May 2023 Newsletter

Good Day Schoharie Democrats,

Don’t be a lonely Democrat!

On Thursday, May 11, the SCDC is having its annual FDR banquet, and we are hosting our Lieutenant Governor, Antonio Delgado. If you have never heard him speak, you should definitely come. He is always inspiring. Buy your tickets here.

There is nothing I like more- and nothing more important- than connecting people. You might feel politically isolated in upstate NY, but you are not. There are a lot of people who share your values.

Come to the banquet, learn how you can help, and meet some of the people who are working for justice in Schoharie County. Do you want to know the movers and shakers in your town? I would love to introduce you at the banquet.

We can get things done, but first we have to meet each other. Buy your tickets right now, and we will see you on May 11.

In Solidarity,

Theresa Heary

SCDC Chair

FDR BANQUET WITH LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ANTONIO DELGADO! Last chance for tickets!

We're packing the room at Chieftans on Main Street in Cobleskill!! Tickets are available until MAY 4th, $65 for individuals, $120 for two and $50 for students and those with low incomes. Sponsor a table for teachers, library staff or community center volunteers. Don't miss this chance to support the Schoharie County Democratic Committee, the many local candidates rising up to run in their towns and villages, and add to the funds for getting out the vote in November! We'll be feasting and having a wonderful time among friends, while building momentum and being inspired by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. BUY TICKETS HERE or make a donation if you can't attend. You can also buy tickets at schohariedemocrats.org.

2023 Auction Online Success

Over 70 items! Gift certificates to many local businesses! The SCDC auction garnered just a bit more than the first online auction in 2022. Netting just shy of $2,300, items both tangible and intangible flew off the cyberspace shelves!

Thanks go to so many donors and bidders who continued to add items and bids throughout the 11 days of this event. There was always something happening to entice another look. The whole committee thanks Fundraising Committee Chair Joe Bozicevich and Bridey Finegan, who kept the online event running smoothly!

Special thanks to the local businesses that pitched in to support our local Democratic candidates throughout Schoharie County in the upcoming November 2023 elections. There will be choices made November 7th in every town and village for supervisor, town council or board, highway superintendent, clerks and other positions.

To name a few of our generous donors:

Barber’s Farm, Middleburgh

Green Wolf Brewery, Middleburgh
Hilltop Maple Farm, Gilboa

Middleburgh Lanes, Middleburgh

Mill Pond Inn, Jefferson

Mrs. K’s Kitchen, Middleburgh
Power-Up, Richmondville

Rockerbox Spice Company

Rooted Movement Yoga & Pilates, West Fulton

RuckSackNY, Conesville

Smyth/Cid Pottery, Middleburgh

Sun Mountain Apiary, Delanson

The Mountain Eagle Newspaper, Stamford

Walt Whitman Books, Middleburgh

Wayward Lane Brewing, Schoharie

Wellington’s Herbs & Spices, Schoharie

Yoga Inside Out, Gilboa

4EverBods, Middleburgh

Stepping Up in Town Governance

Jen Stinson, SCDC Summit rep

It’s 6:45 pm, the third Thursday of the month. I’m at the Summit Town Hall awaiting the start of the meeting. I’ve been getting here early for the past 6 months as I have taken on the responsibility of monitoring the Zoom for the monthly Town Board meetings. I’ve been thinking about how to describe my experience since Sarah asked me to write something for this newsletter. I wanted to give you a different perspective and add to what our fellow Dems have written so well.

I started getting involved with a local organization to beautify our town and its crumbling infrastructure. Together we made a lot of improvements but many times in our meetings it came up that we needed the town government to be more involved. As with many residents in most towns, we didn’t think about participating in those monthly town meetings, it seemed kind of foreign. We started by going to board meetings with questions regarding our projects and quickly realized there was a lot we were missing. It turned out that we needed to go back to follow up on our inquiries and other items that came up in discussions. My husband and I decided to start attending every month. Having a buddy along really helps. There are three of us now who make it a priority to go each month. We take notes, ask questions, and most importantly get to know the members of our town government. Whether you agree or disagree with their politics, there is always common ground to find. Don’t get me wrong, many times we walked away feeling discouraged about the process.

What we came to realize after a few meetings is the perspectives of the board members. We witnessed residents coming in, stating their complaints and then never returning. As a routine, the board sees people come and go without any real commitment and it’s hard to take them seriously. If you really want to be heard, you need to be involved. Ask questions for yourself and when you see a problem arising. The board shows up every month, whether you do or not. They make decisions based on what they perceive is the best choice. Most constituents aren’t heard because they aren’t there to speak. Board members need to hear from everyone. If you show a commitment, they will have more respect for you and may be more inclined to listen, even if you don’t share the same politics.

It’s helpful to know the process, jumping on the ballot may not be the first step. I encourage you to get involved with a group or a cause that you feel passionate about, such as the fire department or maybe the senior citizen club. This will help you meet more town residents and get to know the questions that come up. If you decide to go to your town meetings, they usually only last an hour, and most times they are pretty interesting. You could watch a live streaming of any available town meeting so you know what to expect before you go.

I didn’t decide to get involved because I wanted to run for a position; I have decided to run for a position because I got involved. I realize it’s not for everyone and I never thought it was for me. You may be happy with just being part of a group and doing positive things for your community. It doesn’t have to be huge, just think about making a small change. It’s a challenge worth pursuing!

Republicans’ Extreme Budget Cuts

By Greg Bucking, SCDC Jefferson rep

Republican Elise Stefanik, who represents New York's 21st Congressional District that includes all of Schoharie County, has consistently voted to take away benefits and personal freedoms from Americans. Her latest vote was for the budget legislation passing the Republican controlled House demonstrating this tendency at its worst. The so-called “Limit, Save, and Grow” Act displays unusual legislative cruelty, even for this group of Republican extremists, in an attempt to bait President Biden into savage across-the-board budget cuts that target all types of Americans.

What cuts are in the bill?

- A 22% cut in the Veterans Affairs budget, which, according to a VA press release would mean “81,000 jobs lost in the department’s health services, 30 million fewer outpatient visits for veterans and an increase of disability backlogs by 134,000 claims;”

- Cuts to the Transportation Department, which said it would force a shut down of 375 air traffic control towers;

- Cuts to the Department of Agriculture, resulting in up to one million low income Americans losing access to food assistance;

- Making student borrowers pay up to $20,000 more on their debts and slashing Pell Grants which help poorer students afford college, a measure that would “annihilate the educational dreams of millions of Americans,” according to the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators;

- Cuts to early childhood education, putting increased stress on parents (especially in underserved areas like rural America);

- Cutting over 7,000 rail safety inspections, in a year that has seen multiple deadly train derailments;

- Cuts to historic, hard-won sustainable energy investments that were put in place last year in the Inflation Reduction Act (undercutting massive private sector investments that were direct results of this legislative incentive);

- Putting up to 20 million Americans at risk of losing their health care, of special concern to those of us in rural communities.

Why are they doing this? These cuts are a piece with the right wing’s ideological fixation on cutting government that addresses social inequities, regulates industries, or eases healthcare costs. But these cuts now are being used as leverage at a moment when the government must pay its current debts and raise the so-called “debt ceiling” to avoid a catastrophic default that would crash our economy. The debt ceiling has been raised over 70 times since 1960 and was raised without issue by Democrats multiple times when Donald Trump was President. But now that a Democrat is in the White House, the Republicans want to hold the economy and full faith and credit of the United States hostage to extract devastating cuts to programs that help real people. It’s a cruel and dangerous game.

Let Elise Stefanik know what you think of her strategy: voting to force us to lose Veterans’ services, early childhood education support, safety at our airports, student loan assistance, newly developing tech jobs in our economy, and food assistance that helps so many of us afford healthy groceries for our families.

Here’s how to reach her. Identify yourself as a constituent and give the town where you live.

Call her Washington, DC office (202) 225-4611

East Greenbush office: (518) 242-4707

Plattsburgh office: (518) 561-2324

Or Ogdensburg office: (315) 541-2670

Send her a postcard or letter - Representative Stefanik, 99 Troy Road, Suite 312, East Greenbush, NY 12061

OR you can email her through her website https://stefanik.house.gov/offices

FREE CAUCUS TRAINING SESSION with JEAN BURTON: MONDAY, MAY 22 5:00 PM VIA ZOOM sign up using this link.

All towns in Schoharie County have the possibility of holding a Democratic Caucus and fielding Democrats as candidates for town positions this fall.

IT’S CAUCUS TIME

How to Hold a Caucus in Your Town

By Jean Burton, SCDC Town of Wright rep

BASICS

- Request a Caucus Packet from the BOE – 518-295-8326

- Determine the window for caucus – this year, 2023, it is now through 7/26

- Certificate of nominations must be submitted to BOE by 7/27

- Determine what offices are open, don’t forget town justice

Choose a date for your caucus

- This might be determined by when candidates can attend (and bring their supporters)

- Reserve the space

- Post notices – 10 days prior to the caucus, one copy with BOE and one with Town Clerk

- Use the notice in the BOE packet, fill it out and post it around town, dump, PO, other public locations.

- Or publish in local newspapers as described in the packet.

PREPARATION on Caucus day

- Supplies: flag, pencils/pens, small sheets of paper, maybe black/white board (this helps for correct spelling of names)

- Crew: Chairperson, Secretary plus two at the door and two appointed tellers to count votes. The Chair is a SCDC member. Secretary is often a SCDC member but this is not required. Look for volunteers ahead of time for door monitors. Having tellers ready to volunteer during the meeting speeds things up.

- One or two days prior to the caucus, request an up-to-date list of Democrats in your town (these lists are updated daily at the BOE) – print it out and have it available for the door crew.

- Door crew asks everyone to sign in. What works well is to have separate sign-in lists for Democrats and one for all others. Non-Democrats are usually asked to sit in the back to observe.

- Democrats must be on the voter registration list as they sign in, to be allowed to vote or allowed to nominate.

- For someone to be considered as a candidate, he/she must be nominated and seconded.

- People from other parties can attend but cannot nominate, second a nomination or vote.

- Door crew will report to the chairman the number of Democrats in the room

- The number of votes must not exceed the number of Democrats at sign-in.

- Chair is elected at the meeting and is a SCDC committee person.

- The Secretary can be appointed by the Chair and takes minutes of the meeting noting who is nominated and who offers the nomination and who seconds it.

- Chair and Secretary recite the oath listed in the packet.

- Chair leads everyone in the pledge to the flag.

STRATEGY

- Seek candidates ahead of time – ask people who have attended meetings, those who serve on town boards or expressed interest or attended zoom meetings. Encourage nominations from the floor on that day. There may be candidates that step forward at the meeting.

- Candidates should ask two people to nominate them and bring lots of supporters.

- Chairman can decide what office goes first- allowing candidates to possibly run for second office if they don’t win the first nomination.

- It is best to consider only one office at a time. (Not both council positions together.)

- Awareness of other party nominations can be helpful.

- Anyone of any party can be nominated, but Democrats automatically win over non-Democrats. This is why that list from BOE is important.

- Not all offices must be filled, though empty slots tilt towards other party candidates.

- Slots can be filled and later declined and possibly filled subsequently..

- Nominations can be accepted by voice vote if there is no opposing candidate.

- When two candidates vie for one office, a paper vote is used.

- Instruct winning candidates to consider forming their own party which appears as another line on the ballot.

- When completing the Certificate of Nomination, candidates should use the name and spelling that they want to appear on the official ballot.

QUESTIONS- Call the Board of Elections to clarify any procedures – 518-295-8326.

SAMPLE NOTICE OF CAUCUS (From the Schoharie County Board of Elections)

DEMS Gathered in APRIL!

What fun we had at the social gathering on Thursday, April 20 at Wayward Lanes Brewery in Schoharie! The folks who came had a real treat as it was open mike night! People came and went, with talk about all kinds of subjects, and comparisons of the delicious award-winning beer choices. The weather just made it even more pleasing to step out on a Spring evening. There is definitely a special feeling of enjoyment when we gather in the company of others who care about so many of the same things about life in our beautiful Schoharie County. If you missed this gathering, mark your calendar for May 21st from 3-5pm at Middleburgh Lanes in Middleburgh! You can come and bowl, or buy food and drink, or just socialize and give bowling advice! Next month we plan to gather at Weiss Ferments in Conesville, and later in the summer in Jefferson and Fulton!

TOWN HAPPENINGS:

CHECK THIS LINK TO THE CALENDAR FOR YOUR TOWN & VILLAGE BOARD AND COUNCIL MEETINGS EVERY MONTH

IF YOUR TOWN IS PLANNING A CAUCUS, LET US KNOW AND WE WILL PUT IT IN THE TOWN HAPPENINGS!

May 2, 6 PM, Town of Schoharie Democrats

Town: Schoharie, Town Hall, 300 Main Street

and May 16, 7 PM, place TBA, for anyone interested in getting involved in any way. Please contact: townofschohariedemocrats@gmail.com

May 17, 6:30 PM SCDC Bi-Monthly Meeting

Town: Sharon Springs, Free Library 129 Main St., RSVP appreciated: info@schohariedemocrats.org

May 21, 3-5 PM Democrats' Social Gathering

Town: Middleburgh, Middleburgh Lanes Bowling, 108 Chestnut Lane, RSVP appreciated (and let us know if you want to bowl so we can make sure to have enough lanes): socialcommittee.scdc@gmail.com

May 22, 5 PM Free CAUCUS Training Session via ZOOM

Offered by Jean Burton, SCDC Town of Wright rep Sign up HERE

May 2023 Newsletter

schoharie county democratic committee