Hey, What's This Independent Expenditure Committee Doing Under That Rug?

A quick word about our new Independent Expenditure Committee. Or "Finally, a Super PAC That Isn't Evil."

Pictured Above: Our friends at Indivisible Monroe unveiled a great new sign this weekend. Their next protest will be held on Saturday, July 26th at 1pm over at the corner of Lake Street and 17M.

If you have a problem with your tax dollars funding Trump’s concentration camps, you should be there. If you don’t live in Southern Orange County, but are equally upset about the taxpayer funded concentration camps, like Alligator Auschwitz, you should know there’s a national day of action coming this Thursday, July 17th. You can find a local protest to join here.

Any state that opens one of these concentration camps should be boycotted. New York State should immediately be looking into cutting all ties (contracts, investments, ect.) with the State of Florida, for example, over their operation of Alligator Auschwitz.

We should also start talking about cutting off the money we send to the federal government, but that’s just my opinion.

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Hi There.

I am currently taking care of an ill family member. Everyone is ok, but I can’t exactly update this thing from the emergency room either.

So, we’ll be back with our next podcast this week, which takes a closer look at the City of Newburgh, their police department, and both as they attempt to cover up a pretty big whoopsie.

While we focus primarily on Southern Orange County (Monroe-Woodbury-Chester-Blooming Grove-Palm Tree), the story involving the Newburgh Police Department involves a FOIL lawsuit. We believe FOIL is one of few remaining weapons New York State residents have to hold their local governments, and its agencies like the police, accountable. So we’re going to cover something outside of our usual territory.

FOIL on the State level is completely dysfunctional. For example, I’ve been waiting nearly a year for documents I requested concerning South Blooming Grove’s EMS, and an allegation that the Department of Health gave it permission to operate. Despite the EMS company not being licensed or otherwise setup properly to do so.

I’ve wanted to write about the issue between the Blooming Grove EMS and Joel Stern’s South Blooming Grove EMS for some time now, but the Department of Health has obstructed this FOIL request, and in the process, my story.

If, hypothetically, I ran for the State Senate, I would propose a total revision of the FOIL law that limited the amount of excuses allowed to hide information and documents from the public. There would also be steep financial and criminal penalties for public officials who did not cooperate with a FOIL request appropriately.

Instead of what my (hypothetical) primary opponent, State Senator James G. Skoufis, wants to do, which is tinker around the margins, but actually do nothing, and claim that he’s fixing it for you.

Good Trouble Lives On

There’s one quick thing I wanted to talk about. Aside from the National Day of Protest happening on July 17th. That’s this Thursday, from 4:00—5:30pm, in front of the Orange County Government building on Main St. in Goshen. (So, to be clear, this is a THURSDAY event. As in, happening during the week. Not a Saturday like the other ones. The date was picked to celebrate the anniversary of the passing of Congressman John Lewis. So, that’s why it’s in the middle of the work week.)

For those of you living in Southern Orange County. If you plan to attend the THURSDAY event in Goshen, you do not have to signup here, but I encourage you to do so. Signing up is part of how we can tabulate total attendance nationwide. For example, the No Kings Event was the biggest national protest in American history. We know that from organizers counting heads, but also attendees registered for the event.

If you are in Northern Orange County, Newburgh is also hosting a Good Trouble Lives On event. Information for that event, also on a THURSDAY, can be found here. (Once again, I wish we could get all the Indivisible Groups organized and meeting in one central location for these big, national protests, but we’ll get there.)

Ok. On to the Independent Expenditure Committee …

Stealth Organization to Hold Everyone In Orange County Accountable For South Blooming Grove

What does this new Independent Expenditure Committee do? The headline above says it all.

I’m not going to tell you the name of the organization just yet. I need to go and register a bunch of things. As our friend State Senator Skoufis is also about to learn, you want to own the intellectual property of the things you name your organization after.

But.

I am now the proud owner of an independent expenditure committee.

I personally think these organizations should not be allowed to exist. They are essentially the New York State equivalent of a Super PAC. An unaccountable, rogue organization that can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money, with very few restrictions and even less oversight.

So I thought, you know what? How about we set one of these things up and use it for good, instead of evil?

You’ve seen a local, evil example with State Senator James G. Skoufis’s Protect Monroe-Woodbury.

Up in Albany, there’s one called Albany Forward, which is linked up with the same expensive lobbying and PR firm Skoufis used, The Parkside Group.

Some of the billionaires and corporations funding Killer Cuomo’s failed primary bid — and continued existence in the New York City mayoral race — have also set up a new one called Save NYC.

These pricks, and others like them, are going to spend over a hundred million dollars to keep Zohran Mamdani from getting elected mayor of New York City. All while over 1.1 million New Yorkers are about to lose their health insurance, and tens of thousands more are going to lose federal funding for food assistance.

Think about that for a second.

Because that, to me anyway, is evil.

People are going to die, and they’re going to spend over a hundred million to defeat a candidate (Mamdani) who isn’t going to be able to do half of what he wants do. Instead of feeding the hungry and providing health insurance for those who need it.

Who cares if people are going to die from starvation and a lack of health insurance when a Democratic Socialist Mayoral candidate wants to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires, right?

If you’re Hakeem Jeffries, Kathy Hochul, and James Skoufis, that sure seems to be how you think. (I couldn’t help but notice Hochul and Jeffries haven’t endorsed Mamdani. But Governor Hochul is now stressing to people how she’s supported by grass roots donors like you, instead of the corporations where she gets the bulk of her money from. Skoufis is too busy reading Far Right publications and writing on his Cornwall office walls in crayon the word “SOCIALIST.” So it’s easy to understand, in his case anyway, the lack of endorsement for Mamdani.)

Anyway.

What if a Super PAC existed, that wasn’t evil. That’s the concept.

What if a Super PAC existed, that went after everyone in Orange County government that allowed for the situation in South Blooming Grove to exist?

What if a Super PAC existed, that went after candidates in Southern Orange County who put the needs of the real estate developers, ahead of the needs of the people?

Well. One does.

For now, I just want to let you know it now exists.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll talk more about it. The only impact it’s going to have on The Monroe Gazette is that I’ll be adding a disclaimer on our About page, to let you know that The Monroe Gazette is associated with the Independent Expenditure Committee.

Since an Independent Expenditure Committee can’t legally coordinate with candidates anyway, it doesn’t change what we do and who we cover. It’ll give the dumb people who like to say, “See? The Woodbury Mayor is working with BJ Mendelson” something to point out, but since these people have no credibility to begin with — and like I said, an Independent Expenditure Committee can’t legally coordinate with candidates — I’m not worried about what they’re going to say.

No. Now, those people are the ones who are going to need to be worried. Because if they thought I was a problem with a newsletter. Just wait until they see what I can do with a Super Pac. :-)

I’ll be in touch. Pardon any typos and our delay. We will get back and rolling along here shortly.