The Democrats who were not part of the plan to take the Democratic ballot line away for the GOP soon figured out what the plan was. A group of town employees, some from the Building Department and GOP town board candidate Kelly Hoffman, were outside the back door of the Elks passing out fliers urging support for three candidates, two of whom were already endorsed by the Republican Party.
Of course, no where on the flier did it mention that fact or that voting for Hoffman now would give her the potential of 4 ballot lines if she wins a Conservative Primary in September. "Democrats" like Bill Madsen who sits on the Planning Board and who sponsored a Comprehensive Plan Committee recommendation to rezone parcels on RT 4 to allow high density commercial development, exactly like the malls being planned on the 4 and 43 intersection, were leading the parade.
Ironically, Madsen's action did more to energize voters to attend for the winning side than he could imagine. But the ruse which angered people the most were the calls made by Ms. Parson's the evening before the caucus in which she claimed the time had been moved forward to 7:30PM. Those who bought the trick would have come to late to vote and some did come late which produced a short debate during the nominations. That debate was settled by the caucus itself which voted to allow those in the room to receive ballots and end further issuance of ballots.
What the GOP sponsoring forces didn't plan on was the obvious fact that most everyone who came to the caucus planned on coming because they were asked by one side or the other. Fliers were not going to alter their support for one side or the other, so that effort was a waste of time. At the end of the evening, Lou Desso arrived on the scene and was talking to associates in the parking lot. It's on to Plan B, hey Lou?
One has to reserve the most criticism for Hoffman and Connolly in their caucus effort. Neither stands for anything. Each wants to win more than standing for some platform or party values which would require them to actually stand for something. If if you surveyed the room, you could see the remnants of the 2007 group that briefly took control of the Democratic Party only to meld it into the GOP, deny voters a choice at the polls and take control.
This time, Democrats with party values won the day. There will be a fully contested election, a playing field some folks find very unsettling.
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Ballot control has sadly become the flavor of too many election seasons in our area. Locally it has happened in North Greenbush, Schodack and other areas.
To those who put their efforts into ballot control please ask yourself how you would explain your actions if you could speak to someone who gave their life for our democracy and freedom or if you were to speak to a Veteran who is now in a wheelchair.
This isn't about power of political parties, but rather each party putting up different candidates and letting the voters decide who will represent them. Anyone participating in manipulation of endorsements needs to remind him or herself of these facts.
We hope the Pipeline will post information about the Conservative Caucus and what the choices are. Most likely that information and invite to the caucus will not be extended to every registered Conservative in town.
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