public to comment on the site, no forums for residents, etc. The search box on the site doesn't work well at all. Doing a search for Ricard or Slavik comes up blank, while a search for Runion turns up only a photo - and not a good one either.

If all this isn't bad enough, they actually bought a second full-page ad at page 23. You have to start wondering where the campaign money comes from if they can afford to buy two separate full page ads. We'll be answering that question soon enough.

Mike Ricard Wins a Hollow Victory

Well, we won, and now we lost ... I think. Below is a link to the pdf decision by the appellate court. They held that the first certificate we filed was invalid.

They specifically stated that they were not addressing the second certificate we filed, and I don't know what that means. We'll find out in the next couple days, I suppose.

Chalk up a win for Mike Ricard. He may have knocked me off the ballot for Guilderland Town Board. Maybe - we don't know what this means yet. But one thing is for sure. I will do everything I can to make sure every voter in Guilderland knows what he did - he took away their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.

Mike Ricard decision

Help! I've been sued and I can't get up!

Well, I was getting ready to prepare some kind of detailed announcement that I'm running for Guilderland Town Board, and a whole bunch of things have happened before I can do that.

For now I am running with Mark Grimm, and you can read more about our campaign at Guilderland NY. My specific candidate page is at: Warren Redlich for Guilderland Town Board.

Here's what happened. Another candidate was supposed to run with Mark Grimm. That candidate declined. The Albany GOP substituted me as the candidate, and I filed the paperwork on July 26th. On July 30th, current Guilderland town board member Michael Ricard filed an "Objection" to the document I filed. I submitted a letter on August 1 (today) stating why his objection was wrong.

If I understand the further details, the Board of Elections denied his objection (probably by a 1-1 vote - majority required to sustain it), and he has now sued me (and others) in Albany County Supreme Court (Index # 6002-07).

So now we'll see what happens with all of that. In the meantime, I will continue to campaign. What's funny is I always like to say I'm not running against someone, I'm running for something (in this case, fair tax assessments).

But since Mike Ricard is trying to knock me off the ballot and is suing me, I am finally happy to say I'm running against someone. I'm running against Mike Ricard, because Mike Ricard does not want voters to have a choice. While I'm at it, Mike Ricard has an unreasonably favorable tax assessment on his house. More on that later.

Guilderland Town Board

Well, it looks like I'm running for Guilderland Town Board as one of the two Republican candidates (for two seats). My friend Mark Grimm is also running, and has been working on this for quite a while. Mark is a great guy, and I'm looking forward to working with him on the campaign.

Stay tuned ...