Pay to play
I found last week’s Hugh Reynolds column on Pay to Play disturbingly accurate. I have no idea what will it take to get our elected officials in Albany to live up to their elected office. How disappointing has Cuomo been (whom I voted for) corrupting the board that he appointed to look into corruption, undermining the campaign reform that he said he was for, and accepting the Independence line when he said he wouldn’t when he was running, and then said he hadn’t accepted it when he already had.
And Assemblyman Cahill (whom I also voted for) who voted to pass on a large hike in Safety Net costs to the counties, and then cut off our county’s extra percent sales tax because he wanted to force the Legislature to pick up the costs from the towns, which it was already doing.
Prepare for more irony if he gets reelected, as he will probably pull the same sales tax stunt with election costs. The irony being that he co-sponsored the bill that allowed for the passing on the costs to towns.
Thomas Kadgen
Shokan
Tipping the scales
Hugh Reynolds, Ulster Publishing’s political columnist, reported that Ulster County Family Court candidate Kevin Bryant told the Conservative Party interviewing committee that he appreciates their pro-life position.
This admission and agreement may well have violated the Canons of Judicial Conduct which clearly states that judicial candidates must exhibit impartiality in all matters that can be presented before the court.
Bryant’s partiality highlights his political inexperience while also exhibiting a lack of judgment that would sorely impact his ability to perform the job of Family Court.
Please consider this important issue when voting in the Democratic Primary on Sept. 9.
Geraldine Ryan
Saugerties
The definition of carpetbagger
In Mark Rosen’s letter of August 7, he asks “Just who is the carpetbagger?” in the congressional election NY-19. Well, let’s look at the definition of carpetbagger according to the dictionary: “a non-resident or new resident who seeks private gain from an area often by meddling in business or politics.” In 2011 Sean Eldridge, who was born in Canada and raised in Ohio, and his husband, purchased a $5 million estate in Garrison ,New York in addition to their home in the city. This was in preparation for Mr. Eldridge to run for a congressional seat in that district according to a New York Times article from July 10, 2013. That congressional run did not happen as another worthy candidate was already on the Democratic ticket. So Mr. Eldridge and husband decide to buy a house in Shokan in January 2013, and immediately Mr. Eldridge decides to run for a congressional seat, at the age of 27, in a district he has lived in for less than two years. Mr. Eldridge has certainly “meddled” in local businesses by using his husband’s vast fortune to loan to private businesses in the area. Would he be trying to curry favor in the election? Sure seems fishy to me.
On the other hand, we have a decorated army veteran, who is scored by govtrack.us as a centrist Republican based on his demonstrated voting record. He has been a lifelong resident of New York State and a long-time resident of this area.
So Mr. Rosen, the answer to your question is crystal clear, Sean Eldridge is a carpetbagger, let’s send him packing in November. I’m sure he can find another district just ripe for the picking.
Gregory Kleen
West Saugerties
Vote yes on rail trail
Next week, on Aug. 19, the Ulster County Legislature will have before it a vote on Resolution 275, which can finally put to bed the controversy over, and definitively set the direction of, the Ulster and Delaware rail corridor. The resolution calls for segmented rail with trail, with trail-only from Kingston through the Ashokan, and tourist railroad operating west of Boiceville.
As a public resource, the corridor is currently vastly underutilized in regards to its potential for public benefit. Projections for the Kingston-Ashokan sector as a multi-use trail are for 105,000 local resident uses each year versus only 1,000 local resident riders last year on the train. A projected additional 35,000 in new trail tourist activity dwarfs the 3,000 tourists riding the train last year, and is significantly greater than even the most optimistic Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR) projections of 26,000 theme-train riders.
There is widespread and growing support for the conversion to a multipurpose recreational trail. Significant funding is already in place, totaling over $11 million, for planning and construction of key segments of the Kingston-Ashokan sector, and momentum would suggest the very real possibility for further grant funding as design and construction proceed.
The “Rail with Trail” proposal, advanced by the CMRR — submitting no professional third party studies documenting cost estimates or engineering feasibility — has been thoroughly vetted and found to be economically and technically unworkable by multiple professional studies. And despite the laudable efforts of the many volunteers, the CMRR in several regards has been less than an ideal tenant — unable to deliver promises, unwilling to produce statements documenting financial position, paying less than $35,000 in total lease payments, and creating relationships with city and county neighbors and officials often characterized as adversarial.
With only a little over a year and a half left on the lease, the Legislature should act now to set policy direction so that the county can begin planning and the CMRR can plan for transition. The resolution is not binding in any fiscal sense. Planning studies to which the resolution will open the door are already covered by grant funds, and development of the trail will be professionally cost estimated before any construction commences so that fiscal decisions can then be made on unfolding segments.
Legislators should vote yes to pass Resolution 275.
Patty Goodwin
Glenford
An easy choice
On Aug. 19, we encourage all members of the Legislature to vote in favor of Resolution 275. This resolution, which reaffirms the county’s intent to develop a trail only on the lower part of the U&D corridor while supporting and encouraging a tourist train west of the reservoir, provides a win-win compromise. The U&D corridor is long, and with a clear policy of segmented rail and trail, the benefits of both are within reach. A trail from Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir will bring benefits in many forms: new tourism spending, improved public health, increased mobility, and a renewed sense of public investment in this often-maligned part of our county.
We look forward to the future, when Ulster County residents will wonder why this seemed like such a difficult choice, as they gaze out over the Ashokan Reservoir from their bicycles (or strollers!), and then head off to ride the scenic train to Phoenicia. To ensure that future, we must act now. Urge your County Legislators to vote “yes” on Resolution 275!
Andi Turco-Levin
Chair, Kingston Land Trust, Inc.
Protest fracking at the fair
Now is really not the time to assume the anti-fracking movement has enjoyed a political victory. There is lots of political support for New York fracking in Albany and in western counties — even a lawsuit for Gov. Cuomo, demanding it. I personally know a family near Binghamton who signed one of the thousands of gas leases in Broome County. They plan to move to Florida when their water becomes undrinkable!
Gov. Cuomo is still the decider. Now is the time to let him know we are still strong, still serious. “Governor’s Day,” Thursday, Aug. 21, at the New York State Fair in Syracuse is the perfect opportunity. We will have a large, noisy rally in front of its main entrance from 11–3 with speakers at 12:30 p.m. We’ll stand together to say no to fracking and yes to a renewable energy economy that protects our most vital resources, public health and agriculture, to remind Governor Cuomo that this is still OUR government.
NYAF, New Yorkers Against Fracking, has local buses leaving that morning. Please reserve a bus seat online. Search for our group on Facebook or go to nyagainstfracking.org.
Joan Walker- Wasylyk
Woodstock
Join the family! 
