Sussman vs. Neuhaus: The Pulse Test Decides!

Dive into the latest political drama in Orange County, from shocking expenditures to controversial candidates and the ongoing hydrogen sulfide crisis

Howdy. I've been dealing with an illness for about a month now, so thank you for your patience. Once the lengthy podcast transcript about the Newburgh PD is approved, I'll get it online. At this point, Newburgh PD and the mayor have had more than enough time to respond to our questions.

They haven't. So, I've done my part.

And remember, if you are a paid subscriber, you can listen to the podcast audio either here or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

You can also access our private Facebook Group, found here. (Sometimes when I don't post for a while, I'll make small updates over there.)

Now, a lot is going on, so we will be backtracking and covering things like:

- The recent Woodbury Village meeting where I received a fun shout-out.

- How much a Democrat (State Senator Skoufis) spent supporting a MAGA Republican Brandon Calore (it's about $20,000).

Pictured Above: Look at the bottom row. Also, there’s another story here involving Mr. Skoufis not reporting his — and his Independent Expenditure Committee, Protect Monroe-Woodbury — expenditures concerning Councilwoman Maureen Richardson. He spent a hell of a lot more than $2,852 in that race too. More soon.

---

- Whether Woodbury Town Supervisor Kathryn Luciani is running for state office, meaning if re-elected, she will spend most of her time campaigning instead of doing what she was re-elected to do.

- How Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone and Town Board member Dorey Houle have halted discussions with the Village Police Department in Monroe regarding an agreement to allow the Village PD to patrol the Town. Instead Houle and Cardone have decided to waste more of your money on a hotline for complaints. I wish I was kidding.

- Why Steven Thau, a candidate for the Monroe Town Board, appears in the majority of photos presented by the Town of Monroe in its email newsletter to the community. It’s almost as if the Town of Monroe is using taxpayer funded resources to promote political candidates, but that can’t be right because … That would be illegal. :-)

- Who on the Monroe Town Democratic Committee may have misled the State Police on behalf of Mrs. Kiesel. The State Police are currently investigating Mrs. Kiesel for potential charges of Harassment in the Second Degree.

- What's going on with I.C.E. in the Village of Monroe. I.C.E. has been incredibly busy, and there are many questions. For example, how do you know the people who say they are I.C.E. are actually I.C.E.? That’s the question local small business owner, Eddie Blanco, asked and received no answer in the harrowing video below:

Pictured Above: I.C.E. Agents (?) in the Village of Monroe are asked for identification and provide none. The Village Police and Village Board have not yet commented on what the rules are concerning I.C.E. enforcement and whether or not these agents are required to identify themselves. While State Senator Skoufis claims to support the New York For All Act, which would limit I.C.E.’s activities in the State and the New York MELT Act (which would require I.C.E. agents to not wear masks and identify themselves) he has yet to do the courageous thing and call for an emergency session of the Legislature insisting these two bills be passed.

Mr. Skoufis also does not support the New York Health Act, citing concerns with its costs. So I guess his position on 1.1 million New Yorkers losing their insurance beginning in January of 2027 and hospitals closing is “Fuck you. Die.”

State Senator James G. Skoufis, man of the people.

Not to be outdone, Assemblyman Karl Brabenec and Assemblyman Chris Eachus have also not called for an emergency session of the legislature to pass the New York For All Act and the MELT Act. And neither have publicly commented on the New York Health Act either.

So in terms of your southern Orange County elected state officials, now you know where they stand.

---

Let’s Talk About The Hydrogen Sulfide Situation

Today, I want to direct your attention back to the hydrogen sulfide situation in the Village of Monroe.

Before we dive into that, let's briefly discuss Mike Sussman and Maria May.

Sussman is running against County Executive Steve Neuhaus this fall, and Maria May is running against Orange County Legislator Peter Tuohy.

Tuohy is best known for downplaying the existence of the hydrogen sulfide smell in the Village of Monroe and lying about its cause. Remember, Peter Tuohy, Tony Cardone, Steve Neuhaus, and Dorey Houle have all known about the hydrogen sulfide situation since as early as 2021. This was confirmed via FOIL’ed records obtained by The Monroe Gazette.

(You’re welcome, by the way.)

Hilariously, State Senator Skoufis has, once again, tried to interject himself into the hydrogen sulfide situation by writing a letter to the DEC this month, asking them to intervene, which … They already did in January.

Better late than never, right, James?

Oh right. Sorry. Skoufis was busy spending almost a year's salary for some people supporting the MAGA candidate in Woodbury and couldn't be bothered to write this letter about a potential risk to public health and safety sooner. How long Skoufis has known about the hydrogen sulfide issue is unknown, since the State government has made it nearly impossible to obtain records via FOIL.

Must be nice.

Let’s restate the situation, because above, you can see the most recent OCSD1 Advisory meeting from this month where they again try to divert blame for the small, while simultaneously downplaying it.

The situation with the hydrogen sulfide is this: South Blooming Grove, which has already set aside the money to treat their sewage using hardware provided by ANUE Water Technologies, refuses to purchase and install the hardware unless County Executive Steve Neuhaus drops the county's lawsuit against the Village; and allows them to build a road through Gonzaga Park, which the county owns. I know this because I have a recording of South Blooming Grove’s de facto co-mayor, Joel Stern explicitly stating this.

Legislator Peter Tuohy has known about this quid pro quo for years, and instead of discussing it publicly, he continues to say, "We can't know what South Blooming Grove's reasons are," when asked about not activating the ANUE Water Technologies hardware. In short, Peter Tuohy is covering for South Blooming Grove, and you should remember that when it comes time to vote this fall for Maria May.

Ask yourselves: Do you want someone working for South Blooming Grove, or do you want someone who—while associated with a group of mostly corrupt local Democrats—isn't covering for Joel Stern and will, if she does nothing but show up, already provide a 100% improvement over Peter Tuohy?

In that case, the choice is simple. You support Maria May.

And if you are "wait and see" when it comes to any of the local Democrats—believe me, I get it. Most of your Republican politicians are problematic, and the Democrats are either working for Skoufis, the real estate developers, or both.

But "wait and see" just gets you more of the same.

If you don't like the candidates running for office, the simple fact is you need to either get involved yourself or find someone in your community and support their candidacy with your time and money.

Things will not change in America until you do this. Not here. Not nationally.

This brings us to Mike Sussman and Steve Neuhaus.

As I've told Mr. Sussman, I'm going to give his candidacy for County Executive about as much support as he gave the idea of me running for Monroe's Town Board: which is about zero.

Mr. Sussman's reasoning, if you're curious, was that Mr. Skoufis had basically screamed at Sussman on the phone about me running. Mr. Skoufis apparently screamed at a whole bunch of people about this. There are witnesses.

As you know, because I've made it clear here at the Gazette, I will only run if we end up with Skoufis vs. Houle Round 3, because the people of Orange County deserve better than that shit. Twice was enough. Poor Dorey spent a half-million dollars on racist dog whistle adds about how she’s a “Cop’s Wife” who’s going to get “tough on crime.”

Dorey, of course, meant crime involving only brown and black people. Not white people.

I also know that many people in Blooming Grove and South Blooming Grove, in particular, do not trust Mr. Sussman.

Simply put, he has represented Ziggy Brach and friends in the past, and even though that was a long time ago, they remember. Ziggy Brach, if you forgot, is the key developer behind Clovewood and is also a significant funder of Woodbury Town Supervisor Kathryn Luciani’s previous New York State Assembly race.

This is something to keep in mind if she runs for state office in 2026.

So, what do you do? Because Neuhaus has been misleading the public for years and is currently under investigation by the FBI …

I feel like I've been saying this forever: both parties suck. You get poor candidates when you—yes, you—are disengaged in the political system.

I think Maria May is a good candidate. She's a Democrat. I think James Freiband and Matthew Fabbro have repeatedly demonstrated, through their votes and statements, that they are not good candidates. They, too, are Democrats.

I think Tony Cardone and Brandon Calore, humorously supported by the same MAGA campaign consultant, Elias Cunningham, are terrible candidates. They're Republicans.

I think Andrew Giacomazza and Tara Burek are good candidates. They're Republicans.

So, if you’re still clinging to political party to decide how you vote, those days are over.

And unless you get involved, this is as good as it will get.

I don't have much patience for people who want to sit around and complain about it. You don't like the candidates? What are you going to do about it? If the answer is "nothing," then sit down and be quiet.

This brings us back to Mike Sussman. He does pass what I call the Pulse Test.

What's The Pulse Test?

It's very simple: simply by existing, is this person a better candidate than the one you have currently?

The answer in a choice between Sussman and Neuhaus is yes.

If you don't like Sussman, then it's on you to either join your local Democratic committee—watch out, the Monroe and Woodbury ones are packed with gaslighting weirdos—and speak up.

If you don't want to deal with the gaslighting weirdos, and who can blame you, start your own committee. Run your own candidates. Nobody likes Democrats and Republicans much these days anyway.

And if you're thinking, "Sussman is just going to favor Haredi developers," I'll say, "How is that different from what Neuhaus is doing right now?" Because the answer is, it isn't.

Neuhaus has known for years about the hydrogen sulfide situation. He did nothing.

Neuhaus has known for years about the Clovewood situation. He did nothing.

Neuhaus's own people in the Health Department and Environmental Services have been "warning" South Blooming Grove for years about critical infrastructure failures without taking any action against them.

They just threaten SBG and then do nothing.

Neuhaus’s District Attorney, Michael Hoovler, has been “investigating” South Blooming Grove for years. He’s also done nothing.

So, if your criteria is “Sussman will preference Satmar developers over local residents” than there’s no difference between Sussman and Neuhaus.

Over in Woodbury, when Woodbury Common wanted to expand and Woodbury didn't have sewage capacity, Neuhaus—who for months has refused to release FOIL'ed documents on this subject—was alleged to be behind a deal where South Blooming Grove would give its "excess" sewage capacity to Woodbury Common to help them build the expansion.

Neuhaus won't release the documents on the discussions with SBG and the Commons. The county itself won't release any documented evidence that demonstrates whether SBG has the capacity and functionality to provide that sewage given the unpermitted building. (By the way, the county again has done nothing about this unpermitted building either.)

We also know Neuhaus has a history of misleading the public. My favorite example was during the drone incident. Remember that?

People were claiming to see drones everywhere. Neuhaus put out a video bragging about his security clearance and saying he sent photos of the drones he took to the Pentagon. He also called you all soft despite the fact that, over in Ukraine, there’s a war going on where drones are playing a major role in terrorizing its population.

Well, we FOIL'ed for those Pentagon emails, and Neuhaus’s office said they didn't exist, which means I can factually say Steve Neuhaus, like Tony Cardone, like Brandon Calore, and like the rest of the Southern Orange County Republicans, are liars.

So, given the choice between Sussman and Neuhaus, I’m going to vote for the guy who doesn’t think his constituents are soft while simultaneously performing some faux masculinity and lying about his security clearance. Fuck that guy.

One Last Thing …

Pictured Above: Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus is addressing something that has “come up a few times” (or so he claims) but is actually about to testify about that exact thing in court. The case Index # is EF000367-2023 if you want to follow along. Thus far, Neuhaus’s testimony has not been posted online (as far as I can tell.)

Take note: The quid pro quo involving the hydrogen sulfide situation is not mentioned by Neuhuas.

---

You might have seen this statement (above) from Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus about the hydrogen sulfide situation. He claims there is no quid pro quo. He also attributed the quid pro quo, oddly, to Yitzchok "Isaac" Ekstein, but if you follow South Blooming Grove, you know Joel Stern seems to be the one between the two co-mayors with a functioning brain. So it was strange that the county executive mentioned Ekstein by name and not Stern.

I was sent this message from Neuhaus and asked: After all this time, why is Neuhaus now commenting on the situation?

Simple: he has to testify about it, and his attorneys were made aware that there is a recording of Joel Stern claiming there's a quid pro quo. Neuhaus did his best to avoid testifying, as did County Attorney Rick Golden. Neuhaus failed.

Especially if the testimony is forthcoming (assuming it hasn’t already happened). Either way, if the Orange County Democrats were smart, and most of them aren’t, they would absolutely maximize the existence of the recording and the hydrogen sulfide situation to bury Neuhuas. (Among his numerous other scandals since becoming County Executive.)

So, why did we go on this journey together today?

Because business as usual is going to get us all killed. Eventually through inaction on the Climate Emergency. Sooner when it comes to living under authoritarian rule.

Remember: There are now taxpayer funded concentration camps that exist in America. Right now. As you read this.

Locally, it's clear the Democratic Party only wants to do what the wealthy real estate developers and State Senator Skoufis want them to do.

And it's clear the local Republicans only want to do what allows them the least amount of accountability while maximizing the benefits of having access to your money. Tony Cardone really wants that pension. Kathryn Luciani is the highest-paid Town Supervisor in the history of Woodbury. Brandon Calore has a long, documented history of violence and can’t seem to hold a job. Just ask the Town of Cornwall.

You think he wants to be mayor because of a sense of civic pride? Mr. Skoufis might. While else would he spend nearly $20,000 on a MAGA Republican …

Nationally, it's more of the same. The Democrats work for the wealthy and the well-connected — just ask Congressman Pat Ryan about all that AIPAC money, not to mention his refusal to support a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United — and the Republicans are enabling a fascist dictatorship.

For example, you know those tariffs making things really expensive right now?

Congressional Republicans can roll those back at any time they want. But they won't, because they don't work for you.

They work for Trump. Not you. Whatever Trump wants, he gets.

There's a belief among people that America is like a rubber band, and it can handle what's happening right now, both locally and nationally because, sooner or later, the rubber band will snap back into place.

The problem with that analogy is that the rubber band could break too, and once it's broken, you can't fix it.

You want to stop the rubber band from snapping? You can start by cleaning up Orange County and your local towns and villages within it.