The Ulster County legislature had a tantrum on December 18 when they
voted to override County Executive Mike Hein’s veto of a term limits
referendum bill.
Speaking in favor of the singular and
historic override, the bill’s sponsor, Republican-turned-Democrat
Legislator Joseph Maloney (Saugerties), accused Hein of “fear mongering”
and said he found Hein’s reasons for the veto “scary” and was sorry
this issue “wasn’t written about.”
The issues around this
bill have indeed been written about. I am writing about it now after
explaining my strong objections during public comments before the
Legislature in July (when it was tabled) and publicly urging Mr. Hein to
veto it in September, when it passed by a slim margin. I was joined in
my opposition by representatives from the highly respected League of
Women voters among others.
Then and now, I feel this
bill has been tainted by the initial sponsorship of Reclaim NY — a
fake-non-partisan group whose president and treasurer is listed on the
group’s website as Rebekah Mercer, and whose secretary is her sister
Jennifer Mercer. Both women are members of the far-right Mercer family
whose financial activism brought us Cambridge Analytica, former
Presidential strategist Steve Bannon in the White House, and the
alt-right, pro-white supremacist, anti-semitic Breitbart News.
The Mercer Family are leading proponents of dark money in politics.
I
also feel obligated to call out misrepresentations by Legislator
Maloney who outrageously characterized Reclaim NY in his December 18
remarks to the Legislature as “some not-for-profit Libertarian group out
there that apparently likes term limits.”
Mr. Maloney does not appear to have a working relationship with Google.
As
an informed voter, I twice voiced my opposition to this bill in front
of the Legislature, which chose to ignore multiple public comments. In
contrast, Legislator Maloney complained about the veto: “One man said
no.” Indeed he did. That’s Hein’s job. The Executive doesn’t work for
the legislature. He works for us. And he listened to what we had to say.
Perhaps the most scary element of this issue is
Legislator Maloney’s role and his relationship with Reclaim NY which had
invited their supporters to a June 19 [sic] dinner in Kingston with
sponsor Maloney as the principal speaker. That invitation asked members
to “Join Reclaim New York Initiative and legislation sponsor Leg. Joe
Maloney for a discussion on why the term limits bill should be passed,
and how you can help ensure it is approved. Dinner will be served. We
will go to the public hearing directly following dinner.”
When
the bill was hurriedly tabled in July, Mr. Maloney assured his fellow
Democrats that he didn’t know much about Reclaim NY and only learned of
his association with it during a late-night call from his mother.
But
seriously: what group issues an invitation to a dinner with a keynote
speaker who has not agreed in advance to appear? Or, perhaps the dog ate
Mr. Maloney’s invitation.
Sadly, the Legislature has
decided to ignore the tainted history of the bill. So now they and the
County Executive will spar over the legality of the override, which
appears to clash with the Municipal Home Rule Law in the NYS
Constitution.
Such a fight will surely cost taxpayer
money and could have been avoided if the legislature simply listened to
those of us who took time and effort to express our opposition instead
of trying to manipulate our interests for their purposes.
Ironically
Legislator Dave Donaldson (D-Kingston), who seconded the override
motion, confessed to his fellow lawmakers following the successful vote
that “we have term limits each time we run and can be easily voted out
of office” — exactly why I and others believe a referendum was, and is,
unnecessary.
That makes the legislature’s actions
suspect. Why didn’t they simply pass a local law and avoid an
unnecessary public and legal fight? This smells much like an inside
baseball power play masquerading as a principled stand.
Jane Schanberg
Publishing history:
New Paltz Times
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