He’s back!

My corporate masters and I got to discussing “balance” during my holiday break. By balance, they didn’t mean fairness (often in the eye of the beholder), which I try to achieve, but a better mix of local, state and national commentary. I’m down with that.

Quadrennial election turnout demonstrates that far more voters participate in presidential elections than, say, for county legislature. The Ulster Board of Elections tells us that a record of around 110,000 people voted in last November’s elections — better than 80 percent of registrants. This doesn’t mean that 80 percent of my copy is going to be about Trump, but it is something that people want to read about.

Along those lines, I’ve been giving some thought to what some critics call TDS, for Trump Dementia Syndrome. These are the folks who literally get wild-eyed anytime the 47th president’s name is mentioned. As with most other things, mainstream media feeds into this syndrome by broadcasting and amplifying just about anything he says or does.

But it’s not just media and Trump haters. It’s a little bit of all of us. We take this man entirely too seriously.

Why half of what he says makes it even on WKNY or WGHQ in Kingston escapes me. Does anyone really believe that Trump is serious about plans to annex either Greenland or the Panama Canal? Somewhere, editors of major newspapers and TV stations have to independently and collectively call this stuff bullsh-t, let’s get on to some real news.

In truth, I don’t expect anything to change. The same “journalists” from both sides who misled us or misinformed us during the last election are still on station. No wonder their ratings are in the tank.

All that being said, we live under a government of checks and balances. Executive orders aside, it takes more than one looney to move the ship of state.

As voters, we need to be better informed, more discerning. A Republican acquaintance coined a word that might not make it into Webster’s but does fairly describe voters of either major party who pull the lever for their side regardless of the competition. He calls them “sheeple,” for sheep people. And that’s too baaad.

Local Elections

Owing to the collective wisdom of our state legislature, 2025 will be the last year for stand-alone local elections. Starting next year, candidates for county legislature and town offices will be held jointly with statewide elections, Congress and county and state legislature elections. Countywide offices will not be affected, except county executive and comptroller. That is, if legal challenges to it fail.

The rationale behind this historic change — New Yorkers have been voting in “local elections” since 1683 — was, we were told, to encourage voter turnout since more people vote in national and state contests than in local.

Talk about wrong-headed. It doesn’t take a political scientist to figure out that the “people” the Democratic-controlled state legislature are aiming for are by a considerable margin, Democrats. Ergo, the purpose is to elect more local Democrats. I get that politics is war, but does the majority have to crush the minority in every election?

It figures to be a very crowded ballot next year.

Democratic County Comptroller March Gallagher of Rosendale will seek a third term; she served an abbreviated term after succeeding former comptroller Elliott Auerbach in 2019. As yet, she has no declared opponent. If one does arise, it will emerge from majority Democrats, the only game on the county level. It seems some as-yet unnamed sources in the Democratic party are not down with a watchdog with big eyes and sharp teeth. To what end to be decided on Nov. 4.

Acting County Clerk Taylor Bruck hopes to secure a full, four-year term in this year’s elections, but faces a challenge from New Paltz deputy mayor Alexandria Wojcik. Nobody seems to dislike Bruck, but Wojcik seems to have made as many enemies as friends in her hometown. If she does run, she will make much noise.

Which brings up the question, how does one “run” for county clerk? By making the motor vehicle department lines shorter, running the DMV van to more towns?

County legislature races are typically popularity contests among some 9,000 constituents in 23 districts. It’s far too many legislators for too few people, but don’t count on legislators to reduce the size of their governing body. Democrats currently rule 16-7, but Republicans have been acting like the opposition of late. Or is it just for show?

Everybody in Kingston government is a Democrat, including our two cats. The “People’s Party” (as it used to be called) holds all 10 seats in the Common Council, city judge and mayor. The mayor is not up for election until 2027.

City Republicans say they’re hoping to elect one, just one, alderperson this November. They said much the same two years ago.

Molinaro’s Back

At least on local radio.

Defeated by less than two percentage points by Democrat Josh Riley, Molinaro, 48, is for the first time in 30 years, a private citizen. “I’ve come full cycle,” he said. “I was a teenage village trustee in Tivoli at 18.”

Molinaro will be a guest on our Me and Mario call-in radio show on Friday on WGHQ 920 AM at 8:05 a.m. Always a forthcoming interview, the former Dutchess County executive will discuss the election just past and his plans for the future. Tune in. We’re all ears. To stream the show live, or listen to it later, click here: https://vimeo.com/user173056939