Rockland County Times Endorsements for Election Day, November 3

In the Town of Stony Point we recommend the Republican slate. Candidates from the Republican Party have dominated Stony Point politics in recent years with the exception of outgoing Supevisor Geoff Finn, a Democrat who incidentally has endorsed Republican supervisor candidate Councilman Jim Monaghan. The town board has made some strides promoting economic development, avoiding tax hikes and achieving general progress in the past two years. They deserve a chance to continue, particularly when two of the three Democratic Stony Point council candidates (Dominick Posillipo and Mike Ehlers) have shown little prior inclination toward public service and lack resumes or qualifications typical of public servants. Democratic supervisor candidate Luanne Konopko is qualified for the position, but there is no reason to disturb Monaghan’s positive momentum at this time. Lastly, it’s time for Robert Burns to retire as Democratic chairman.

In the Town of Clarkstown we recommend a protest vote (write-in) of your choice. Both sides of the aisle have dumped unprecedented amounts of money into the Clarkstown supervisor race of Alexander Gromack (D) vs. George Hoehmann (R). Unfortunately, both sides have come far short in running anything resembling a positive, honest campaign. We do not expect every campaign to be free of negative ads and mailings but this year’s Clarkstown race has set the record for meanspiritedness in Rockland politics and as a result we give both sides a vote of no confidence. This is local politics, folks, all of our children go to school together. As for the Clarkstown Ward proposal: the movement for the ward resembles sound and fury signifying nothing. If it’s such a splendid idea, every town would be doing cartwheels to implement it. The ward system would indeed be great for Ramapo, but not necessarily for Clarkstown or elsewhere. Vote for it if you like it, but don’t expect a silver bullet protecting your town from “the block vote.”

In Orangetown we recommend a vote for two newcomers; Supervisor candidate Michael Moroney (R) and council candidate Chris Smith (D). Incumbent Democratic Supervisor Andy Stewart has filled the role adequately during his four years, but the town could use a spark. Moroney would hopefully grasp the leadership aspects of the supervisor role and guide the town to brighter horizons. Smith is an energetic soul in his mid-30s who has shown a solid understanding of public affairs, good people skills and a well-rounded political approach. He would be an asset to the town.

In Ramapo the Rockland County Times editorial board emphatically recommends the Ramapo United ticket of Michael Parietti, Bill Weber and Tim Scott. Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence’s selfish and destructive tenure must be put to bed. His most recent act of malfeasance has been to recruit a convicted felon who lives in New Jersey named Samuel Tress to be his running mate, using his influence with the Ramapo block vote to oust the talented Democrat Daniel Friedman from office.

In the County Legislature we recommend votes for Patsy Wooters (D) and Laurie Santulli (R). Wooters is running for Joseph Meyers’ old seat and is recommended by Meyers, which is reason enough for us to recommend her. Santulli is facing off against Richard Diaz, who took the seat of Frank Sparaco after he was ousted from public life for the sin of renting his basement to his cousin. Santulli looks like she’d be a welcome addition to the world of public service and the Legislature needs to maintain some balance between Republicans and Democrats or else County Executive Ed Day will have trouble moving the county forward.

The Rockland County Times also announces its disapproval of the campaign finance practices of both the Rockland Democratic and Republican parties. Rockland Democratic Chairwoman Kristen Stavisky’s family has profited in literally the hundreds of thousands of dollars off of mailers purchased from her husband’s political consulting company by Rockland Democrats, while Rockland GOP Chairman Lawrence Garvey was found by the NY Post to have apparently opened a shell LLC to pour money into George Hoehmann’s campaign through the Reform Party. The legality of this exploitation of the infamous LLC loophole is in question and Gromack has requested an investigation.