The 48th Senate district moves on–quietly
Since Republican Patty Ritchie toppled incumbent Democrat Darrel Aubertine on election day, it’s been pretty darn quiet in the 48th. Aubertine has been silent since his loss. I’ve played a little phone tag with the Senator-elect, and I’m hoping to get her on the air soon.
To my knowledge, she hasn’t done an interview since the election where she lays out her thoughts on issues of the day, like how the property tax cap could affect schools, or which committee assignments she’s seeking in the Senate. If I’m missing something, let me know.
Watertown Daily Times ace political reporter Jude Seymour has managed to fill in some details for us. Ritchie has hired three people for a staff, including Jefferson County GOP activist Brian Peck as director of operations based in Watertown.
Jude recently asked Governor Paterson what he thought would happen to Aubertine. Here’s his answer:
“I don’t know,” the governor said during an afternoon phone interview from New York City. “I think he’s a very resourceful person who kind of got caught up in understandable backlash that the public has toward any incumbent. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in government. He’s won in places where many thought he would lose many times and I think he’ll be heard from again. He’s a wonderful person and I spoke to him just a couple of weeks ago to wish him well.”
Aubertine’s been linked to Gov.-elect Cuomo’s administration, perhaps via the agriculture department. But that’s just rumor for now.
Tags: election10, nys legislature, politics
The following article from Oswego County Today details Ms. Ritchie’s Oswego Office Manager Holly Carpenter’s unethical actions on the Fulton Assesment Review Board: http://oswegocountytoday.com/?p=33745. Ms. Carpenter has been picked by Senator Ritchie to run her Oswego County office, by the way the Senator Elect is planning on having 3 taxpayer funded district offices – her predecessor only had 2! The article goes in depth on Ms. Carpenter’s successful attempts in 2009 to lower her own property taxes, a Comptroller’s study on the matter found, not at all shockingly, that Fulton Assessment Review Board members were 30% more successful than the average Fultonian at lowering their own taxes. In addition to the $800 that Ms. Carpenter saved on her taxes in 2009 and every year forwrad she also broke several laws in her efforts to save more than the average taxpayer, including failing to let the Mayor of Fulton that she was putting her own property up for review. What happened to Patty Ritchie being the Taxpayer candidate, it seemed every word out of her mouth was taxes, but already she is betraying the taxpayers of the County by hiring political insiders willing to sacrifice the good of their neighbors for their own self interests.
What does she need a “staff” for in the first place? Who pays for that?
I’m shocked! Shocked, I say that she hasn’t talked now that she’s won. She didn’t talk before or during the election, why should things change now?
I am waiting to see whether she will really represent St. Lawrence County or not. Republicans have done very little for this county and Aubertine did more than his predecessors. They showed up just about election time to get votes here,and then went back and voted lockstep with their GOP buddies no matter how it hurt St. Lawrence. I’ll never understand why the media keeps the myth alive that Republicans do more for rural N.Y. when as a group they are tied in ideology and if a region suffers because of it so be it. I noticed that Mr. Skellos stated things will be different this time around, that they openly discuss topics. I would say that their openess only comes after all the horsetrading with each other behind closed doors,so that in public they can work as a front against anything and anyone who stands in their way. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ritchie has not shown herself to be able to be anything but a follower, and as many mailers as I received from Virginia in support of her, I wonder who she’ll really work for N.Y., or Eric Cantor and Tom Delay’s group,both of which have Glenn Allen,V.A. connections.
I am sure her PR person will ensure that any questions on voting and other positions make her look like a victim of the media ,so she will never really have to answer anything. I will also be interested to see if our local media just caves to her PR people or if they actually stand up to them. I wouldn’t bet on it.