I read this in today's Gazette and thought it was spot on. It's time politicians think about us not about themselves:
Incumbents shouldn’t promote reelection with public mailings
It’s campaign season, and once again, incumbent politicians are attempting to capitalize on their incumbency by using our tax dollars to fund their reelection campaigns.
Using tax money to send what are effectively campaign mailers is wrong. It provides an unfair advantage to incumbents, as it allows them to use our tax money as their unlimited campaign account. Worse than that, in perilous economic times such as these, this money could be used for far more beneficial purposes. For example, this money could have been used to offset the drastic cuts made to education funding, leading to lower property taxes for our residents.
That elected officials believe spending tax money on their reelection bids is more important than educating our children demonstrates what is wrong with most of the individuals currently holding elected office.
I thought it was an offensive use of our tax money when these mailers were sent in the past, and I find it equally offensive to receive them today.
Frank S. Salamone
Rotterdam
The writer is a Republican candidate for Rotterdam Town Board.
you know i am actually starting to like this kid. He is running for office on the repub line and at the same time stabs another repub in the back with this letterl - it is obliviously directed at GA. This guy either has a huge pair or a complete lack of brains. He is not even running against GA or anybody for that matter that is an incumbent!!!
I am sure his handler signed off on this one
so again the knocks on GA are that he is an incumbent of a term and a half????? and he mails stuff to his district???? i can live with that as long as he continues to vote the way he does and stays within his alloted budget. and again compare his spending with every other assemblyman and i am sure you will find that it is lower than most.
I'm a registered blank so I don't have a political horse in this race. But when I see what is going on with this local GOP, it leaves no choice but to do a 'write in'. The puppeteering and manipulation that is clearly going on with the rotterdam GOP, is shameful and a discredit to the GOP.
One would think that the local GOP would have learned from the last election that running a negative campaign is like shooting yourself in the foot. Who the hell is running the show over there?
Unless of course, Salamone wrote this article to support and to further Parisi's agenda. Puppet? Perhaps?
you know i am actually starting to like this kid. He is running for office on the repub line and at the same time stabs another repub in the back with this letterl - it is obliviously directed at GA. This guy either has a huge pair or a complete lack of brains. He is not even running against GA or anybody for that matter that is an incumbent!!!
I am sure his handler signed off on this one
so again the knocks on GA are that he is an incumbent of a term and a half????? and he mails stuff to his district???? i can live with that as long as he continues to vote the way he does and stays within his alloted budget. and again compare his spending with every other assemblyman and i am sure you will find that it is lower than most.
It looks that way NOW.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
So Bumble giving a grant to a business which will lead to increased sales tax income is bad. But using tax money to fund reelection campaigns is good? Got it!
So Bumble giving a grant to a business which willmay lead to increased sales tax income is bad. But using tax money to fund reelection campaigns is good? Got it!
Who profits off of campaign literature? As far as I know, EVERYBODY in the district receives a campaign flyer.
Who determines the winners and losers and who gets grant money and who doesn't??? Oh, just those in the political class.
The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is apt to spread discontent among those who are. ~ H.L. Mencken
Main Entry: 1grant Pronunciation: \ˈgrant\ Function: transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French granter, graanter, from Vulgar Latin *credentare, from Latin credent-, credens, present participle of credere to believe — more at creed Date: 13th century 1 a : to consent to carry out for a person : allow fulfillment of b : to permit as a right, privilege, or favor 2 : to bestow or transfer formally ; specifically : to give the possession or title of by a deed 3 a : to be willing to concede b : to assume to be true
— grant·able \ˈgran-tə-bəl\ adjective
— grant·er \-tər\ noun
— grant·or \ˈgran-tər, -ˌtȯr; gran-ˈtȯr\ noun
synonyms grant, concede, vouchsafe, accord, award mean to give as a favor or a right. grant implies giving to a claimant or petitioner something that could be withheld . concede implies yielding something reluctantly in response to a rightful or compelling claim . vouchsafe implies granting something as a courtesy or an act of gracious condescension . accord implies giving to another what is due or proper . award implies giving what is deserved or merited usually after a careful weighing of pertinent factors .
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Who profits off of campaign literature? As far as I know, EVERYBODY in the district receives a campaign flyer.
Who determines the winners and losers and who gets grant money and who doesn't??? Oh, just those in the political class.
You are correct....HOWEVER.....spidey needs to re-read this 'literature' cause it ISN'T campaign literature. It is 'informational' literature sent out by every single elected representative to their respectful districts to 'inform' them of the goings on in their municipality....so to say!
Using taxpayers money to seal a 'private' deal for a multi-million dollar company is ludicrous and extortion in my book!
But using my money to help the campaign of a politician I disagree with is A-OK? If you believe this stuff is for informing people and not for furthering election campaigns I got a bridge in brooklyn to sell you...
You guys are really arguing that spending this money on these mailers is a GOOD thing!?
In light of County and Town unelected officials recently floating hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to a muti-million dollar company in the name of "economic development" or "increasing the tax base" would rank higher on my list of concerns. Campaign literature is low on my list.
If Frank wants to appeal to the Tea Party anti-incumbent populist crowd, he should take a public stand against appointed bureaucrats at the County and Town level giving millions of dollars to the top two commercial develpers in the Capial District. Or point out the hundreds of thousands of dollars the prior Rotterdam Republican Party Chair made off of the Town because of cronyism. I think it would play well with that crowd.
The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is apt to spread discontent among those who are. ~ H.L. Mencken
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