As you are no doubt aware, it’s a big year in a generally perilous age for our democracy.  while we may feel somewhat secure living in a reliably blue state, make no mistake, we are all affected by events taking place on a national level: the radicalization of the Supreme Court (as evidenced by the overturning of Roe and other decisions) and the transformation of the American right wing into an anti-democratic autocratic movement increasingly resorting to terrorism to achieve its aims.  The January 6 Committee hearings are helping to lay bare the seriousness of the situation nationally.

Locally, what have become standard Republican gerrymandering tactics have hit home in Gardiner, when a Republican-dominated Reapportionment Commission recently split our town into two separate Ulster County Legislative Districts. We fought this vigorously and lost. We are now looking into a court challenge, but as it stands now, Gardiner Election District #3 (everything both west of the Wallkill River and north of 44/55) will be in the largely Democratic New Paltz County Legislative District 17 and the rest of Gardiner will be in a new Legislative District 16 with a large portion of Shawangunk.  The result is that it will be very hard to elect a Democrat in District 16 now that all the ED #3 Dems have been surgically siphoned off and grafted onto blue New Paltz.  This is a classic gerrymandering move designed to weaken democracy in Gardiner to advantage Republicans in Shawangunk and the County Legislature.

So, bad stuff happening nationally and bad stuff happening right here in Gardiner.  We need to fight back with our votes, with our volunteer labor, and with our dollars.  Here, specifically, is what we need.

1.  We need you to VOTE in the Special Election on Tuesday, August 23

When you show up to vote on August 23 (or if you vote early or by absentee), and you are a registered Democrat, you will receive TWO different ballots (all of this, BTW, is because of redistricting, law suits, and redrawn districts post law suit).  One ballot will be for the last four months of Antonio Delgado’s congressional term.  Pat Ryan is running to replace Antonio in the old (actually the current) Congressional District 19 and hold the seat for the Democratic Party.  If Pat wins this race against Republican Marcus Molinaro, he will give up his County Exec. seat and go to Washington to take Antonio’s place without diminishing the slim Dem majority in congress until the end of the year.  Given the aforementioned national situation, that’s very important.  Here is the sample ballot for that race.  We urge you to vote for Pat on Row A, not on the Working Families Party line, but a vote for Pat is a vote for Pat.

The second ballot you receive (again, if you’re a registered Dem) on August 23rd will be for the special Primary Election for the NEW Congressional District 18.  Pat is running against two candidates who got on the ballot (I honestly don’t know anything about them).  Here is the sample ballot for that primary race.  Assuming Pat wins this primary, he will be the Democratic Candidate in November for the new Congressional District 18.

If you choose to vote on Election Day, August 23, go to your regular polling place (either Town Hall or the Firehouse) between the hours of 6:00 am and 9:00 pm.  However, many people are still out of town in late August, so here are your options:

VOTE EARLY

Early voting will take place between August 13 and August 21.  The closest early voting location to Gardiner is at the New Paltz Community Center at 3 Veterans Drive in New Paltz.  Other early voting locations are on the BOE website, here.

VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT

If you will be away for all or the whole second half of August, then PLEASE REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.  There are multiple ways to obtain an Absentee Ballot.  All the information you need is on the Ulster County BOE’s excellent website, here.

Here are the important dates regarding absentee ballots (from the BOE website)

August 8, 2022 – Last day to postmark, email, or fax application or letter for August 23rd Primary Ballot. Absentee ballot applications must be received by the BOE not later than 15 days before the election.  You may continue to apply for an absentee in person and receive your ballot over the counter through August 22, 2022 by visiting the Ulster BOE at NEW LOCATION: 79 Hurley Avenue, Kingston NY 12401.

August 22, 2022 – Last day to apply in person for Primary Election ballot.

August 23, 2022 – Last day to postmark Primary Election ballot. Must be received by the county board no later than August 30, 2022. Last day to deliver a primary election ballot in person to your county board or your poll site, by close of polls on election day.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU NEED HELP WITH THE ABSENTEE BALLOT PROCESS CALL ME AND ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL CONTACT YOU TO HELP.  Email Tom Kruglinski at chair@gardinerdemocrats.com or call me at (914) 475-3601.

One last thing: changes in NY voting law mean that now, once you request and receive an absentee ballot, you can no longer vote in person early or on election day.  Just FYI.

2. We need your VOLUNTEER LABOR to get ready for the August 23rd election

Specifically, we need volunteers to help get the vote out for the August 23rd election.   It is such a weird year, and who remembers ever voting in AUGUST???  The concern is that turnout will be very low.  We need high turnout, especially in the CD 19 special election of Pat Ryan against Marcus Molinaro.  So please help.

All volunteering is being done through Pat Ryan’s campaign.  Even if you have just an hour or two to help, please contact the RYAN for CONGRESS campaign by going to the Volunteer Page of Pat’s website and signing up.

3. Ryan For Congress Yard Signs and Donations

WE HAVE THEM!  If you want one delivered to your address, please contact Tim Hunter at (845) 616-6960 or Tom Kruglinski at (914) 475-3601 and we will deliver.

NO TIPPING IS NEEDED, but if you want to write a check payable to the Gardiner Democratic Committee for any amount to help with our work, we will gladly accept!  You can also donate securely by credit card by going to our website, here.

The Gardiner Democratic Committee has made so far a donation of about a fifth of our treasury to the Ryan campaign, but if you want to donate directly to Pat’s campaign, you can do so by visiting his ActBlue page, here.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS!  Enjoy the rest of your summer

Despite county legislative boundaries changing every ten years to accommodate population growth as measured by the U.S. Census, Gardiner has always resided within a single County Legislative District (currently Legislative District #16, now represented by Tracey Bartels).  This has enabled residents to take their concerns to a single county legislator who represents all parts of Gardiner.  The Ulster County NY Commission on Reapportionment was appointed to reassign legislative districts based on the population shifts in the 2020 census.

On April 26, that commission released a “final draft map” of county legislative districts for the period 2024-2033.  That map divides Gardiner into two different legislative districts.  It takes those portions of Gardiner that lie both north of Rt. 44/55 and west of the Wallkill River (currently Gardiner Election District #3) and assigns it to New Paltz.  Further, it combines a large portion of Shawangunk’s population (much greater than ever before) with the remaining parts of Gardiner.  If this map is accepted as final, Gardiner will be represented by two different county legislators.

This presents a host of problems including changed polling places and two different legislators (perhaps of different parties and governing philosophies) needing to agree on complex issues in order to represent Gardiner in the County Legislature.  This is BAD for GARDINER!  Gardiner’s interests are different from the interests of residents of New Paltz and Shawangunk.

Our only hope of keeping Gardiner undivided, in one county legislative district, is to make our voices heard to the seven-member Reapportionment Commission.  There are two public input meetings where we can do this:

• 7:00 PM – Monday, May 16th at the Modena Firehouse, 1953 Route 44-55, Modena, NY 12548
• 7:00 PM – Thursday, May 19th at the Saugerties Senior Center, Cantine Memorial Field, 207 Market Street, Saugerties, NY 12477

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND ONE OR BOTH OF THESE CRITICAL PUBLIC COMMENT MEETINGS so the commission can hear your voice and KEEP GARDINER WHOLE!

If you can attend, please contact keepgardinerwhole@gmail.com to
join with others in our community and get more information prior to the events.

As you may have heard or read, this week a NY Court of Appeals ruling has struck down district lines for Congressional seats as well as State Senate seats that were redrawn earlier this year by the State legislature.  In addition, the County Legislature’s Commission on Reapportionment released a map of new County Legislative Districts this week with, we think, very negative implications for Gardiner.

Congressional and State Senate Districts Ruled Unconstitutional

New York’s highest court, the NY Court of Appeals, issued its ruling on Wednesday, to the shock and dismay of Democrats all over the state as well as all over the country, as detailed in this NY Times article. It held that the lines drawn by the State Senate and State Assembly earlier this year for State Senate and for U.S. Congress were unconstitutional and failed to comply with a NYS constitutional amendment passed in 2014 to curb partisan gerrymandering.  State Assembly districts were NOT affected by the ruling.

The court’s decision also thew into question (as it did not address) any modification to the state’s election schedule (with a primary scheduled for June 28) necessary to comply with the ruling.  Here is what we know, based on information received by the Gardiner Democratic Committee from Ashley Dittus, our Democratic Elections Commissioner:

• The current plan is to hold, as planned, the June 28^th primary for those contests not affected by the court ruling. This includes statewide offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, U.S. Senate, etc.) as well as any Assembly districts with contests, including the race for Assembly District 103 in which incumbent Assemblyperson Kevin Cahill is being challenged by inexperienced newcomer Sarahana Shrestha of the Democratic Socialists of America.  Also as planned, Democrats will be voting members of the County Democratic Committee.
• The court ruling requires new districts for State Senate and U.S. Congress to be drawn by an independent “Special Master,” who will be Jonathan Cervas, a redistricting expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Cervas is well regarded and must produce new maps by May 20.
• There will be an additional primary held sometime in August (possibly on August 23^rd) for the State Senate and U.S. Congress. When the new district lines are known, Gardiner Dems will need to repetition to get our candidates on the new ballot.  So, you can expect another round of door knocking by members of our committee to get your signatures on new petitions.  When that will happen, we do not know.
• We also do not know whether Gardiner will fall into our current Congressional District 19 (currently represented by incumbent Antonio Delgado, endorsed for reelection by the Ulster County Democratic Committee) or some other congressional district. Neither do we know whether we will continue to be in the previously planned State Senate District 48 (represented by incumbent Michelle Hinchey, endorsed by the Ulster County Dems) or some other Senate District.  That’s up to the Special Master, who has until May 20 to issue his determinations.

None of this is ideal for Democrats.  Getting voters out for two primaries as well as a general (off-presidential year) election in 2022 is a heavy lift that no one had planned for.  It is more work for our committee as well as for voters who want to exercise their civic duty.  It will undoubtedly affect turnout in a negative way.  Moreover, the new districts to be drawn by the Special Master will likely not favor Democratic candidates, making it more difficult for our party to hold the U.S. House of Representatives in the fall election.

More Bad: Gardiner is Split in Two by Draft County Reapportionment Map

To make matters worse for Gardinerites, this week we found out that the County Legislature’s Reapportionment Commission, charged with re-drawing new County Legislature districts in the wake of the 2020 Census, has—in its DRAFT plan—for the first time in history split Gardiner into two county legislative districts.

The northern approximately one-third of Gardiner will be lumped into a legislative district (proposed legislative district 17) with most of New Paltz, while the southern two-thirds of Gardiner will be combined with a much larger portion of Shawangunk than was previously included in legislative district 16, currently represented by U.C. Legislature Chairperson, Tracey Bartels.  As such, the new LD 16 is much more red and thus much more likely to flip to the Republicans.

If this final draft map is implemented, it will change election districts within Gardiner and it is very likely that those voters lumped in with New Paltz will have to go to New Paltz to vote.  In addition to the fact that Gardiner issues and interests are not New Paltz issues and interests, we feel changing voting locations for a large part of our town is a great imposition on Gardiner voters.

Before the changes are implemented, however, there are two opportunities for public comment.  They are as follows:

• Monday, May 16 – 7:00 PM – Public Hearing – Turtle Creek Golf Course, 219 Plattekill, Ardonia Road, Wallkill, NY
• Thursday, May 19 – 7:00 PM – Public Hearing – Saugerties Senior Center, Cantine Memorial Field, 207 Market St., Saugerties, NY

The Gardiner Democratic Committee is hoping for a strong showing at BOTH comment sessions to testify to the negative impacts on Gardiner of the proposed map and to propose new configurations leaving Gardiner whole.  If you are interested in attending one or both sessions, you are encouraged to attend the meeting of the GDC on Thursday, May 5 at 7:00 pm in the Gardiner town hall and/or contact GDC Chair Tom Kruglinski at chair@gardinerdemocrats.com.  There will also be a Zoom option for this meeting.  If you would like login information, please contact Tom.

Whatever the final outcomes to these challenges, the Gardiner Democratic Committee will keep fighting for Democrats as well as our shared Democratic Values.  Stay Tuned.

1. Voter Outreach.  The Gardiner Dems have decided to take part in an Ulster County Democratic Committee effort called Neighbor-to-Neighbor (N2N).  N2N is a program of “relational canvassing” designed with three goals in mind: to build community, to engage voters, and to increase turnout.  To learn more about N2N and understand how you can be a part of it, visit our website at this link:
   http://gardinerdemocrats.com/neighbor-to-neighbor-initiative/
2. Constituent Communication.  The Gardiner Dems will build a concrete communications infrastructure to communicate effectively with all of our voters.  We are doing this primarily by developing a new and strong database of our voters to communicate to them not just messages like this, but also timely updates from our Democratic Elected officials at all levels of government.  Stay tuned for more.  In addition, we are hosting a Spring Town Hall Series, the first of which will be on April 3 in the Gardiner Town Hall, featuring County Executive Patrick Ryan and Gardiner County Legislator and Chair of the Ulster County Legislature, Tracey Bartels.  Future town halls will be held on May 22nd and June 12th and are in the planning stages.  Stay tuned for details.
3. Fundraising.  Winning elections cost money: signs, advertisements, printed material (palm cards and other literature, newspaper inserts), lawn signs, political events, and direct monetary contributions to our endorsed candidates. The Gardiner Dems have set an ambitious goal of raising locally $8,000 by October 2 and spending all of it on electing Democrats.  Our only fixed costs are our website, the email service that got this message to you today, and a post office box.  We don’t pay for space or employees or anything else.  We are powered by 100% volunteer labor and are always interested in attracting more volunteers to make our work lighter and more effective.

   We will hold at least two fundraising events this year, which are in the planning stages.  Please stay tuned.  Also, please consider making a generous and secure donation at our website.  Every dollar is well-spent on electing Democrats and is greatly appreciated.

Retiring Gardiner Town Board member, David Dukler

The Gardiner Democratic Committee will host a fundraiser in Majestic Park on Sunday, September 26, from 1:00 to 4:00 in the Pavilion.  The guest of honor will be David Dukler, who is retiring after serving two distinguished terms on the Town Board.  Dave is known all-around as a team player who worked best forging consensus as well as championing issues such as his work on the Transfer Station, the kennel law, and achievements in parks and rec.  As an avid biker, he is also a champion of maintaining and improving the rail trail.

The event is billed as a FUNdraiser focused on family.  There will be yard games for kids (those -12 and under are free), good food and drink, and fellowship with other Democrats.  The signature event will be a live auction with a wide variety of items donated by local and area businesses and individuals.  The highest value items include a session with award-winning photographer, Michael Gold, valued at $400, and a skydive donated by The Ranch in Gardiner, valued at $300.  The marquis item on the auction block will be one week (seven nights) at the Marriott Orlando Cypress Harbor resort, June 4 – 11, 2022. It has two bedrooms two bathrooms and accommodates up to eight people. The value is $1750.  The winning bidder can trade it for any other available week (any time prior to that week) in the Marriott timeshare system, including Kauai, Oahu, Virgin Islands, Mallorca, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Scottsdale, and many others. Transportation is not included.  These highest valued items will be available for advance bid.  For more information, contact Tom Kruglinski at chair@gardinerdemocrats.com.

Also set up near the FUNdraiser and available to anyone in the park will be the Democracy Tent, an project of the Ulster County Democratic Committee.  It is a tent with a variety of information on progressive causes as well as voter registration and absentee ballot requests.  It will have kids’ activities such as “kid voting” and campaign button making.

A number of elected officials will be in attendance, including County Executive (and Gardiner resident), Patrick Ryan, Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, County Comptroller March Gallagher, our County Legislator (and Gardiner resident), Tracey Bartels, Candidate for Supreme Court (and Gardiner resident), David Gandin, Candidate for Ulster County Family Court, Sarah Rakov and Marisa McClinton, candidate for County Legislator representing Plattekill.  The event will also include all local (Gardiner) town candidates, including Supervisor Marybeth Majestic, Town Board member Warren Wiegand, Town Board candidate Carol Richman, Town Justice Bob Rich, Town Clerk Michelle Mosher, and Highway Superintendent Brian Stiscia.

Advance registration is necessary.  Admission is $25 for adults (18 and up), $5 for teens (13-17), and kids are free.  For more information and for registration, please go to: gardinerdemocrats.com/fundraiser .  Attendees can pay securely online via PayPal with their credit cards or PayPal account.

The event flyer is here.

Here is an update from our local (county and town) elected officials on the effort to have a traffic signal placed at the intersection of 44/55 and Bruynswick Road.

Letter UCTC Crash Analysis Rt 44 55 Gardiner in color June 16 2021

Int_Route 44 & Route 7

HSM_CPM_RuralTwoLaneRoads_v3.0 (3)

As you probably know, in years when there is no congressional election (odd-numbered years) there are elections for local offices.  In 2021, Gardiner voters will elect officials to the following offices on November 3 (Note: we do not know, at this point, whether our Democratic nominees will face opposition by Republicans or Conservatives):

This Year for Gardiner Democrats, It’s a Primary, Not a Caucus

Traditionally, for the town-level positions, the Gardiner Democratic Committee has held a caucus in late spring, with candidates for all town offices being nominated, giving speeches, and voting by all registered Gardiner Democrats in attendance.  That’s a tradition we like, because it is visible participatory democracy in action.  HOWEVER, this year, because of COVID, in January we decided to nominate local candidates via petitioning, with any (Democratic) contested offices decided in a June 22^nd Primary Election. This year, the Gardiner Democratic Committee endorsed a slate of candidates in February and carried nominating petitions for those candidates in March, all of whom gained access to the November ballot for the Democratic Party.

Our endorsed candidates were generally unopposed, except in one instance, Town Board Member, where our two endorsed candidates, Carol Richman and Warren Wiegand were contested by a third candidate (for two seats), Todd Baker.

The only decision Gardiner Democrats will make at the June 22^nd Primary Election is which two of the three candidates for Town Board will gain access to the Democratic ballot line in November.

We encourage you to support Carol and Warren in the June 22^nd Democratic Primary.  We will soon send out more information on their backgrounds and qualification in another message.  Please stay tuned for that.

ONE MORE THING: Location, Location, Location

Voting in the June 22^nd Primary Election will be at the Town Hall only.  If you are a registered Democrat in Gardiner who usually votes at the Firehouse, this year you will vote at the Town Hall.

Questions about any of this can be referred to Tom Kruglinski (914) 475-3601 or tom.kruglinski@gmail.com.

Candidates Sought for Gardiner Offices

Gardiner, NY— 1/3/2021 — The Gardiner Democratic Committee (GDC) is looking for Gardiner residents interested in running for town offices this coming November and being endorsed by the GDC.  The positions on the ballot include County Legislator (UC District 16), Town Supervisor, Town Board Member (two positions), Town Clerk, Highways and Roads Superintendent, and Town Court Justice.

Residents interested should send an email to chair@gardinerdemocrats.com expressing interest and, briefly, their reasons for possibly seeking office.  A resume is also requested if available.  Questions can be sent to the same address, but be sure to include a phone number for a return call.  Those interested will need to complete a questionnaire that will be sent to them shortly after their initial email.