Voters endorse Albany corruption
As an activist involved with No Saugerties Casino — one of the organizations working to defeat Ballot Proposition One (the casino referendum) — I’ve learned two things from this experience. The first is that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will think it is true. Despite the facts, people chose to accept Albany’s word that it would be an economic development engine. The second is that people talk a good game about disliking Albany’s corruption and being fed up with politicians, and yet, when presented with an opportunity of acting on their feelings, they chose to vote yes on a ballot proposition that was tainted and corrupt from its inception to the final wording on the ballot. Unfortunately, by passing the casino referendum, New Yorkers who voted yes affirmed and countenanced the corruption/deceit that they rail against.
Susan Puretz
Saugerties
An honor to have served
Although the election this year did not turn out as I had hoped, I would like to congratulate Bill Schirmer as our newest Town Board member. Bill is a great guy and I’m sure he will do a good job. As for me, it’s been on honor and privilege to serve the residents of Saugerties as a town councilman for the last eight years and the residents of the village as a trustee for the eight years before that. Saugerties is a special town with special people. Get involved, make a difference and make our town it a better place to live. I will now spend more time with family and friends and maybe even travel a bit. Thank you to everyone for your support over the years.
Bruce Leighton
Saugerties
Mayone thanks supporters
I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all those who supported me throughout this campaign. I truly appreciate it. A special thank you to my family and friends for your hard work and dedication. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the staff of the Post Star and Saugerties Times. It has been a pleasure to work with all of you. This campaign has been an enjoyable journey. I look forward to seeing everyone again in the future.
Ray Mayone
Saugerties
Helsmoortel is back and ready to work
Thank you to the Saugerties voters that returned me to office. Thank you to my friends and volunteers that worked very hard for me. The goal now is the good health of Saugerties. I look forward to working with the Town Board, all town committees, the public and the employees of the town of Saugerties. I have missed working for the town the last two years but I must treat that time as a learning experience as I feel I learned a lot during that time. My desire and history of working hard, the good people I can surround myself with and the assets that Saugerties has to offer as a town are ingredients for success in the present and future.
Greg Helsmoortel
Supervisor-elect, Saugerties
Unopposed, but not unappreciative
I’d like to take this opportunity to express a heartfelt thank you to the people of Saugerties for reëlecting me as your receiver of taxes. I am truly overwhelmed by your kindness and support. Although I ran unopposed, please know that I do not take you for granted. I am working every day to find more efficient ways to run my office and I have submitted my budget to the supervisor with a 5 percent cut in expenses for 2014.
I want to thank the chairmen of the Conservative, Democrat and Republican parties for their help and support as well as all of the folks who came out on those hot summer nights to attend their party’s caucuses and support me. I also want to thank everyone who ran for an office this year. It is not easy to put yourself and your family out there and I truly believe that all candidates want the best for this beautiful community and I applaud them all.
In closing, I promise to continue to honor your vote by providing the level of service to this town that you have become accustomed to. Again, thank you Saugerties.
Suzi Filak
Saugerties
Bruno grateful for support of voters, parties
I want to thank everyone who showed their faith and confidence in me by reëlecting me to serve as your Councilman for another four years. I am looking forward to continue serving all of the residents of Saugerties and working with my fellow board members to make our town an even better place than it is today.
Thank you to the Republican Party for endorsing my candidacy and also thank you to both George Heidcamp and the Conservative Party and Len Bernardo and the Independence Party for their endorsements.
I pledge to continue to represent all of the residents of Saugerties and will make myself available 7×24. My home number is 246-5010 and my cell phone is 845-399-8577.
Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart and may God Bless America.
James Bruno
Saugerties
Schirmer takes public trust to heart
I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the residents of Saugerties who came out to support me on Election Day. I am truly honored that so many placed their confidence in me to serve on our Town Council. I look forward to working with our supervisor, council members and department heads to put us on the path to greater economic prosperity. I believe many challenges lie ahead, but working in the spirit of cooperation I think we can achieve the goals of stronger economic development and greater financial security, while simultaneously striving to maintain the outstanding character of our community.
I would like to once again say thank you to my fellow Town Board candidates for running positive, respectful campaigns. We all remained focused on the issues and avoided much of the negativity. As a newcomer to the political process I found this very refreshing.
Finally, I made a pledge throughout my campaign to support open government and make myself available to our residents. As such, I’d like to provide contact information. I can be reached by phone at (845) 246-3263 or email at schirmer.saugerties@gmail.com. Purposeful and effective democratic government requires open dialogue and active input from the constituents, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.
Now that you have placed your trust in me, I resolve to do my absolute best to serve the people of Saugerties over the next four years.
Bill Schirmer
Saugerties
Join the family! 
