IF YOU SEE THIS VERY BUFF ENVIRONMENTAL TERRORIST CALL HOMELAND SECURITY!
He is also wanted for questioning by the Vietnamese Secret Police!

Land Use and Abuse

The CP/ZB Committee discussed changing Hamlin's character last night but did not come to any resolution. The forces lined up to protect our rural culture seem to outweigh the "sell it all off" group led by Norm Baas. No conclusions were drawn, given the poor turnout at the meeting, absent were Supervisor Warner and Councilman Evans among others. As summer comes attendance is likely to get worse. If the town had implemented a standing committee, like I and others had advocated for years, then these important issues could have been debated without the pressure of an artificial deadline. These matters are too important to hurry.

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FRIENDS Support Community Center Research

At this month's Town Board meeting Nancy Jennejahn presented a letter urging the TB to form an committee to explore the possibility of building a Community Center which would include space for our library. Readers will remember that the Recreation Committee presented a similar request last month.

Due to the library's continued growth, its need for adequate permanent space must be addressed. The Friends urged the TB to form this committee with representatives from diverse community groups including seniors, scouts, Recreation as well as the library supporters. All involved want to ascertain the level of interest and commitment by Hamlin residents for building a Community Center.

Putting the squeeze on Hamlin.

Tonight's the Night....

Well, it's finally arrived, the night Norm Baas, Chairman of the Zoning Board has been waiting for. Tonight the Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Rewrite Committee will finally discuss his crusade to reduce lot sizes in RVL* districts. Oh, and in doing so, ruin the future of Hamlin's rural character.

Baas, for reasons clear only to himself, has harped, harangued and harried every influential citizen he could, for years, trying to persuade them that two acre minimum lots are the salvation of Hamlin. I have heard him argue this position, mostly in sessions of the Zoning Board where pontificating is inappropriate, yet relentlessly practiced by him. It is my opinion that the driving motivation for Mr. Baas to seek a reduction in lot sizes is that he doesn't like to say "No" to people.

Sounds silly doesn't it? But I cannot find another, legitimate argument for the position. The principle responsibility for any Zoning Board is, obviously, to uphold the zoning laws as established by our various legislative bodies. Baas doesn't see it this way. Over the years he has become convinced that the duty of the ZB is to "provide relief" to people who are appealing the restrictions which zoning laws impose on the uses of their land. In other words, he sees his job as overruling legislative decisions. There are many times when Baas is not legally able to do that, and whenever it happens he feels bad. He hates saying no to people. In fact, there seems to be nothing he likes more then to give successful applicants a warm sendoff with a delighted "Good Luck on your project!" as they depart a ZB hearing. This also is entirely inappropriate. A ZB hearing is not a contest or an awards ceremony, yet that is often how Mr. Baas acts. If he can't grant "relief," he's not happy. If he can overrule legislation, then he bids all a hearty farewell, and is clearly satisfied. He wants to reduce lots sizes in Hamlin because he doesn't like to turn down people's requests. I am convinced of it. Like the Supervisor, he suffers from the Santa Claus Syndrome.

Wanting to be well thought of and make people happy are fine motives, but they have no place on a Zoning Board. Personal feelings toward a person or their story is unsuitable for ZB members, they merely have to adhere to the law. They are a judicial body, not the "Queen for a Day" show.

Norm Baas has a problem. He has been using his political appointments to make himself feel good for so long that he has lost sight of his limitations. The ZB doesn't exist so its Chairman can feel like the beneficent Lord-of-the-Land.. Hamlin shouldn't have its rural character forever undermined simply because the Chairman feels uncomfortable refusing applications. Now is the time for the rest of the Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Rewrite Committee to say "no" to Mr. Baas. Hamlin needs some "relief" from him.


* RVL stands for Residential-Very Low Density. In this zoning district the minimum lot size is 5 acres. Most of Hamlin, and its agricultural land, is listed as RVL.

Echos of Kaboom

I hope my readers will forgive me if I'm not too sympathetic with Ed Evans' desperate letter in this week's Hamlin-Clarkson Herald. If anything, it tends to confirm what I have asserted earlier (See KABOOM, 4/11/03 below.)

Evans admits that he discussed his election predicament with David Rose, but never mentions if any previous conversations took place. He pointedly says nothing about the impact on George Todd's candidacy of his own effort to be renominated. He sounds as if the situation only involved himself and Rose. (Strangely, he refuses to even mention Todd's name!)

However, he later admits that half the Hamlin Republican Committee was convinced that pushing George Todd off the Board was the purpose of the entire drama. Apparently some people, with more intimate knowledge of party intrigues than myself, came to the same conclusion I did.

Evans presents a list of the unusual efforts he went to; writing to every committee member, seeking a private interview, having his wife give an impassioned speech about his dedication and achievements, etc. He never makes it clear whether these were spontaneous acts or had been plotted out previously with Rose. The throughness and apparent careful planning suggests the latter.

By far the least sympathetic parts of his complaint deal with his hurt over not being considered a "team player," and his claim that he was betrayed by the Supervisor. He moans, "I now have to concede that a person is a team player in town politics only if he/she keeps quiet about the inner workings of the political system. 'Don’t air out dirty laundry' are the words frequently used. Make the leaders look good all the time is the cry."

Come on, this is as disingenuous a statement as has ever been uttered in Hamlin.

Ed Evans has always been the consummate team player in Hamlin politics. He relished the role of Spin Doctor for every administration he served. Who could forget the infamous letter to the Town Board when he was promoting spot zoning for a favored citizen? He described a farmer's barn as a "cabbage factory" and a house on the State Park as a "security billet" in order to convince NYS that Moscow Road was littered with commercial businesses. His whitewashes of political shenanigans in the Hamlin Post are legendary. Whenever a Supervisor needed some smoke and mirrors he could count on Ed to create them. Like a good soldier, Evans would go out in the field and spread the party line-- to seniors, to firefighters, to the VFW, to anyone who would listen.

For Ed Evans to act surprised to learn that, "A 'team player' is what a handful of people say it is, depending on the moment," begs all credibility. For 12 years he has promoted, protected and propelled the "team player" scam in Hamlin. Now that he finds himself cut from the team he wants us to believe he never knew it even existed! Sorry Ed, that won't spin.

Evans claims, with some hint of anger, that he was not supported by the Supervisor in his bid for reelection. That's true, and in this case he might have some grounds for surprise. However, if Evans didn't see it coming then he wasn't paying attention. Obviously, somewhere along the line Austin Warner determined that Dave Rose's election to town board was the most important. Considering all the animosity in their past relations, we can only speculate that Rose had assembled a power block in the HRC and Warner felt compelled to align with it. Then, when Warner sensed that there was a "bloc of votes" which opposed dumping George Todd, the Supervisor jumped off of Ed's bandwagon without bothering to tell him!

Warner has pulled this kind of stunt before. He has never been known as "a stand up guy." If he thinks the wind is blowing in your favor, he'll be right there next to you. If that wind shifts however, Warner will be gone too.

There is no doubt that Warner initially supported Evans' bid for the board and the plan to dump Todd. He simply let Ed hang out in the breeze alone when he sensed that the political support for bailing on George didn't exist. Instead of standing up and showing his backing for Evans, he sat silently, staring straight ahead. That's typical. Unless Warner can play the bully, he doesn't have the sand to face up to an unpopular situation. He cut Evans off at the knees simply because supporting Ed might have cost him a little political currency. That's his character. Kaboom! Ho, ho , ho.

It's Not Your Father's Hamlin Anymore.

The article in Monday's D&C about the changing face of politics in Monroe County was very revealing. It showed that registered Republicans in Hamlin, like most other towns, no longer had a controlling majority. For more than thirty years Republicans represented more than 50% of voters, but by 2001 that number had slipped to 47.5 %.

Equally important, Republican registration shrank from its peak of 79% in 1971, a dramatic fall of 31 points!

Who gained from the Republican decline? The answer is significant. While Democrats picked up about 5 points and "Other" parties (Liberal, Conservative, Independence, etc.) also gained 5 points, the most dramatic rise was in the number of "Blank" or No-Party registrations. These independent voters saw an increase of more than 20%! That is a remarkable change and speaks volumes about voters attitudes in Hamlin and throughout Monroe County.

There are now more independent (not Independence, but No-Party) registrations in Hamlin than registered Democrats, and independent voters represent nearly 50% of the number of Republicans.

This data suggests several conclusions:

* There is a definite voter dissatisfaction with the two main political parties.
* An increased pride and identity in being an unaligned voter.
* It shows that, outside of the city, the Democrats have done a poor job of inspiring voters.
* A gradual, but consistent, dissatisfaction with the Republican Party.

To put this in perspective, a quick look at the changes in Monroe County registrations will be helpful. Hamlin data in [brackets.]

In 1971 voters were: % ....... In 2001: %...........Change: %


.....Republican: 62.3 [79]........... 35.6 [47.5]..........-- 26.7 [-31.5]

.....Democrats: 28.2 [17.4]....... 35.4 [21.8]............+ 7.2 [+4.4]

....."Other:" 1.7 [1.4]................. 5.6 [7.1]...............+ 3.9 [+ 5.7]

.....No Party: 7.8 [2.3]............... 23.4 [23.6]..........+ 15.6 [+ 21.3]



Conclusion? We can be sure that Hamlin is not the town it was thirty years ago. New people, most of them not natives, have located here. These residents often moved from the city where they were likely to be Democrats. A fast growing number of voters are independent minded preferring to view candidates and issues separate from party obligations. They then vote for the person, not the party.

As a long time "independent" I see nothing but positives for our community in these developments. The Hamlin Republicans seem, generally, to be stuck in the past. They don't really appreciate the change in demographic composition in the community. The Republicans have no forward-looking vision, the are mired in outdated concepts of the community. They are stuck "in the box," and it's an old fashioned box. The increased number of Democrats mean that eventually they will merge with the independent voters to create a party and candidates to challenge the status quo. When that happens they will have the votes necessary to bring Hamlin government into the 21st century. Finally.

Let us in!

TRYING AGAIN

April 23, 2003

Mr. Ed Evans
Mr. Ralph Dellarocco
Co-Chair of the Hamlin Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Rewrite Committee
Hamlin Town Hall
1658 Lake Road
Hamlin, New York 14464

Dear Sirs,

I must reiterate my objections to your committee's policy of barring the public from attendance at your meetings.

Your deliberations will effect every resident in the community. Your decisions will impact the property of every Hamlin tax payer. These meetings should be accessible to them as well.

From its inception this committee has been charged with writing revisions to the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning regulations. After the second meeting both Mr. Evans and the Supervisor determined that they would find a way to prohibit the public from observing the meetings. Their description of the committee as "advisory" is disingenuous and contrived.

I ask you again to reconsider your position of barring public scrutiny. That's not the American way.

Sincerely,
Peter Tonery
937 Moscow Road
Hamlin, New York 14464

Rickman Prevails!

The Hamlin Republican Committee rejected Austin Warner's plot to replace Kathi Rickman as Town Clerk at last night's nominating meeting. In a first round vote, Rickman was nominated to the ticket for this fall's election. It was a powerful statement. It showed that the committee did not believe Warner's personal attacks on Rickman and that they didn't support his empire-building ambitions. More than a few people, myself included, were surprised. It wasn't even a contest, the HRC rejected Warner's candidate out of hand.

In an equally surprising move, the Committee selected George Todd on a second round vote. The first vote did not produce a 51% majority for any candidate. Ed Evans received the fewest so he was dropped from the second ballot. This time Todd got the necessary votes. Next followed a "run-off" between Evans, who was the incumbent but resigned, and David Rose who sought the council seat in Evans' place. Rose got the nod. Ed Evans is out.

This too is a clear rejection of Warner's plotting. He, Evans and Rose had conspired to push George Todd off the Board. It required that Evans step aside to make room for Rose and then Ed would reenter the fray from the floor. They believed that Ed's service record and personal friendships would land him the nomination.

Sue Evans, Ed's wife, made an impassioned plea citing Ed's years of service and his many accomplishments. The Committee was unmoved however. When Ed had resigned in last month's meeting he was angry and adamant about not being able to "work with this Board." The tirade was intended to be an indictment of Todd and Shirley Hollink, but it didn't come off that way. The Committee must have taken him at face value. They seem to have decided that if Ed quit because of such strong negative feelings then that's what would be honored, not his effort to push George Todd out. It was a scheme that backfired.

Interestingly, a motion from the floor to nominate Evans for Supervisor was also defeated. Apparently, some of Ed's most ardent supporters thought the way to keep him on was to have him challenge Warner. The committee rejected the procedure. No new nominations were allowed without prior notice.

Congratulations to the HRC. They stood together, quietly but firmly, to make the statement that it was the group, not the ambitions of the Supervisor, which would decide their candidates. They sent a message. I think that message was this: Empire building at the expense of the community will not be tolerated.

Excellent Clarification!

I received the following email from Shirley Hollink yesterday, my apologies to all for not posting it right away. Since Shirley was present, it is a first person account of the NYC experience and describes why a limo was more cost effective then a taxi. Thanks for the clarification!


Peter,
I just read your latest column and thought I should clear up the Limo ride.
First of all, there were 7 people who went to New York City. The number of
people alone, was not conducive to using one taxi, or even a van. There is
no way all seven adults, AND their luggage- one checked bag and one carry-on
each for a total of 14 pieces of luggage-on the way to NYC You should be
aware there were at least 2 more pieces of luggage on the return trip which
were filled with all of the papers, catalogs, etc.... which we picked up
during the training sessions. So now we have seven people and 16 pieces of
luggage to go back to the airport for the flight home.
Not only is a limo cheaper than using one taxi, or van, we would have needed
at least two, but more likely three cabs to take us to the airport!!


As a side note, the total allowable meal expense per day in New York City is
$36!
When a breakfast of two eggs, toast, homefries and coffee costs you $18.00-

it doesn't leave much for lunch or dinner.

Shirley Hollink

Charles J. Guiteau, Shot President Garfield July 2, 1881


Acting Like an Assassino*

One of the dumbest things to emerge from Austin Warner's war on Kathi Rickman is the cheesy story circulating about her alleged "misuse of funds" for taking a limo from the airport in NYC. It seems that many months back Rickman and Deputy Clerk Sherry Dobson had to go to NYC for a state training program. At the airport they found that the cheapest fare into the city was by limo, so they took it. Warner and his cadre of klunkheads seized on the receipt for a limo service to circulate the impression that Rickman had misused town funds by treating herself to "luxury." This is so stupid, it's almost beyond words. Anyone with any experience traveling to NYC knows that limo service can easily be cheaper than a taxi. Most of the good hotels will even arrange limo service to get their customers back to the airport, since it costs less. Only the most gullible and unsophisticated person would believe this inane innuendo.

More importantly, in my view, is how low Warner will go with dopey "dirty tricks" like this puerile effort at character assassination. It so stupid and only the most inexperienced and sheltered members of the area could believe it. If this is the best reason Warner can produce to justify his sabotage of Rickman then we're in even more trouble than I thought.

* Italian for assassin.

Bursting with success

As the story below proves, the Hamlin Library has been a tremendous success. Circulation has increased by 73% over 2001 and it averages 1800 visitors a month! This is a phenomenal achievement, and shows that Hamlin residents are more intelligent and literate than the library detractors thought.

This success has brought with it growing pains however. The library has already outgrown its space and must expand. At the April Town Board meeting, Nancy Martin, of the Library Board of Trustees, outlined the dilemma and proposed a solution.

"Our abilities to enlarge our collection, provide more computer facilities and have programs of any size for children, teen and adults are curtailed by our small space," wrote Martin in the report. She points out that many programs for children and teens had to be held in St. John's Church because the library space was too small.

The Monroe County Library System recommends that a facility serving our population, 9355, should be at least 6000 sq. ft. The present space is a woeful 1624!

By comparison, East Rochester's library is 8000 sq. ft., serving 7000 people. Wheatland's facility is about 6000 sq. ft. serving 5100 folks.

As a result of this situation, the Library Board of Trustees has asked the Town to fund an expansion into the vacant dental office next door. While this growth will not meet the long term needs of the community, it will provide some much needed room for programming and an enlarging book collection.

Our library is a wonderful success story. Let's keep it going. Urge the Town Council to support Library expansion.

More on the Library's plans to come.

Sorry, Sports Fans.

A combination of work, school holidays, computer problems and no electricity in Baghdad all conspired to keep me from posting the last few days. I'm back at it now. Thanks for your patience.
PT



The 2003 Newbery Medal winner is Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Hyperion).


What a Success!

At the Town Board meeting on April 14, Nancy Martin of the Hamlin Public Library Board of Trustees gave a State of the Library report. The statistics are extraordinary.

* During 2002 the Library circulated 43,182 items compared to 24,941 in 2001. An astonishing increase of 73%!

* In 2002 20,386 patrons used the Library compared to 12,915 in 2001. An increase of 58% in walk in activity!

* The Hamlin Library had 5,037 registered users out of a total town population of 9,355!!!

* The Library staff designed and implemented over 50 programs for children and young adults. In addition they provided materials and guidance to families who "home school," gave Email and Internet training to residents who don't own a computer and provided an important "Welcoming Space" for young people to gather.

These are amazing statistics. It wasn't long ago that women such as Mary Smith, Nancy Martin, Lori Moses and many other people were fighting an uphill battle to create this Library. I remember the arguments from the opposition, the dumbest of which was, "Nobody's gonna use it!" Obviously these opponents didn't know the Hamlin residents they claimed to speak for.

Here's my own statistic from the Library's data:
The Library was used 4.6 times for every man, woman and child in town!

That's a heck of a success story. It also tells us something important about our community- we're a lot smarter than some of our leaders gave us credit for. Hamlin is a literate, READING community. I think that's something we can all be proud of.

The representatives from the Library made two additional presentations which I will discuss later.

THANKS, AND SPREAD THE WORD!

I've heard that some of the local pols claim they don't visit this website. Maybe that's true. Personally, I would want to read what's being said about me just so I'd know how to respond to someone else who's read it! Well, somebody must be reading. I am pleased to report that more than 1200 visitors stopped by last month! That averages to about 40 hits per day. More than the town site I'll bet. Thanks to everyone who has written or called or otherwise communicated with me, without your help this site would not be possible. The goal of trying to keep the public informed about local politics is a good one. I hope you find it a little entertaining too.
Thanks again.
PT

KABOOM!

Conspiracy theorists will have a ball with this one! The hot political rumor around town is that Ed Evans has been faking about not running for reelection. There is a plan afoot to nominate Ed from the floor at the Hamlin Republican meeting on the 22nd. This will appear to be an "honorary" action, but then the Warner/Evans/Rose faction will have enough votes to give Ed the nomination!

At first blush, you might think that the purpose of Ed's reentry into the race would be to defeat Warner's old arch enemy David Rose. That's not what's happening though. The truth is they are doing this to push George Todd out!

Amazing! It's no secret that Ed has a disdain for Todd, that he thinks that Todd doesn't work hard enough for the town. Warner doesn't care, but he sees this as a way to further solidify his power. By creating an opportunity for Rose to gain political office, and then returning his elfin ally to the other council seat, Warner will be guaranteed a majority. He can effectively marginalize Hollink and the occasionally independent Rath.

It's a great plan. It could only have been hatched by Rose. They must have been plotting this for a while. Evans has been whining for a few months about how he's tired and "fed up." But it's all been a smokescreen. The plan requires that Ed "retire," so Rose would innocently step forward to take Ed's seat and Todd would keep his. By having Ed nominated off the floor it wouldn't look like they were dumping Todd, only that Rose and Evans were "more popular." Todd would be expected to be the good soldier and concede.

In this way, they wouldn't hurt George's feelings, it would appear that Ed had won the nomination as the sentimental old favorite. Rose would stay clean because he never "intended" to run against Todd, "it just came out that way." Evans would sputter and bubble about how surprised and embarrassed he was. Warner would just stare straight ahead. Todd would take it like a man, and there would be no primary. "The Great Triumvirate," will have been born.

It really is a good plan and I'm sorry I had to spoil it. I think it required secrecy to succeed. But, like so many of Ed's and Austin's plans they just can't keep quiet. They probably got gleeful and prideful about their scheming and "just had to tell someone!" Well, now we all know.

Hey George, I'm sorry, you're a nice fellow. Maybe you should primary.

DISCLAIMER: I can't predict the future, I can only report what I hear. This could change. Evans could become so distraught because the cat is out of the bag that he retreats and actually retires. Rose and Warner might concoct something to mollify Todd so he won't make waves. Hey, maybe Rose will be so embarrassed that his cronies can't keep still that he'll drop out! Things could change.

Welcome!

If you see them, give a nice welcome to Hamlin's newest residents- John, Carol and Mara Dady. They just moved in along Sandy Creek. John is one of the famous "Dady Brothers" and Carol is one of the famous Culligan Clan. Mara is one of their famous kids.
Visit the Dady Brothers at http://www.dadybros.com
Go Irish!



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BOMBSHELL

Look for a political bombshell on these pages in the next day or two. I'm still checking it out but it will be a "Daisycutter," believe me.
PT

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Poet Honored- From left to right: Bill Smith, Majority Leader; Stephanie Polowe-Aldersley, Democratic Leader; William Benet, Legislator District 23; Dennis A. Pelletier, President, MC Legislature; M.J. Iuppa; Wayne E. Zyra, Legislator District 2.


Local Poet Honored

Teacher and Poet M.J. Iuppa of Hamlin was honored by the Monroe County Legislature for her contributions to the community. Ms. Iuppa is the Writer-in-Residence at St. John Fisher College. She has published more than 200 poems in magazines and books throughout the US and Europe. In addition, she teaches creative writing programs and residencies in schools in our five county area through BOCES, Young Audiences and Writers and Books. She has recieved numerous awards for her teaching including the "Teaching Excellence" and "Father Dorsey" awards from St. John Fisher and the "Writing in Rochester" award from Writer and Books.

(c) Thomas Nasty, The Hamlin Tribune

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Virtual Guillotine

In case you didn't see it, Supervisor Warner went on the defensive regarding the Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Committee in this week's Hamlin Clarkson Herald. He went to great lengths to describe his appointments and identify their area of expertise. At least, that's what I think he meant.

I'm gratified that my persistent criticism of the original composition of the committee has paid off. While the group is now much better balanced, the question still remains as to how the rest of the us are going to have our concerns represented. For example, there is just one person responsible for all of Huntington Park. That's a pretty heavy burden. Can this one person effectively represent more than 500 voters? Can she really know about and advocate for solutions to the many problems which are unique to this development? Can she even get the rest of the board, who don't live in HP, to listen? Will they understand?

While Warner followed my recommendations (and, gee, without giving me any credit) on staffing the committee, he still prohibits the public from attending the meetings. He offers a laundry list of things that citizens have to do if they want to be involved. The dialogue itself remains secret.

At least he's consistent about using other people's ideas. After I demanded that he publish the meeting minutes on the internet, behold, they will be published on the internet! (Aww, no credit again.)

Likewise, his record of awful communications with the community remains intact. Instead of publicizing and promoting these meetings, instead of encouraging public participation and open debate, instead of a proactive approach toward the tax-payer, Warner has once again taken the low road. The burden falls on the citizen to keep track, via the internet, of what issues have been discussed, the options under review, and the topics that will be coming up. If you have a concern, or an idea, or a counterproposal, well, good luck buddy. You can e-mail Ed Evans.

That's a comfort! You're certain to get equitable representation for your opinion, especially if it's contrary to Ed's. Or Norm's. Or Austin's. You can be sure your idea will be treated justly, and since you are prohibited from attending the meetings, you'll just have to take their word for it.

The Supervisor sees this as fair no doubt. Never mind the significant chunk of our population that don't have or can't use the internet. Like your average senior, or the family on the tight budget who can't afford it, or the typical middle age person who doesn't know how. I'm sure Warner will just encourage them to go to the Library and "communicate" from there.

Here's what a person will have to do: Go to the library, learn how to use the internet, read the minutes, go to the town hall, read the zoning code it refers to, think about it, go back to the library, get an e-mail address, learn how to send e-mail, write and send a letter to Ed. Now, don't worry about a thing! You've done your share!

Publishing the information in the newspaper and opening the meetings to the public seems much simpler and more effective.

Oh no! I just realized THIS is on the internet! All those tax-payers won't even get my "how to" message! How will they ever get to participate in this process? A process the Supervisor calls, "the most important task of this year."

They won't.

"Let them eat virtual cake!" saith the Supervisor!


***************************************************************



Guillotine , n. A machine which makes a Frenchman shrug his shoulders with good reason.
~ Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

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Question for the Day

Should we believe the rumor that it was the weight of a new throne being installed in Warner's lavishly remodeled office which collapsed the waterline in front of the town hall?

Frozen Firewood. Hello, Winter!

****************************************************

En Garde!

Later this month the Hamlin Republican Party will complete the set piece known as nominating candidates. To Austin Warner's credit he has done a good job of stacking both the Hamlin Republican Committee and the nominating committee with his supporters. In the case of the HRC, many of these people are completely new to politics, and don't know much about the political failures and abuses of their sponsor. They are just flattered to be "made guys" in the party.

A quick aside: The way most of Warner's new committee members got their position was by doing nothing more than attending two HRC meeting in a row. The committee can have up to four members from each voting district; there are 10 districts in town. Any vacancies from a district can be filled by appointment with no further qualification then attendance at two consecutive meetings. Warner and his future campaign manager, Ed Evans, found someone, an acquaintance or neighbor, dermined that they were registered Republicans and invited them to attend the HRC meetings. After two, these folks were appointed to the committee. It's called stacking. It's a tried and true political maneuver. It may not be legal, but that's how it's done. Good luck to the rest of the HRC- you snooze, you loose.

Back to the set piece. No one will be surprised when Kathi Rickman is denied the nomination for Town Clerk, even though she has many years of experience and is the incumbent. She is guilty of acting with integrity and challenging Warner's intrusion into her area of responsibility. Failure to obey, even when she does not report to the Supervisor, has doomed her.

The big surprise, at least to me, is that David Rose will be nominated to take the Town Board seat vacated by Evans. You will recall that in the last election, Warner inflicted the same stunt on Shirley Hollink that he's now laying on Rickman. Warner leveraged the HRC to give Rose the nomination, even as Hollink was the incumbent. (Notice the similarity? Both are woman that Warner can't "control?") Hollink however, wouldn't lay down and play dead. She got on the Conservative ballot, got the Democratic endorsement and beat Rose!

I was surprised then, as I am now. Rose's first nomination was a compromise. Warner loathed the idea of Hollink's reelection even more than he disliked Rose. I'm surprised now because I remember how much Warner seemed to despise David Rose. When he campaigned for Supervisor the first time, Warner went around this town vilifying Rose as the "evil power behind the (Kruger) throne." He ranted and raved, to anyone with ears, about what a bad guy Rose was, how untrustworthy, devious, etc, etc. I don't know what has been promised by one to the other, but I'll bet you that neither one trusts the other too much.

Whatever it is, it's probably not too good for the rest of us.

More on this later.

Update on the Tower

From Les Wilson:

Saw this in Scott Fybush's website - NorthEast Radio Watch. Nothing
official - apparently this deal is still in the works and has not been
presented to the FCC:

"Could Family Life Ministries' radio network soon be getting a real
Rochester signal? We're hearing a lot of talk about a certain religious FM
station in western Monroe County changing hands - and frequencies - soon..."

So I e-mailed him asking: "FCC's database isn't revealing anything about
this... only thing that comes to mind is the WMJQ license in Brockport. Am I
getting warm?"

Scott's response: "You're on fire! Now think a move to 104.9 and a tower
somewhere in Ogden and you'll be all set :-)"

(as of today - 4/1/03, still nothing in the FCC's database... but these
deals take some time before being submitted to the FCC for regulatory
approval)
******************************************
Thanks Les, sorry it took a few days.

Have you seen the new sign in front of the Town Hall??
Can you believe it's paid for by tax dollars!!??


*****************************************************
Bernie, thank you for the "bunker buster," you're a genius!
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We Deserve To Know!

As the Warner administration crumbles into secrecy and defensiveness the public must stand up and demand some communication from it! The Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Revisions Committee is the most urgent example. If this group is going to meet in secret to decide the future of our community we ought to have, at least, a little information.

I demand, and I know I speak for many other Hamlin residents, that this committee post minutes of their meetings on the internet and in the Town Hall. I challenge you to this, and do it soon.

Any group which insists on meeting behind closed doors obviously has something to hide. This group will surely deny it, but we can force their hand by demanding some kind of account of their discussions.

I realize that whatever is published will be simplified and sanitized but at least it will be something.

Remember fellas, even if you agree with this demand and post information, as you should, it in no way pardons or legitimizes the fact that you are barring the public from your meetings. It won't change the reality that you have all agreed to work in secret.

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Question for the Day

Do you think it was appropriate and ethical for the Supervisor to vote on motions regarding the Pavilion State Bank at the same time that he was a member of an Advisory Board to the bank?

He thought it was. He voted several times on issues in favor of the bank. He never recused himself.

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Ridiculous, Part Deu

According to the Town of Hamlin Directory 1996, which is the latest update, on page 14, it states, "The Hamlin Republican Committee meets the fourth Tuesday of the month. The meetings are held in the Town Hall and start at 7:30PM.. Thee public is welcomed to attend."

Up until this month these meetings were open to the public. At the meeting on 3/25 I was asked to leave because, "this meeting is for registered Republicans only." I left, but there was another person who was not a Republican who was in attendance and was allowed to stay. The fact that this man was not registered was known to the Supervisor, Councilman Evans and the Chairman of the Committee amoung others.

Honorable, upstanding people, wouldn't you say?


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FOILed again!

Today I filed two FOILs (Freedom of Information requests) for the following documents:

Information regarding any and all litigation filed against or on behalf of the Town of Hamlin during the period of January 1, 2002 to the present.

This information should include, but is not limited to, a list of all litigation, the names of the litigants, date of service, date of filing, trial or hearing dates, deposition dates, RJI number, court or docket number, copies of all Complaints, Answers and depositions of any and all kinds and any and all other records which may relate to any and all legal actions of which the town is a participant in during the above identified dates.

AND

Any and all records relating to financial transactions between the Town of Hamlin and Benderson 85-1 Trust (Benderson Management Co as referred to in meeting minutes) regarding the parcel of land known as 1766 Lake Road, Hamlin and referred to in the meeting minutes of March 10, 2003. This should include but is not limited to any and all correspondence, meeting or telephone notes by the Supervisor, a copy of the check (or other record), contracts, any other such records which relate to or support the statements recorded in the Town Board meeting regarding "$4000" paid to the town by Benderson in furtherance of their application for rezoning said parcel.

Any and all documents relating to, "acquisition of the easement for the other property," referred to in the same meeting by Attorney Licht. This should include but is not limited to any invoices to the town from any source for any and all services incurred in the process of obtaining said "easement." Contracts or letters of agreement or other documents which relate to agreements made between the town and any and all vendors, suppliers, corporations, etc. which pertain to this easement. Any and all documents which relate to the costs incurred by the town to process said "easement."


The public deserves to know what goes on in town. These records should be very helpful. I'll keep reporting as the process unfolds.