Politics has always been a dirty business. Still, people complain every year that this may be the dirtiest year ever, and usually they are right. That’s why we introduced last year the Terry Award, to be presented annually to the most malignant politician in Ulster County.
Please help if you can name a politician who in 2014 displayed more than his/her fair share of any of the “qualities” listed below (or a combination thereof):
- arrogant
- belligerent
- big-headed
- boastful
- bossy
- callous
- careless
- compulsive
- cowardly
- cunning
- deceitful
- dishonest
- impulsive
- inconsiderate
- indecisive
- irresponsible
- narrow-minded
- nasty
- nervous
- obsessive
- pompous
- resentful
- secretive
- selfish
- self-centered
- sneaky
- stubborn
- stupid
- superficial
- unreliable
- untrustworthy
- vengeful
Don’t be shy, send in your nomination via a comment on this blog. Name and reason.
The deadline is January 31, 2015.
The front-runners will be featured in a poll, and your votes will determine who joins last year’s winner.
Thank you!
– Jon Dogar-Marinesco
Rochester Smoke Out 
I would like to submit two nominations strictly on the basis of narrow-mindedness.
The first is Ulster County Executive Mike Hein,
The second is Town of Wawarsing Supervisor Leonard Distel.
I nominate Mike Hein for insisting on quantifying the unquantifiable. The County Executive insists that $5.4 million in sales tax was lost due to the 1% reduction during the December 2013- January 2014 time frame. Due to narrow-mindedness he fails to account for several things:
1. Economic activity does not remain constant in order to quantify the 1% reduction over the same period the prior year.
2. The NYS Comptroller issued a report in Febuary 2014 which detailed a 3.2% decrease in sales tax outside of NYC for December 2013 http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/snapshot/localsalestaxcollections0214.pdf
3. The Vendors Report for Ulster County during Dec 2013 – Jan 2014 indicates $359,454,428 was subject to sales tax.
At the 4% rate which did not exist U.C. would have received $14,378,177.12
At the 3% rate that did exist U.C. received $10,783,632.84
That difference is $3,594,545!
This does not take into account the 3.2% decrease in economic activity in December 2013.
For all we know more revenue was generated at the 3% rate than would have been at the 4% rate. Unfortunately for me I have no data to prove this claim, but unfortunately for the County Executive , he has no data to refute it.
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I nominate Leonard Distel for insisting that the unemployment rate in Wawarsing is 18% with no empirical evidence or data to back up this claim.
The Town of Wawarsing (including the Village of Ellenville) has a population that is too small to warrant monthly unemployment statistics. The only accurate measurement of the unemployment rate for Wawarsing is provided by the Census, American Community Survey, Fact Finder, which can be found in the following link. As of today the unemployment rate in Wawarsing is 11.9% (+/-) 3.2%, a slight increase over last year!
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_5YR/S2301/0600000US3611178828
I personally handed the Supervisor last year’s data at a Town Board meeting last January that indicated the rate was 11.6% (+/-) 3%. The Supervisor wrote in the Shawangunk Journal as late as 1.1.15 that the rate is 18%! This sort of narrow-mindedness in the face of the only accurate data available for the area, is worthy for nomination.
not many many people know this jerry fornino is the conservative party chair in rochester who fixed his wife elections on the republican line last year
what he did for his conservative wife may seem small fries but its exactly what bernardo also as party chair did for his wife terry,
such a dangerous trend in town and county same shameless stile
jerry merits to win the 2014 terry award,
Hein’s narrow-mindedness seems to be based on political expediency, don’t be surprised if he uses your thoughts when it suits his needs.
Distel’s narrow-mindedness is a mental fear of letting go and accepting that sometimes his thoughts can be wrong; all too common with the dumbos that litter the political spectrum.
The local Conservative party is beyond disappointment, they are not only inbreds they act like it too. They actually put me off and I consider myself a Conservative, I’m not sure what the hell they are.
Mike Hein for being a front running, headline seeking, liar. As Mr. Newton stated above, the estimates on sales tax were exaggerated as were all of the other issues surrounding the safety net takeover. Hein filled the newspapers with lies, threats of doom and gloom and accusations that were not based in fact.
The CMRR. Hein tried to bully them out of existence, ’nuff said.
Hurley Bridge fiasco. In an attempt to one up Cahill Hein overestimated his popularity and was quickly rebuffed by the smart folks from Hurley.
Nominated himself for a national award.
Planted that he was on the short list for Lt. Governor when he was never in consideration.
STRIVE– WAY over budget, behind schedule and ill conceived.
I can stay here all day and add examples but you get the point…..Mike Hein is a complete dick and should be drummed out office.
Maybe Fornino was making deals to get his wife appointed then elected, but Supervisor Carl Chipman is the one who deserves the Terry Award for helping. His actions show disregard for his political party are disgraceful and everything listed in the Terry Award description. My vote goes to Chipman.
Long before feminism there was a joke about a husband who came home from a business trip and started to beat his wife. He didn’t know why, but she did.
I nominate Len Bernardo, Chairman of Ulster County Independence Party, for the 2014 Terry Award. He knows why.
I’m surprised that Len Bernardo’s nomination came in so late; either people didn’t pay attention, or they were too busy watching the weather reports.
The fact that his friend John Parete was re-elected Chair of the Legislature (without the support of his own Democratic Caucus) proves that Len Bernardo is still in control, plotting his wife’s return at the helm of the Legislature next year. He is the undercover figure raining on the Democratic majority’s parade. Not to mention that he reigns over the Ulster GOP through the jesters Roger Rascoe and Ken Ronk.
Len Bernardo is a strong contender for the Terry award!
John Parete and Kevin cahill