Author: John Kaufmann

It is interesting how a story can morph. In a recent post in my Times Union Watch series I pointed out that reporter Wendy Liberatore had incorrectly stated that Mayor Meg Kelly had no opponent in the fall election. In fact, Tim Holmes has secured the Republican mayoral line for this year’s election.

Unbeknownst to me, Todd Kerner, the Chairman of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee, forwarded that blog post to Rex Smith, the editor of the Times Union, also expressing concern about these errors and voicing his frustration in general with Wendy Liberatore’s reporting.

In response, Rex Smith supported Ms. Liberatore’s report and also denied that Mayor Kelly had an opponent. Avoiding even referencing Tim Holmes’ name, he said that the “possible candidate” had not announced and was not even sure that he was going to run. He ended by saying “Please do not accuse us of bias with factually incorrect information.”

Kerner, who is an attorney and has done quite a bit of election law, was amazed at this response. Kerner pointed out to Rex Smith that Tim Holmes is indeed a candidate whether he has announced or not because

“(1) he filed petitions and did not decline during the declination period, and (2) he has an active filing with the NYS board of elections.”

Kerner added “He is on the ballot therefore he is opposing Meg Kelly.  Period.  If you don’t believe me call the Saratoga County Board of Elections or even the NYS board. ”

I called Mr. Holmes himself. He had been unaware of the article but was unequivocal regarding his commitment to run for mayor.

I wrote to Rex Smith advising him of this and received an email from Ms. Liberatore. She wrote that her understanding was that Holmes had not decided whether to run or not and that unless she heard from him (rather than me), she would continue in the belief that he was not running.

I cop to being a little snarky because I wrote back saying it appeared that the only way she would be convinced of his candidacy would be either his announcement or seeing his name on the ballot this November.

The matter was soon settled as a few minutes later she was CC’d on an email from Mr. Holmes announcing that he was indeed a candidate for mayor of the city of Saratoga Springs .

In his correspondence with Rex Smith Todd Kerner writes that he is “shocked that the TU can say that Meg Kelly has no opposition” and asks for a retraction/clarification. At this point there has been no reply from the TU.

I feel compelled to continue being snarky by pointing out that Rex Smith is on a weekly WAMC show on which he offers his expertise on how the media should comport themselves.

Below are the relevant emails. They are not long and they have a certain comic aspect to them.

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To: Rex Smith

From: Todd Kerner

Subject: Liberatore Article

Date: June 15, 2019

This blogger has now made it a cause to point out Wendy’s issues. You should stay with this as you can see even moderates are not happy with her reporting. It’s tainting the TU as being biased. Too bad because I have been a reader for 30+ years and have been an avid fan.

Todd

Todd M. Kerner, Chair

Saratoga County Democratic Committee

From: Saratoga Springs Politics <comment-reply@wordpress.com>

Date: June 15, 2019 at 8:18:13 PM EDT

To: tkerner1@nycap.rr.com

Subject: [New post] Times Union Watch

Reply-To: Saratoga Springs Politics

John Kaufmann posted: “In a story in today’s edition of the Times Union, Wendy Liberatore refers to Billy McTygue as William McTague. She also writes that Mayor Meg Kelly is running unopposed. In fact she is being challenged by Republican Tim Holmes.”

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From: “Smith, Rex” <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>

Date: Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 12:10 PM

To: “Todd M. Kerner” <tkerner1@nycap.rr.com>

Subject: Re: [New post] Times Union Watch

Sorry for the misspelling — no excuse for that.

But the blogger is incorrect to say that the mayor has a Republican opponent. The possible candidate named here has not announced, nor even decided whether or not to run. Please do not accuse us of bias with factually incorrect information.

———————————–

From: Todd Kerner <tkerner1@nycap.rr.com>
Date: Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 2:56 PM
To: “Smith, Rex” <RSmith@TimesUnion.com>
Subject: Re: [New post] Times Union Watch

 

Rex,

 

Tim Holmes is a candidate for Mayor of Saratoga Springs.  He will be on the ballot.  He filed his petitions and they were certified.  To say he is not a candidate is just not accurate.  Whether he has made a formal announcement or not is irrelevant.  Also, to say he has not decided to run is wrong for two reasons:  (1) he filed petitions and did not decline during the declination period, and (2) he has an active filing with the NYS board of elections.

I have done quite a bit of election law and am shocked that the TU can say Meg Kelly has no opposition.  I would ask for a retraction/clarification.

In addition, this is why I called you weeks ago, that Wendy’s reporting and her selection of stories is biased.  When she does stories they often contain errors. The errors seem to always be on the side of her acquaintances.   Not surprisingly her coverage of Saratoga Springs is symbolic of that.  I have never complained or called you in all my years as county chair, but I must confront her reporting and will not let it go unchallenged.   I am surprised though that in this day when newspapers are fighting social media to stay alive the TU would allow itself to be no different than many social media outlets.  I guess the fact people are talking about her stories, not about the substance, but about the bias shown is irrelevant to the number of hits to her stories.  I am just disappointed in the TU that instead of taking a look at her writing you would double down and defend it.

If you have any doubt whether Meg Kelly is opposed, you should confirm that with either the Republican or Democratic Commissioner of Elections for Saratoga County.

I am also available to any reporter or editor at the TU.  I will not talk to Wendy as I have no faith in her reporting.  I believe this is becoming more common throughout the County.  That is a disservice to the readership of the TU, including me.

Todd

 

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I cannot believe that he says because the person under NYS ELECTION LAW who is on the ballot is not an opponent because he has not announced or decided to run.  I am flabbergasted that he does not know under the election law that when someone petitions after the declination period you cannot get off the ballot except in limited cases.  Nonetheless he is an opponent.  They are closing the ranks at the TU.  I am not letting drop as this is to easy to show how wrong their reporting is in SS.

—————————————-

In your email to Mr. Kerner you state:

“The possible candidate named here [JK: TIm Holmes] has not announced, nor even decided whether or not to run”

Tim Holmes cares deeply about our city.  His decision to run was neither frivolous nor impulsive.

Do you know under NYS election law once petitioning is done and the 3 day declination period elapses you are on the ballot.  Do you know this year that was moved up to March.  Mr. Holmes filed petitions for Mayor and did not decline the nomination.  He is on the ballot therefore he is opposing Meg Kelly.  Period.  If you don’t believe me call the Saratoga County Board of Elections or even the NYS board.   By the way, Is it true that the GOP commissioner also refuses to speak to you because of the same issues we are discussing.  

I am on the ballot for the November election as a candidate for Mayor, on the Republican line, having filed appropriately as the NYS BOE would attest.

In a story in today’s edition of the Times Union, Wendy Liberatore refers to Billy McTygue as William McTague. She also writes that Mayor Meg Kelly is running unopposed. In fact she is being challenged by Republican Tim Holmes.

The Federal Government has put what had been the county’s nursing home on a watch list as one of the most troubled facilities in the nation. In a cost saving move a few years ago, the county sold what had been called Maplewood Manor under the county to Zenith Care Health.

This blog as did others warned at the time of the proposed sale that privatizing the nursing home would, in all likelihood, lead to a deterioration of services. In her excellent column for the Gazette, Sara Foss points out the moral failure of our county whose success should have made possible public investment in the care of our elderly.

The New York Times reported recently about HUD and Medicare’s growing crisis regarding privatized nursing homes. In an attempt to expand care, following the myth that the private sector always does things better, the Federal government began underwriting loans for private companies who wanted to buy nursing homes. The story paints a grim picture of the result. Many of the players either as a result of mismanagement or the exploitation of payments to themselves, have now created a crisis with insolvent nursing homes that have vulnerable patients with no place to go.

The decision by the Board of Supervisors  to sell the Maplewood Manor created this problem. There is good reason to worry that the currently named Saratoga Center for Rehab and Skilled Nursing Care may become insolvent.

At a minimum, the Board of Supervisors, as our elected officials should be voicing alarm and meeting with Zenith Health Care and the state to find out just what is going on. If the the facility is in financial jeopardy, they should be evaluating whether they need to be looking into taking it over again.

Matt Veitch was a Saratoga County Supervisor representing Saratoga Springs when the decision was made to sell the manor. He is still our Supervisor. Tara Gaston is currently our Supervisor as well but was not serving on the Board when the decision to sell was made. Both are up for re-election this year.

I would like to offer them both the opportunity to be guest writers on this blog to tell us their thoughts on this matter.

I urge the readers of this blog to take the time to read Ms. Foss’ column.

https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/06/10/foss-poor-conditions-at-nursing-home-are-troubling

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/business/nursing-homes-mortgage-hud.html?searchResultPosition=1

The fifth annual Saratoga Pride Celebration will be on Sunday,  June 16, from 1 to 4pm at the High Rock Park Pavilion. They will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Police regularly raided bars like the Stonewall. For more details on the many activities at the event here is a story from the Saratogian.

Wikipedia has an excellent history of the Stonewall Riot and the emergence of the gay liberation movement. Here is an excerpt:

The Stonewall Inn, located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street, along with several other establishments in the city, was owned by the Genovese crime family.  In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested $3,500 to turn the Stonewall Inn into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff, as the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license. It had no running water behind the bar—used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other “cash transactions” took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club.

Visitors to the Stonewall Inn in 1969 were greeted by a bouncer who inspected them through a peephole in the door. The legal drinking age was 18, and to avoid unwittingly letting in undercover police (who were called “Lily Law”, “Alice Blue Gown”, or “Betty Badge”), visitors would have to be known by the doorman, or look gay. The entrance fee on weekends was $3, for which the customer received two tickets that could be exchanged for two drinks. Patrons were required to sign their names in a book to prove that the bar was a private “bottle club”, but rarely signed their real names.^[10] There were two dance floors in the Stonewall; the interior was painted black, making it very dark inside, with pulsing gel lights or black lights. If police were spotted, regular white lights were turned on, signaling that everyone should stop dancing or touching.^[54]. In the rear of the bar was a smaller room frequented by “queens”; it was one of two bars where effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair (though dressed in men’s clothing) could go. Only a few transvestites, or men in full drag, were allowed in by the bouncers. The customers were “98 percent male” but a few lesbians sometimes came to the bar. Younger homeless adolescent males, who slept in nearby Christopher Park, would often try to get in so customers would buy them drinks. The age of the clientele ranged between the upper teens and early thirties, and the racial mix was evenly distributed among white, black, and Hispanic patrons. Because of its even mix of people, its location, and the attraction of dancing, the Stonewall Inn was known by many as “the gay bar in the city”.

Police raids on gay bars were frequent—occurring on average once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids beforehand due to police tip-offs, and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could commence after the police had finished.^[59] During a typical raid, the lights were turned on, and customers were lined up and their identification cards checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag were arrested; others were allowed to leave. Some of the men, including those in drag, used their draft cards as identification. Women were required to wear three pieces of feminine clothing, and would be arrested if found not wearing them. Employees and management of the bars were also typically arrested. The period immediately before June 28, 1969, was marked by frequent raids of local bars—including a raid at the Stonewall Inn on the Tuesday before the riots—and the closing of the Checkerboard, the Tele-Star, and two other clubs in Greenwich Village.

Wendy Liberatore’s Times Union article on the recent change in the Saratoga Springs Republican Party Committee leadership begins with the following:

“In an organizational meeting on Wednesday evening, Matthew Hogan lost his leadership role to Chris Obstarczyk…”

The clear suggestion here is that there has been an internal party coup with Matt Hogan being ousted in a competition for leadership. This is simply not the case.

I have spoken to both Matthew Hogan and to Chris Obstarczyk and they paint a very different picture. Matt originally recruited Mr. Obstarczyk to join the local committee. Matt told me that he just did not have the time to continue as chair. Mr. Obstarczyk made clear that he decided to take over the chairmanship after Matt indicated his plan to step down. If you read the rest of Ms. Liberatore’s article you will see that other than the above unflattering and misleading assertion there is nothing in it indicating that Mr. Hogan was forced out.

Matt Hogan has stepped down as chair of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee. In his place, the Republican Committee has elected Chris Obstarczyk. Mr. Obstarczyk is a partner in the law firm Levy & Obstarczk.

I spoke to Matt recently and he shared with me that other commitments made finding the time to chair the committee too difficult. He has been chair since October of 2016.

I contacted his successor, Mr. Obstarczk, who spoke warmly of Matt. He told me that Matt had originally enlisted him to join the committee and that when Matt decided to step down that with Matt’s support he took over the chairmanship.

I happen to like Matt a lot. During a time of increasingly dark partisanship and incivility, Matt has always demonstrated a dignity and openness for which he should be recognized. His job had not been made easy by the changing demographics of the city where enrollment of Democrats has eroded a city once thoroughly dominated by his party.

While he and I have always assumed that we do not agree on many public issues he has always made himself available to me and his answers to my questions have proven to be accurate and complete.

I wish Matt all the best.

Looking back on my notes I see that I only offered the option of responding on my blog to Ms. Braymer. Of course should attorney Matt Jones wish to respond I offer a similar courtesy.

Ok. This has nothing to do with Saratoga politics but the video of this dog winning some sort of speed/agility event as part of Westminster Dog Show was so wonderful that I wanted to share.

Ray Watkin was mayor of Saratoga Springs from 1974 to 1979. Ray was a real visionarry. It was Ray who spearheaded the preservation movement that viewed the city’s aging architecture as jewels. His administration pursued grants and other policies to upgrade the downtown and bring out the beauty that years of neglect had hidden.

Ray ran a shoe store on Broadway in the block between Lake Avenue and Caroline Street. He used this store not only to make a living but as a vehicle for talking to the people of the city about issues. This evolved into his successful campaign for mayor.

Happy Birthday to my friend, Ray Watkin.

[JK:I offered Claudia Braymer, the attorney who represents the neighbors in the dispute with the hospital, a forum to address my recent blog post on the issue. I made a similar offer to Matt Jones who represents the hospital. Ms. Braymer sent me the following statement.]

While the Comprehensive Plan does define Institutional as an area that allows for religious, health, educational, cultural and tourism, the Comprehensive Plan does not state that the Institutional area would allow for commercial/professional office complexes.  Yet, that is exactly what the proposed OMB-2 designation would allow.

The zoning change is not simply about the Hospital’s one proposed-in-theory (but not actually before the Planning Board) medical office building.  The zoning change for Parcel #1 is about changing the entire 17+ acre Parcel #1 site (most of which is currently owned by DA Collins) to a zoning district that allows for professional offices (not limited to medical offices), plus medical offices, parking facilities, and other related accessory structures.  The Comprehensive Plan does not support changing all of Parcel #1 to a zoning district that allows for professional offices of an unrestricted nature.

The City Council should reject the OMB-2 designation, and have the Hospital & DA Collins bring forward all of their plans for this undeveloped land, so that the public and the City can evaluate the situation in the light of day, and come to a rational conclusion about the proper zoning designation.

Sincerely,

Claudia Braymer

Braymer Law, PLLC

Claudia K. Braymer

Attorney at Law

PO Box 2369

Glens Falls NY 12801

(518) 882-3252

claudia@braymerlaw.com