Election 2012 is now in the books and as with any election there are people who are happy and unhappy with the results.
Putting all the campaign rhetoric aside, it was disheartening to see the personal and unnecessary attacks against Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther. There was no need for Republican County Chairman Richard Coombe to tell a crowd of Republicans that Aileen Gunther was “No Jake Gunther.” He could have instead stuck to the issues. Coombe owes Gunther an apology.
Equally deplorable was a New York State Republican mailer that linked Gunther to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s cover-up of a sexual harassment scandal.
The mailing denouncing Gunther appeared similar in style to what was done to former County Clerk Neil Gilberg when Dan Briggs ran against him.
If you recall, voters were told that a vote for Gilberg would have been a vote for allowing the issuance of driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and thus possibly lead to terrorist attacks. A Bold headline read “Eliot Spitzer and Neil Gilberg have put us in danger.” A picture of World Trade Center terrorist Mohamed Atta superimposed on a New York State driver’s license was front and center.
In the case against Gunther, the mailing claimed Gunther received a 16% pay hike and in return gave Silver her silence for all his wrongdoings. The appalling mailing included pictures of Silver, a woman holding her forehead with distressed facial expressions, and a picture of Gunther with the wording “Aileen Gunther’s Silence” slashed across her face.
Obviously, the below the belt tactics did not work, as Gunther easily beat John Linton.
The Congressional race did not fare any better when it came to negative campaigns. Both Congressman Chris Gibson and his challenger Julian Schreibman did their share of mudslinging and stretching the truth. At the end of the day, although not winning Sullivan County, voters decided to keep Gibson in office.
I am told that Gibson plans on maintaining a strong presence in Sullivan County with the opening a district office manned by Christine Schiff.
Stephan Schick was elected to the Supreme Court giving Sullivan County the unique opportunity of having our own resident justice. The judicial race which encompassed seven counties saw two Court of Appeals justices defeated.
Family Court Judge Mark Meddaugh who ran unopposed and was cross endorsed by all political parties received more votes on the Democratic line than all three other political parties combined. Judge Meddaugh has been an outstanding Family Court Judge, and I am glad his honorable tenure on the bench won over partisan politics.
State Senator John Bonacic who holds a lot of power in the State Senate ran unopposed, as were our three coroners, Thomas Warren, Elton Harris, and Michael Speer.
Although local races were few and far between, we will make up for it next year with countywide elections for sheriff, district attorney, and treasurer. All town supervisors, except for Liberty and Lumberland will be up for grabs, as will be many town council and other local positions.
I am told we might be in for some surprise candidates next year, as well as see the retirement of some incumbents. Until then, congratulations to all of this year’s winners, and hopefully they will work hard to diligently and honorably represent all of us.
Just a few short questions that keep popping up whenever I read the results for Sullivan County, “Do other places have THREE coroner positions”? Do we have an inordinate number of deaths per hundred thousand? I presume that the three of the candidates for these important positions are PAID, so do they share a single coroner salary, or do they get a single one each? Do they actually go to places where people have expired and see what has occurred? Do they consult among themselves whose turn it is to go out in the middle of the night, or are they on a rotational basis?
There are five coroners. They get paid on a need be basis. Yes they go to the location. They rotate on location. There was another Democrat who wanted to run, but the incumbent Democrat did not submit petitions for him, where the candidate did, so he was not able to run. If the candidate did not submit petitions he got for the incumbent, he would have not made the ballot either. It was the three incumbents wanted to protect one another.
ref:”It was the three incumbents wanted to protect one another.”
This seems to a epidemic problem in Sullivan County. The insiders protect the insider at the expense of the voters, the taxpayers and ALL citizens.
Perhaps THIS problem NEEDS to be addressed or perhaps the time is ripe to clean the slate of all incumbents after all they have PROVED by their actions that the only people they care about is themselves and unfortunately at the expense of the citizen of Sullivan County.
One Man One Vote!!!