So, What's Next?
We have great news for Woodbury residents today, but before we get to that, I want to take a slight, but no less relevant, detour …
If you want to understand why Harris lost, it’s exactly because of shit like this.
How can you trust the Democrats when you have a Congressman — Pat Ryan — posing for photos with the guy who’s causing an environmental catastrophe impacting the lives of thousands of your constituents?
This photo was taken the night before the Election, on the same day that the Congressman’s office couldn’t clarify or explain when he’d be visiting South Blooming Grove again.
As it turns out, he was already there.
Above: Pat Ryan posing for photos with Joel Stern (right) and the other schmuck, whose name I can’t be bothered to remember, because I had less than three minutes to do so. (If you don’t get the joke, help yourself to literally any South Blooming Grove Village meeting over the last two years recorded by our friends at Preserve Blooming Grove.)
The answer is: You can’t trust the Democrats, and people voted accordingly.
With the (state and national) Republicans, they do exactly what they’re advertised to do, for better or worse. I can’t say the same for the Democrats, a party I spent most of the 21st Century as a member of.
For that reason, every single Democrat who puts the corporations and the wealthy ahead of the people needs to go.
Whether that’s Fabbro and Freiband in Woodbury, Skoufis in the State Senate, Pat Ryan in Congress, Schumer in the Senate, it’s all of them, and it’s time we show each of them the door.
Otherwise, I sure hope you like fascism buddy, because that’s what you got now, and the corporate Democrats are the ones to blame.
So, that’s all I will say about the national stuff.
Ok. One more thing:
There is a new section on The Monroe Gazette. It’s called “Fascists & Weirdos,” and it’s going to cover the national stuff in greater detail.
If you’re a Monroe Gazette subscriber, you will not get these Fascists & Weirdos updates automatically.
I separated the newsletters because I know there are a lot of Trump supporters who read the local news stuff here, and I’m not going to beat you over the head with my opinion about him.
If you want to read “Fascists & Weirdos” there will be a separate sign-up to get those posts.
This is something I need to do for two reasons:
-The Monroe Gazette is not financially sustainable. It needs to expand, otherwise I’m going to be eating out of garbage cans for the rest of my life.
-I put people first, not politics, and I’m worried a whole lot of people are about to get hurt, and some people are going to sit there and go, “Gosh. I can’t believe this is actually happening. I thought he was exaggerating.” Well, it is happening. Elections have consequences, and I’m going to document those consequences so you remember for next time … Assuming there is a next time.
Think of The Monroe Gazette as a boat.
Everyone is welcome on the boat.
It doesn’t matter who you voted for. It doesn’t matter if you’re at Schul three times a day, or not at all. I don’t care.
You are welcome on this boat. There’s always going to be room for you.
But this other project? It’s your choice to read it, but it won’t impact this main newsletter. I’m going to keep my opinions on anything national over there for those who want it.
Why the separation? Because regardless of how screwy things are going to get — and they are going to get screwy — I have your back regardless of who you are, who you voted for, and how you want to live your life.
Everyone is welcome on the boat.
Now, let’s get to Woodbury …
Around these parts, the best news coming out of the 2024 Election is that incumbent Woodbury Village Trustees, Susan Fries-Ciriello and Victor Ferrarelli were re-elected, defeating the two dipshit Democrats funded by Wayne Corts and friends.
(See how all these things I just talked about tie together? The local Democratic party is rotten to its core too.)
I need some time to review the numbers and district breakdowns, which can all be found here. I also want to compare them with the total population for Woodbury (in other words, how many people did NOT vote last night?), and with the total voter turnout across New York State.
Understanding how many people did not vote, and figuring out how to reach them for 2025, is going to be important. Especially with Clovewood Kathryn and all her “cool” friends on the Town Board up for re-election.
It will not be so easy to dislodge them.
Nor will it be easy to primary Skoufis.
But we’re going to do both, and we’re going to be successful at it if we stick together.
Last night proved that when you organize and get out the vote? Anything can happen. That includes taking down Skoufis and Ryan on the Democratic side of the fence, and Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Do Nothing District Attorney, David Hoovler on the Republican side of the fence.
That’s why Woodbury residents should celebrate the big win.
Take a deep breath. Relax and refresh over the coming holidays. And then come January? Get ready for a fight.
Congratulations, Woodbury.
You are now half-way to restoring a functional democracy across the Town and Village of Woodbury. One that works on behalf of all people, regardless of faith or party.
And between now and then, I encourage you to keep showing up to Village Board meetings and asking for updates on …
The ethics investigations into Fabbro and Freiband
Speak out in support of tough new ethics laws that will allow them both to be removed from office for their verifiable and factual acts of malfeasance.
The following are some quick observations that I wanted to share since I don’t think any other media outlet is going to do this locally:
-I’d really like to know who that write-in candidate was. I don’t at this time. But I will find out for you asap.
-The difference between Hanhallah (Grand Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, City of Kiryas Joel Administrator, Gedalya Segedin, and others like Mayer Hirsch), and Wayne Cort’s, chosen candidates (Etzel and Keleman) and Vic and Sue was about 600 votes. What portion of those votes were Early Votes is not known at this time.
-I suspect this election will demonstrate that Early Voting is one way to defeat Hanhallah, and it will be essential to push for increased voter access measures like automatic, universal mail ballot voting for all citizens.
If you look at these numbers, they’re still a little too close for comfort and indicate that a massive chunk of people did not vote.
I encourage everyone to check out the National Vote at Home Institute. As demographics change and voter turnout remains low, this is going to be how you stop future attempts to hijack your local government: You make voting something that takes less than ten minutes to do.
-One other thing about Mail Ballot voting: It’s a mistake, and often a bigoted assumption, to assume that all because one is Haredi, that they will vote how the Rebbe tells them. It’s true that there is a Bloc Vote. Yes. You can see that with the district breakdowns in Highland Lake Estates and Woodbury Junction.
But.
It’s also true that a lot of my Haredi brothers and sisters face immense pressure to conform with the Rebbe’s desires. Giving them, and the rest of us, universal mail ballot voting allows them to vote, from the privacy of their own home, for whomever they want, without the Rebbe knowing. That is huge.
How huge?
There are some in the Satmar community already looking to crackdown on the independence mail ballot voting provides the community.
This is something to pay attention to over in South Blooming Grove, where Joel Stern had people going around and collecting everyone’s early mail ballot, or urging people to drop off their ballots to his UJC headquarters so that he can send them to the Board of Elections.
I filed a complaint with both at the New York State Board of Elections Election Law division about this.
I also mention it here to highlight that, if they’re taking those kinds of — potentially illegal — measures, it means mail ballot voting is something Hanhallah (both Grand Rebbes, in this case) fear.
And that’s why we have to fight for it.
Because if we’re successful? It could spell the end of “The Bloc vote” as we know it.
-I suspect this is not the end for Etzel Jr. or Keleman. I also suspect if he’s successfully removed from office for his factually verifiable ethics violations, it won’t be the end of Freiband either. All three men have run repeatedly for office in Woodbury over the last decade or so.
When you have nothing but time and other people’s money, that makes you dangerous.
So, Woodbury residents have to remain vigilant. These men are not gone. They WILL return. And next time, you better believe they’re going to have a lot more money to spend on deceptive ads.
-What happens next? November 14th, the Woodbury Village Board is holding a public hearing on the sewer moratorium. Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus is pushing hard for an exemption for Woodbury Common from that moratorium.
Woodbury residents have a choice:
A. You can tell Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus to go fuck himself, and implement the sewer moratorium until he gets off his ass and repairs the situation at Sewer District 1 at no cost to residents living within the sewer district. (That’s everyone in my readership: Chester, South Blooming Grove, Monroe, Woodbury, etc.)
B. You can say, “Yes. I’ll allow an exemption for Woodbury Common on the following four conditions:
Orange County agrees to indemnify Woodbury from any and all lawsuits brought against it for allowing an exemption.
Simon commits to building a pedestrian bridge over Route 32 as part of a developer’s agreement. (Remember: The Planning Board can’t force them to do this.)
Simon commits to building a train station as part of a developer’s agreement to alleviate traffic to the Common. (Ditto on the Planning Board front. They have to commit to this, the Planning Board can’t make them.)
Simon agrees to no longer issue $2B stock buybacks, and instead commits to raising the minimum salary to all Woodbury Common employees to $25 an hour plus medical benefits. If you have money for generous executive compensation and stock buybacks, you have the money to pay the people who work for you a living wage.
The choice is yours, Woodbury. But isn’t it nice to have a choice at all?
Under Etzel, Keleman, Freiband, and Fabbro, this wouldn’t be a discussion. Woodury Common and Neuhaus would have got everything they wanted, and there would be no sewer or building moratorium at all.
You did that. You fixed it.
Be proud. That’s what living in a Democracy is all about.