THE CONCERNED CITIZEN

Feb 24, 2009 09:54:54 AM, hodgesdolo2@verizon.net wrote:
Hi Folks this is the second edition of our Newsletter send me your comments......Dee


THE CONCERNED CITIZEN
Published by: CONCERNED CITIZENS for RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT Inc.
P.O. Bx. 126 ATHENS, N.Y.12015 concernedusa.org
__________________________________ PRESERVATION of... ATHENS ..PRESS….2nd edition February, 2009…page..1
“KEEPING ATHENS CITIZENS IN THE LOOP”

Welcome Readers to the second edition of the Concerned Citizen. This newsletter will be published periodically to keep you informed of news and events which may affect the “Quality of Life” here in Athens now and for generations to come……………………..

The Village of Athens will hold a General Election on MARCH 18th to elect a new Mayor and two new Trustees. Trustee and Deputy Mayor Chris Pfister will not be running for any office this year leaving his seat vacant and the Trustee position held by Tom Sopris is up for challenge.

Until a day or two before the Republican Caucus Tom Sopris was committed to run on the Republican ticket against Andrea Smallwood and challenge her position as Mayor …….BUT……in the final hour he withdrew his bid and left the Republican Party without a Candidate to run against Smallwood. The Following letter will explain how it came about that Ron Coons has successfully gathered the necessary support to run for the position of Mayor of the Village of Athens. He will be challenging incumbent Andrea Smallwood on MARCH 18th in the Village Election to be held from Noon to 9pm at the Athens Senior Center on 2nd St.


A Letter from : Ronald A Coons Sr. the Concerned Citizens Candidate for Mayor

I would like to formally apologize to the Residents of the Village Athens for any misunderstanding as to why I am running for Mayor. When someone makes the mistake of telling me I don’t have a choice I feel it necessary to challenge that concept. Our forefathers fought for our rights and most of all our freedom of speech and choice. Please let me explain what I mean. It may seem to you that the Concerned Citizens Group has given up our fight for the right to protect our property and the Village from the newly proposed zoning laws. This is the furthest thing from the truth and I felt it was time to explain the chain of events that have brought us to writing this newsletter. ( Cont on pg 2 )

Page 2……

On December 15th Mayor Smallwood wrote a rebuttal in the Catskill Daily Mail to an article that was written by their reporter in reference to a Concerned Citizen of Athens meeting held on December 5, 2008. On December 16 th Mr. Reinhold a Village trustee wrote a letter to the editor making several accusations about the Concerned Citizen group and also made accusations about Dee Hodges and myself. On December 18 th , two days after these article appeared in The Daily Mail, Dee and I both wrote a rebuttal in our defense.

It seems the Daily Mail for whatever reason is not allowing us the right to rebut those articles in our defense. Over two months have passed and they have not yet appeared in the paper. Since they have chosen not to print our rebuttals we have decided to exercise our constitutional rights using this newsletter as our means of keeping the residents of Athens informed of what is happening in our community.

What make our nation so great is the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights which allows us both freedom of speech and Freedom of the press. The Daily Mail appeared to be our way of defending ourselves against what was said about us in their paper and should have allowed us to exercise free speech as citizens or so we thought. A reliable source has informed us that the Daily Mail was told not to print anything derogatory against the Athens Village Officials. As a result of this it appears our rebuttals have now fallen on deaf ears.

Both the Village Board and the newspapers seem to think that we have a hidden agenda because of the way we have addressed what may happen to our village in the future. The only agenda we are guilty of is exercising our Constitutional Rights as property owners by caring about the village we live in and the repercussions that may occur if the proposed zoning laws are passed in their present form. We believe in open government have done the research and presentation with the intention of keeping the residents informed and up to speed on what is happening in our community. Dee Hodges and I both felt we could serve the community better as a Concerned Citizen Group keeping the residents informed of controversial issues facing the Village.

We were told that Tom Sopris a long time registered Republican, who is currently serving on the Village Board as a Democratic Trustee had asked the Republican Committee to indorse him to run on their ticket for Mayor. Three days before the caucus he withdrew his offer to run on the Republican Ticket. Since the present Deputy Mayor, Mr. Phister was not running for re-election Mayor Smallwood offered the Deputy Mayor position to Mr. Sopris if he stayed with the Democratic Party.

On January 29th Dee and I decided to attend the Republican Caucus to see how they nominated their candidates for election. This would enable us to learn more about the process. Much to our surprise when the role call came there was no candidate for Mayor. What this meant is Mayor Smallwood would run uncontested for the position of Mayor.

Page 3 ….
We questioned a committee member after the Caucus and he informed us that I could have thrown my name in during the Caucus but it was too late now because the nominations were closed. Dee and I in
desperation decided to call the board of Elections the next morning to find out what could be done to insure an opponent for the position of Mayor. After all this is America and we as citizens deserve to have a choice.

They informed us that we could file an Independent Nominating Petition which would require fifty signatures if we had a candidate who wanted to run. This all had to be done by Tuesday, February 10th. It was at that moment I decided to step up and throw my hat in the ring. I felt that the people of the Village of Athens should have the right to chose who they wanted for Mayor. We got the petitions on January 30th and I went on Vacation February 1st . While I was gone Dee and my supporters commenced to get the required amount of signatures. While on vacation I made the necessary phone calls to people and kept track of their progress. I arrived home on February 8th at 3 am. By 9 am Dee and I were working on a strategy to get more signatures. At 12 noon we went to the Board of Election with 107 signatures and registered me as a candidate for Athens Mayor under the Concerned Citizens of Athens Party.

My platform is for open and honest government as our forefathers intended it to be, for the People and by the people. The only way we can achieve this goal is if “We the People” join together with a common understanding and vote the incumbents out of office. It is time to gather our thoughts and ask ourselves............

Whatever happened to the things we were taught as youths in our schools? We were raised to love and respect our government and flag of this great nation we live in.

We were taught what an honor it was to serve our country and to respect those that chose to serve in our military. As a youth in high school we were taught that a strong dollar was good for the economy and if it was American made it was a quality product. Bonuses and dividends were not paid until the end of the year and only if companies showed a profit. Government did not interfere in the running of business in the private sector. It seems that our way of thinking has changed.

We often think that the problems of government will not hamper with us on this small village level but they do. Too often the local village boards make decisions that will change our way of life forever. They feel they know what is best for us and are acting in our best interest!

Who is better to determine what is best for us than WE the People? A phrase this great nation was built on.

Our Government was established for the people and by the people and represents the things that We the People want from life, not the other way around.

Where have these values that we were taught and cherished gone? Has the world changed so much that the people no longer have a say in what their government does? It is not only our responsibility but our constitutional right to be Concerned Citizens and be allowed to participate in our government?
Page 4……
Perhaps it time to remind the politicians that they were elected by us to do the things We the People would like to see done to benefit our needs as local residents.
If we wish to change the way our government works the place to start is at the village level elections. This is how our great nation was established and the way our for-fathers intended it be.

Remember, voting is the most powerful tool we as Concerned Citizens have to insure our rights and protect our homes. Whichever candidate you may choose the most important thing is to vote and voice your concerns.

Your vote can and will make a difference!
Ronald A. Coons Sr.
The Concerned Citizens of Athens Candidate for Mayor
VOTE MARCH 18th from Noon to 9 pm at the
ATHENS SENIOR CENTER
There is a picture of a flag that goes here

Picture of house Page 5……


ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO wants to

Dissolve Villages …..in NY State

GOVERNOR PATTERSON supports his plan.

Did anyone ask your opinion ?

You can go to the web site http://www.oag.state.ny.us/ and click on

Reforming Local Government

There you will find a Video of a speech which Atty. General Andrew Cuomo gave on Dec.11, 2008
Below is a quote from his website:
ATTORNEY GENERAL’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ENABLE REFORM AND EFFICIENCY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

“On December 11, 2008 Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo proposed legislation to empower communities across the state with the ability to fundamentally reorganize and consolidate local governments. Simply put, our system of local government is broken. It has been outpaced by globalization, regionalization, and an ever changing marketplace. The density of local government in New York is astounding. There are 10,521 overlapping government units, providing duplicative services creating needless, wasteful bureaucracies.

Given the current fiscal crisis New York is facing, reorganization of some governmental entities to more efficiently provide vital services is needed. In some cases, consolidation or dissolution may be necessary to reorganize government to meet the needs of their communities. However, current law is unable to solve the problem for it is inconsistent, often nonsensical, poses legal barriers, and includes anachronisms that make operational reform virtually impossible. (cont. on page 6 )

Page 6……
The Attorney General is proposing legislation that streamlines existing processes, eliminates inane inconsistencies, and strikes from the law offensive anachronisms such as requiring property ownership in order to vote in a special town election on a proposition to consolidate water districts.
You can now see what a complex issue the Dissolution of Village and Town Governments has become……………………..
But is it as complicated as Albany would have you believe ?
There have been independent studies done which strongly suggest that the dissolution of Towns and Villages will not hold taxes at their present rate and may even create more cost. The provision of services which is now administrated by your local Town or Village government would then be provided to you by the County and administrated by County Officials.

The County would then need to hire employees and provide benefits for those employees to provide functions now done by elected local officials such as the Village Mayor who receives as little as $ 5,000. Per year in small Villages and a Board of 4 Trustees who each receives $ 3,500. This amounts to a total of $ 19,000 yearly for the services of a Mayor and Board of Trustees. Other services are provided by part time employees who do not receive the same pay or benefits as full time County Workers.

Where is the Savings ?

The Governor would have you believe that by contracting with “private contractors” to provide County wide services there will be a savings. Anyone who has run a small business knows that to save any money the “private contractors” would have to be gigantic corporations who were able to make profit on enormous volume. Small local contractors and local medium range corporations would not be competitive and would have to go out of business or allow themselves to be purchased by these large corporations. As we all know once the large corporations have their foot in the door and have wiped out the local small business competition, the prices will go up.

If all this is starting to sound like Big Government supporting Big Business at the expense of the citizen/ taxpayer …..keep reading.

Think about a local election in your Town or Village.
· Did the Candidate receive coverage on the TV or Radio News ?
· Did the Candidate purchase advertising spots on Radio or Television ?

Now picture what it will be like when the Towns and Villages have been dissolved and all elections are for County Level positions. The Candidate will have to campaign across a large territory and will need
$ MONEY $ to purchase radio and Television Advertising.

Page 7………
Looks like the average citizen will not be able to afford to run for County office without financial help from a large group of supporters who give $ MONEY $. Would this make it harder for you to run for office ? How many favors will this candidate owe to Party Leaders and large contributors ?

The Governor and Atty. General Cuomo would have you believe that they are empowering citizens by making it easier to start proceedings to dissolve Towns and Villages but the opposite is true……the dissolution of Towns and Villages dilutes the power of your one vote and the new law states that you do not have to be a property owner in the Town or Village to start the dissolution process or vote on it. This dilutes your property rights. If this is not enough to make you stop and think here is another bit of info.

LET’S DO THE MATH………………..

· In a Town or Village of 2,500 voters your one vote counts for .0004% of the total.
· In a County of 10,000 voters your vote counts for .0001% of the total votes

Your vote in this example has lost 75% of it's strength to elect an official.

Plug in the numbers for your Town or Village which is in danger of being dissolved and then plug in the numbers for the County in which you live to see what strength your vote has now and what it will have when you are voting with the rest of the County.

Mr. Cuomo uses the consolidation of school districts as an example of a successful consolidation carried out in NY State in the past. This is a quote from his website: “Take for instance school districts. In 1947, a statewide Master Plan for School District Reorganization was enacted an although not a compulsory plan for reorganization, the Master Plan guided state level efforts to encourage reduction in the still-large number of school districts. The result was the reduction of the number of schools from 10,000 to less than 700 today. “

Did the quality of education improve since you were a high school student ?

Did costs go down ?

I find it interesting that Attorney GENERAL CUOMO should use the phrase “carpe diem” to reinforce the idea that “ NY State should “ sieze this moment” to abolish Towns and Villages and with them our strength to vote and our property rights. This phrase “carpe diem” is a quote from the Roman Nobleman and Conquerer, Quintus Horatius Flaccus a rather rich and ruthless fellow.

We know what happened when the Romans decided that Big Government could just keep on growing !

Page 8……..
Cuomo Dissolves Villages ( Cont from pg 7 )
Concerned Americans Newsletters aim to be fair so below are excerpts from the Buffalo News and a Paper by a Binghampton professor. If you wish to discover for yourself the many opinions on this subject follow up on these and other articles on the internet.
A Story in the Buffalo news states: The proposal affects only local governments and does not include counties or cities. The state cannot mandate any of the consolidations. The plan makes it easier for citizens to dissolve local agencies and even villages. It allows 10 percent of the voters or 5,000 people, whichever is less, to petition a local entity to begin its dissolution or consolidation process. A local vote by residents would then be held, and, if approved, the targeted entity would have to dissolve or consolidate operations.
Local entities also could start the process. Under the plan, special districts would be able to dissolve themselves. A referendum would be required to dissolve a town or village.
The Cuomo plan also gives expanded powers to county governments to dissolve local entities, subject to a countywide referendum.
The idea did not sit well with some local government officials.
"It sounds like it's giving counties the ability to abolish towns. I don't know why counties are any more qualified to think that local governments are good or bad within them," said Jeffrey Haber, executive director of the Association of Towns of the State of New York.

And a Binghampton NY professor who has written a 16 page study on this subject states:
( Google this Title and read his whole paper )

Is Governance Eroding the Boundaries of Local Government?
Thomas AP Sinclair, Associate Professor
Department of Public Administration
College of Community and Public Affairs
Binghamton University
sinclair@binghamton.edu
“How do theories of governance and institutionalism address the increasingly
tenuous relationship between village governments and their residents? The fundamental
activities of some local governments in this new era of governance are under scrutiny.
Specifically, American villages and towns (or townships) are being encouraged to share
municipal service delivery, consolidate operations, or even dissolve as local governments.
Are trends toward intersectoral governance and market based service delivery
contributing to the erosion of boundaries that once distinguished viable communities?
Villages in the state of New York provide good cases for this theoretical inquiry because
residents can create these governments of general jurisdiction, and dissolve them, without
any approval from the towns within which they are nested, or the state government. The
paper argues that the rise of governance with its distributed responsibility and diffused
accountability, under some circumstances, is decoupling the traditional linkage between
services and geographic local governments.