Pictured Above: This man nearly bankrupted the Town of Chester. After voters threw former Town Supervisor, Bob Valentine, out on his ass, he’s back for revenge. And he’s bringing along super cool Facebook posts like this one:
Show Notes For Our June 17th Podcast Episode
As promised in our Sunday post, here is our podcast interview with Chester Town Supervisor, Brandon Holdridge, Chester Town Clerk, Linda Zappala, and Chester Town Board member Bob Courtenay. The reason there’s a Republican Primary has less to do with State Senator Skoufis’s Protect Monroe-Woodbury, and more to do with former Town Supervisor, Bob Valentine, looking for revenge. In the Fall of 2023, Bob Valentine lost to current Town Supervisor, Brandon Holdridge, by 604 votes (1586 to 962.)
In today’s episode — which we’re making available for free — we discuss the Town of Chester Republican Primary, currently underway (see Early Voting information below), and what makes Bob Courtenay and Linda Zappala the most qualified candidates in the race. The Monroe Gazette has endorsed them both. We are also still investigating concerns involving Mr. Valentine’s Valcon America Corporation and its connections to wealthy real estate developers with interests in Chester during Mr. Valentine’s time as Supervisor.
In today’s podcast, we also discussed Chester’s transition to a Ward System — something Monroe and Woodbury absolutely need to implement — an update on ownership of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, and what’s next in terms of land preservation in the Town of Chester.
Linda Zappala also gives a great, and very detailed answer, concerning what it is a Town Clerk actually does. Most people have no idea. Neither does the Village of South Blooming Grove Clerk. But that’s a different story …
Call Kathy Hochul’s Office About The Chester Land Preservation Bill
The Monroe Gazette has extensively covered the Blooming Grove land preservation bill, which was vetoed by Governor Kathy Hochul. But! Similar legislation has now passed for Chester. (One wonders if Mr. Skoufis objects to reviving the Blooming Grove bill because of his financial ties with South Blooming Grove’s unelected mayors, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein.)
Regardless, if you want this Chester bill to pass, you can’t sit around and assume Governor Kathy Hochul will pass it. Because she’s going to veto this sucker the first chance she gets.
If you want to help fight for this land preservation bill for Chester, there is something you can do: CALL KATHY HOCHUL’S OFFICE.
Every Chester resident should call 1-518-474-8390 and demand that this bill be passed now, without delay, and without excuses.
Below is our statement to The Monroe-Woodbury School District Board of Education about Protect Monroe-Woodbury
At the start of the episode, you can hear BJ read this. But here is the statement in full:
“It’s my understanding our school district does not have the name Monroe-Woodbury copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise protected. I’ve been in touch with a few different law firms here in New York State, and they’ve told me a school district is well within its rights to do so.
So, why am I here telling you this?
Protect Monroe-Woodbury is an Independent Expenditure Committee created by State Senator James G. Skoufis. Thus far, Mr. Skoufis has spent nearly ten thousand dollars on a public relations firm. Two thousand dollars — and counting — on Facebook advertising. And an unknown amount of money on mailers.
These actions, by our State Senator, have turned both the Monroe Town Supervisor Democratic Primary — and the Woodbury Mayoral Republican Primary — into the most expensive local races in the history of both towns.
It’s important for the school district to understand: An Independent Expenditure Committee, with few restrictions, can spend an unlimited amount of money during an election. After these expenditures were made, Mr. Skoufis still has north of six million dollars in his campaign bank account.
While Mr. Skoufis doesn’t have the financial resources of Elon Musk, he can certainly spend enough money in our local elections to warp them in the same way an Elon Musk would.
For those of who have seen the Protect Monroe-Woodbury mailers, while not exclusively purple and white, they do make heavy use of the school district’s primary colors.
The website, found at ProtectMW[dot]com, can be — and has been — confused by Monroe-Woodbury parents as representing the school district.
After speaking with the attorneys, they all agree the actions of State Senator Skoufis may constitute a violation of the School District’s intellectual property rights.
While the school district can, and should, send a cease and desist letter to Mr. Skoufis, your case against him would be stronger if you possessed the necessary trademark and copyright protections.
I am speaking before the board this evening to urge you to seek that additional protection now. Before Mr. Skoufis can pump even more money into our local elections on behalf of the candidates he supports, taking this action will prevent bad actors, such as Mr. Skoufis, from using the school district’s name and primary colors to sow confusion and discord among Monroe-Woodbury parents. Thank you.”
If you like these podcasts, they’re presented advertising-free for our subscribers. In the coming weeks, select episodes like this one will be made available to the public, but will contain ads.
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