Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Gallatin Democrats Chose Candidates

The Gallatin Democrats are running a full slate of experienced candidates in the upcoming election.
(L-R) John Reilly , Lisa DeLeeuw, Steven Sorman, and Tom Toigo. 
Not pictured is Tia Denenberg
John Reilly, an attorney and land use expert, and currently a member of the Gallatin. Board of Assessment Review is running for one of the two open Town Board positions .

Lisa Deleeuw is the current Town Clerk and Assessors Clerk, positions she has held since 2003, seeks to continue her work in those positions.

Steven Sorman has been a Gallatin Town Board Member for the Past 8 years. Prior to that he was on the Town Planning Board for 2 years. Before moving to New York in 1994, he was an elected member of the Marine on St. Croix, MN Town Council for 10 years. He is running for Town Supervisor.

Tom Toigo, a current Town Board Member has in the last many years served as the Gallatin Building Inspector, Zoning Officer, Assessor, Chairman or the Board of Assessment Review and has been a member of the Milan Fire Dept. Tom seeks to continue his service to the town and is running for the remaining Town Board opening.

Rounding out the slate is Tia Denenberg, current and for many years, Gallatin Town Justice. In addition to her service to Gallatin she is an Arbitrator/Mediator working at State and National levels. She has served in Federal posts under three U.S. presidents.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

 Steven Sorman for Gallatin Supervisor

Steven Sorman has served as an elected Gallatin Town Board member for the past 8 years. He was on the Gallatin Planning Board from 2002 to 2004.

From 2000 to 2007 Mr. Sorman was the President of the Ancram Preservation Group. In 2003 he served on the Ancram Bicentennial Committee. He has been a member of the Gallatin Residents Association since its inception. From 1984 to 1994 he was an elected town council member in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota.


He is a self employed artist with an international exhibition record . Under the aegis of the U.S. Information Agency he has traveled to Iceland, Czechoslovakia (1998), and Japan to lecture and conduct workshops. He taught painting and drawing at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 1975 to 1979. He also built a hand papermaking facility at the school and taught a course in papermaking as well. In 1983 I directed a graduate seminar in printmaking at Indiana University. He has been on the faculty (at large) of Vermont College since 1993 and has worked with a graduate student on 4 separate occasions. From 2007 to 2010 he commuted to Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he was the Padnos Chair of Art and Design.  He taught painting and printmaking and in collaboration with the writing department, a course titled “Word and Image to Book”. He also built a hand papermaking facility and taught a course in that.

Steven Sorman has been married to Melissa Mayo Sorman since 1971. She is a garden designer. Their daughter, Clare, 35, lives in Minneapolis.

Listen to an interview that Steven Sorman did on @Issue on WGXC
See profile in Register-Star 

Friday, September 23, 2011

Ethics and Competency are on the Ballot This November


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This year in Columbia County, voters are going to have a real choice. They can choose whether to support the same old bunch of people, who don't seem to get much done. Or they can chose the incredibly qualified Democrats who are running Countywide this year.

Competency!
(l-r) Richard Koweek, Peter Stoll, Eugene Keeler, Dr George Davis

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Judge Richard Koweek for County Judge
Richard Koweek grew up and has lived is entire life in Columbia County. He raised great kids here too.

He's practiced most every kind of law that is handled at County Court. He was also elected City Judge in 2009 and currently sits in Hudson City Court. That experience will serve him well on the bench. It will also serve the people of Columbia County well. His opponent is sorely lacking the broad based experience that Judge Koweek brings to the bench.

County Court jurisdiction is broad and diverse, and the position of County Court Judge is multifaceted. It requires a person who can deal with emotional family issues with sensitivity and understanding yet is firm and forthright when dealing with people who have harmed others. He also understands the legal complexities of estate and civil practice. But most of all, he is fair and respects all who come before the Court.

Judge Koweek’s background, temperament, and experience uniquely qualify him to be the next Columbia County Court judge
Visit Judge Koweek's website.
Judge Koweek has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic CommitteeWorking Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation



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Peter Stoll CPA for County Treasurer
Peter Stoll is a Certified Public Accountant licensed and registered in New York State with extensive audit and income tax experience. He also has an extensive knowledge of information technology, financial systems, and internal controls. Skills that have been sorely lacking, as our county has thrashed back and forth from one unthought out scheme after another.
Peter Stoll has managed the finances for several mid-size businesses for the past 35 years. In this way he has developed the skills required to manage, monitor, and control the way public money is spent in Columbia County. He has a record of implementing major cost savings. Something that the next few years are going to require. He is eager to put his skills to work for the benefit of all of us, and to help reduce the cost of managing the County’s government.

These times require that we seek out and hire only the best people we can find to help solve our financial situation. That is what elections are supposed to be about, hiring the best person for the job at hand. We have found the best person for the job. He is Peter Stoll, the only CPA in the race.
Learn more about Peter on his website.
Peter Stoll has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic CommitteeWorking Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation


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Eugene Keeler for District Attorney
Gene Keeler is an institution in Columbia County. He is a former elected district attorney and has held the positions of public defender, conflict public defender, and, currently, director of legal and advocacy services at COARC. Gene holds a J.D. degree from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He is an attorney with 30 years of general practice that includes criminal law and elder law, and is a licensed master’s-level social worker.Gene Keeler knows what is wrong with the system, because he has seen it from every side.

He has been telling the people of this county that the system is rotten and broken for years. Everyone knows about the cronyism, favoritism and shoddy work at the DA's office. But only one person was willing to stand up and call it out for what it was. That man is Gene Keeler. Lots of people have no problem with what goes on there. Because they figure that if they ever need to get off of a DWI or a domestic assault, that there familial, business or political connections, will get them off. When they have issues with the police or the DA's office, everything is just taken care of, with easy sentences if it even goes to court and rarely does anyone read about it in the paper.

But the regular Jane or Joe, who work hard, pay their taxes try to be good citizens, get the book thrown at them, in order to keep the conviction rate high at the DA's office. Political connections should not buy you a "get out of jail free card". Gene has promised to end the “get out of jail free” program for the well-connected. Instead he will give all citizens equal treatment under the law.  Isn't that what we should all expect?

He cares about justice, not statistics. While at the same time, he will make sure that all evidence gets to court and will ooperate fully with the police and community agencies. He will work full time to save the taxpayers money, and will work especially hard to assist victims and to lock up hard-core criminals.

It's time to clean up the mess at the District Attorney's office and stop playing political games with people's lives. Gene will make it a place where all of the citizens of Columbia County will feel that they have an impartial and fair person sitting in the prosecutors chair. Eugene Keeler is the right person for District Attorney.

Eugene Keeler has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic Committee  Working Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation

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Dr. George Davis for County Coroner
Dr. Davis has served one four year term as County Coroner. He is also the only doctor in recent memory to serve as Coroner. Shockingly, the Coroner's position does not require any medical training at all. All that is required is getting the most votes on Election Day. 

Not many people understand what a corner does. Most people think that the coroner pronounces people "dead". In fact the coroner often gets to the scene quite a while after a person has died. What the coroner mostly does, is investigate why or how the person died. In essence the coroner is the advocate for the deceased.

Dr. Davis has four years experience as County Coroner. He has 30 years’ experience in family practice medicine in Columbia County. He has done extensive training in death investigation. He has a detailed knowledge of the legal system and ethics, and holds a Master’s Degree in bioethics, along with extensive experience in grief work.

He is the advocate for those who have no voices. He is the compassionate doctor who tends to the grieving families. He is the only candidate in the race for coroner with the education, experience and medical training to do the job properly.

He has earned the thanks and apprecaition from so many people in Columbia County, because he was there for them at one of the worst times in their life. He's earned their respect and he should have your vote. Keep the doctor at the corner's office.

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Friday, November 7, 2008