Preserve Ramapo

www.preserve-ramapo.com

2020 Primary Election Endorsements

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Democratic and Republican Primaries–Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday June 23. Polls will be open Tuesday June 23, 6am to 9pm.

There are some important races on the ballot for the June 23rd primary that we would like to call your attention to. Many of you may have absentee ballots sitting on the kitchen counter that have not been completed. Perhaps this will prompt to you fill them out and get them postmarked by the Tuesday June 23rd deadline.
New York State Senate 38th District
There are primaries for the 38th District of the NY State Senate on both the Democrat and Republican lines. The choices are straight forward in both contests.
Republican
For the Republican line Bill Weber’s extensive life experience, professional acumen, and community involvement makes him a far better candidate than his lone opponent. Vote for
Weber in box 3B on the ballot.
Democrat
There are three candidates vying for state senate for the Democratic nod.  It’s apparent to us that Justin Sweet has the support of the Bloc and will get their vote on Tuesday. The two remaining candidates are Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and Eudson Francios. Of those two we believe Melnick is the smart move because he has the best chance of winning without the Bloc vote and has shown a willingness to stand up to the Bloc when it comes to issues regarding the public schools. Vote for Elijah in box 10A on the ballot.”

17th Congressional District
There are primaries on both sides of the aisle as well for the 17th Congressional District which encompasses all of Rockland County and a large portion of Westchester.

Republican
On the Republican side Maureen McArdle-Schulman is the clear choice. Her opponent lacks the requisite work and life experience that Maureen holds in abundance. Vote for her in box 1B on the ballot.

Democrat
The Democratic side of the Congressional contest is a bit more complicated. There are 8 candidates on the primary ballot, but it seems that the race has come down to only 4. David Carlucci and Adam Schleifer are deep in throes of an existential political struggle to get the Bloc vote and seem willing to move heaven and earth to get it. Neither can win without it. Scratch them both off your list.
That leaves two others.
Evelyn Farkas from Westchester earns an honorable mention as she is ethical, tough, and well qualified. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the mojo she needs to win this primary out right.
Mondaire Jones appears to be the strongest horse in the Democratic field. A product of the East Ramapo school system, it is hard to believe that Hassidic leaders would trust him to do their bidding in Congress. Unlike Farkas, however, Jones has a real shot of winning this one without the Bloc. Vote for Mondaire in box 2A on the ballot.

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday June 23rd to be counted as valid.

Polls are open for in person voting on June 23rd from 6 am to 9 pm. However, be sure to check your polling location because many have been changed due to the pandemic. For a complete listing of polling locations follow this link: or go directly to the Board of Elections website here.

Thank you
Robert Rhodes
Chairman
Preserve Ramapo

East Ramapo votes no on school budget, the lone rejection in Lower Hudson Valley

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“East Ramapo voters rejected a $247 million school budget plan by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, the school board announced late Thursday, the latest setback in a struggling district riven by race and the competing interests of public and private school parents.

The 6,917-to-3,850 vote represented the only budget rejection among 53 school districts in the Lower Hudson Valley counties of Rockland, Westchester and Putnam, and was one of 10 budget defeats among 658 school districts statewide.

The district will decide in the coming days whether to hold another budget vote or adopt a contingency budget, which would require freezing the district’s tax levy and cutting spending. [Read more…]

No school board election Tuesday for East Ramapo as appeals court rejects district bid–Mail in votes on Budget will count

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Though no school board election will take place, mail-in ballots on the budget will be counted

A federal appeals court has turned back East Ramapo’s attempt to hold school board elections on Tuesday under an at-large voting system, which a lower court said is unfair to black and Latino voters.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday rejected East Ramapo’s request to stay U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel’s ruling in a voting rights case. The case was filed by the Spring Valley chapter of the NAACP.

The panel set Aug. 17 as the earliest date for when it could hear arguments in the district’s appeal of Seibel’s May 26 ruling. That means a special election to fill four open seats on the nine-member board would likely not happen until September at the earliest. [Read more…]

Judge rejects East Ramapo’s request to hold school board elections June 9

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Statue of blind justice“A federal judge on Monday rejected East Ramapo’s attempt to hold school board elections as planned June 9, saying the district’s time would be better spent creating a system that’s fair to black and Latino voters.

U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel turned back East Ramapo’s effort to stay her ruling from May 25, which gave the district 30 days to create a ward or neighborhood-based voting system with four districts in which minorities make up the majority of registered voters. [Read more…]

Federal Court Finds East Ramapo School Board Elections Violate Voting Rights Act

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NYCLU Banner

MAY 26, 2020 Press release from NYCLU (ACLU of New York)

EAST RAMAPO – A federal court today ruled that the East Ramapo Central School District’s at-large method for school board elections denies Black and Latinx residents an equal opportunity to elect their preferred candidates under the federal Voting Rights Act. Judge Cathy Seibel of the Southern District of New York ordered the implementation of a ward system and enjoined the district from holding further elections until this system is in place. [Read more…]

East Ramapo School Board Elections–June 9 Mail-in

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Candidates for ERCSD Board

Sherry McGill, Ana Maeda-Gonzalez, Kerry Victor, Carole Anderson

Election Update from Power of 10
1. Mail-in Ballots Only!
2. Meet Our Candidates
3. Library Vote

1) Mail-in Ballots Only!

The Governor has cancelled all in-person voting for school board elections. School districts have been ordered to conduct the election by mail-in ballot only. There will be a very short window of time from when you receive your ballot until you must mail it to be received on time. The ballots must be received by June 9, but there is a potential for slow mail delivery due to the pandemic.

For this reason, PLEASE WATCH YOUR MAIL, PLEASE FILL OUT AND RETURN THE BALLOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! [Read more…]

Ramapo potentially clears deficit with $5M sale of Suffern Quarry to New Jersey developer

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Aerial photo courtesy Lee Ross at RossPilot.com

“Town Board members have approved the $5 million sale of the Suffern Quarry to a New Jersey developer, ridding taxpayers of a large hole in the ground and potentially erasing a multi-million-dollar general fund budget deficit.

The five officials gave their approval Wednesday night during a board meeting broadcast via Zoom. The coronavirus pandemic has prohibited public gatherings. [Read more…]

East Ramapo school board vacancy filled by longtime public school activist, but it’s just temporary

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“Carole Anderson, a longtime public education advocate in East Ramapo, has been appointed an interim member of the school board.

Anderson fills the seat of Bernard Charles, who resigned his position as part of a plea deal with the Rockland District Attorney’s Office. Charles pleaded guilty in February to misdemeanor petty larceny; he was accused of renting out town property to pocket the fee. [Read more…]

Christopher St. Lawrence, ex-Ramapo supervisor, to be released from prison Friday

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Picture of Front Page of the Journal News with Headline St. Lawrence From Bigshot to Convict

Front Page of the Journal News March 17, 2018

“Disgraced former Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence is due to be released from the federal prison system on Friday.

St. Lawrence, a Democrat who served as Ramapo’s supervisor from 2000 to May 2016, was convicted by a federal jury in May 2017 of 20 counts of securities and wire fraud, and conspiracy, in a scheme to finance the town baseball stadium. [Read more…]

Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht and his wife recovering from COVID-19

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Michael Specht Ramapo Supervisor

Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News

“Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht is recovering from a two-week bout with the coronavirus that drove his temperature up to 102 degrees and left him fatigued and nauseous.

“I had what was probably in the moderate side of the disease but it was very debilitating and painful,” he said Friday morning in a phone interview.

“I urge everyone to stay home. … It’s not fun,” Specht said between lingering coughs. “I was very lucky. For people who are not so lucky, it can be very serious.” [Read more…]