Orange County Democrats' Secret Weapon? Incompetence
Zak Constantine's email proves why Democrats will lose again this November.
Pictured Above: James G. Skoufis's BFF, and Orange County Democratic Chair, Zak Constantine—seen here providing ambien in human form—in Newburgh on May 2, 2026. (Photo via Orange County Democrats Facebook Page.)
I tend to pick on the Democrats more than the Republicans because, in New York State, the Republican Party is D.O.A. The only thing keeping them around is gerrymandering, and even then, time and math is not on their side.
They have no one but themselves to blame. Instead of offering solutions to the rampant corruption displayed by Democrats in State government, they’re carrying on about “illegals” and not The Oligarchs who run this country.
For example: Governor Kathy Hochul gifted one oligarch, fracking billionaire and one of the NFL’s wealthiest owners, Terry Pegula, $850 million to build a new stadium for the Bills. One that is currently pricing out working-class fans in order to cater to wealthier fans.
(Not to mention, Hochul’s husband, William J. Hochul Jr. worked for Delaware North until 2024. Delaware North and the Buffalo Bills, until the opening of the new stadium, were long-time business partners. Conveniently, for Hochul, that partnership will end when the new stadium opens on September 17th when the Bills play the Lions.)
Where is the outrage and noise from gubernatorial candidate, Bruce Blakeman about this $850M? That’s your money Hochul gave to a billionaire who did not need it, to build a stadium he was already going to build.
Earth to Bruce.
Bruce. I know you, I and the Governor are all Bills fans here. But …
Where are you on this, pal?
Nowhere.
You know why? Because the New York State Republican Party has become so impotent that they make a ninety-year-old man’s wind sock look rock hard.
Shall I go on? I shall.
Instead of telling you how they’re going to make groceries more affordable, reduce your utility bills, and make it so you don’t have to skip meals to pay for medicine—as one in three Americans are currently doing—New York State Republicans are covering up their party’s corruption by distracting you with bullshit like Blakeman refusing to call a genocide a genocide
Soon-to-be former congressman Mike Lawler is the best example though. He cast the deciding vote in Congress on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which stole money from Medicaid to fund ICE. Next year, when millions of people—myself included—lose their health insurance and hospitals start to close, you should all remember Mike Lawler is to blame. He was the deciding vote. He made it happen.
And Lawler did this after promising, repeatedly, that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. Something 44 percent of his constituents receive according to the Rockland County legislature.
Why Am I Telling You This?
I tell you this because every time I write about something bad the Democrats are doing, I always hear, “But the Republicans!”
Yeah dude, I know. I wrote a whole book about them. You can read it right here for free.
So, if I may … in this previous post, I documented that Zak Constantine is bad at his job as Chair of the Orange County Democratic Committee.
Orange County, across ALL OF AMERICA, was one of the few counties in the 2025 election where the Republicans held on to win the big ticket battles: District Attorney and County Executive. Yes, there were some wins, but not enough to flip the Orange County Legislature. Only some last minute, and incredibly shady shenanigans created a split legislature.
(This was triggered by the abrupt and still unexplained resignation of Katie Bonelli, who was just re-elected in November before resigning the role in December. Bonelli’s resignation allowed a new person to be appointed by the Village of Kiryas Joel—because the Town of Monroe’s current board has demonstrated no independence from it—who came in as an independent. If you think all of that sounds totally cool and above board, let me know. Because you’re vaping stronger stuff than I am.)
That’s it. That’s all the Orange County Democrats accomplished on an evening where Democrats ran wild across America.*
And they had the numbers too, as I explained in our election coverage. So you can’t say, “Well 99.9 percent of Kiryas Joel came out for Steve Neuhaus.” Nope. Plenty of registered Democrats stayed home on a HISTORIC ELECTION NIGHT in Orange County because Zak Constantine is bad at his job, and the election night math proves it.
This Fall, Bernie Rivers is running against incumbent—and ICE friendly—sheriff Paul Arteta.
One would think Slipping Jimmy Skoufis’ best buddy—because that’s why Zak has the job—would learn from his mistakes. But he hasn’t. We have the email to prove it.
The Monroe Gazette is ad-free and paywall-free, covering local news in Monroe, Woodbury, and surrounding towns as well as county, state, and national issues that impact those residents.
If you’d like to keep it that way, we’re looking to recruit 998 new paid annual subscribers between now and June 24, 2027. Want to help keep the lights on? Press that beautiful blue button below.
This Is Bad Strategy. Don’t Do Any Of This.
I promised Gazette posts would be shorter. So here’s what we’re going to do. Today, I’m going to share with you Zak Constantine’s email to members of the Orange County Democratic Committee. I’d like you to try and guess why this is bad strategy. Tomorrow, I’ll return with the answers.
Hello Committee Members!
As you know, our only county-wide campaign this year is for Bernie Rivers, our next Orange County Sheriff. He is without a doubt one of the most qualified candidates for any county-wide position, and this campaign offers a strong opportunity to elect the first Democrat to a county office in almost 30 years.
This is how committee members across our towns & cities can do their part to help:
1.) Join Bernie on Thursday for his Campaign Kickoff Meet & Greet at 5:30PM. CLICK HERE [Link removed] to RSVP, and please share the invitation with friends and neighbors who aren’t on the committee. We need to generate excitement to recruit new volunteers.
2.) Similarly, please share this event and Bernie’s posts on Instagram and Facebook. It is quick and easy to follow his page, invite friends, and engage with his content. Passive engagement harms our candidate’s ability to reach new viewers beyond current supporters. So always like, comment, and share. I will link his pages at the end of this email.
3.) Most importantly, Bernie needs the financial resources to compete at the top of the ticket this year. We all can do our part to find new grassroots supporters for his campaign.
The committee members who directly raise the most for Bernie by July 1st will be recognized and will receive complimentary tickets to our annual Summer picnic on Saturday July 11th.
Here’s how to participate:
- Step 1: Customize Bernie’s ActBlue fundraising link. [removed] To do this, add: ?refcode=”your name” to the end of the link. For example, my link would look like this: [removed] Any contributions made using that link will be credited to you, so feel free to add your last name, etc.
- Step 2: Share your custom link on Facebook with a direct fundraising appeal to your friends, or text it directly to supporters with a message about why they should give to Bernie’s campaign.
We will announce more fun contests/ opportunities to help promote our upcoming events in the next few days.
In the meantime please support Bernie on:
- MOBILIZE (6/18 Event)
The more successful Bernie is, the more successful our down-ballot races for town offices will be across the county this November.
Thank you for your help,
Zak
Hint: If you have an elderly population, why the fuck are you pushing people to Facebook and Instagram and giving people social media tips like it’s 2012?
I’ll see you tomorrow at 7:45am.
*Yes. Mike Essig only won his election because of the South Blooming Grove criminal conspiracy we’ve been covering. The fact that the Orange County Democrats, and Slipping Jimmy, haven’t banged the drum so loudly about this stolen legislature seat should convey to you how little they care about election integrity during a time when the national Republican party is foaming at the mouth over election integrity.
My admiration continues for The Monroe Gazette and its coverage of local politics.
I had hoped you might have reported on the reasons behind Bonelli's resignation. My guess is she wanted to punish her fellow (R) legislators who did not think she was good enough to continue as Chair of the Legislature.
I watched in awe as the 3-D chess game gave us ten (R)s, ten (D)s and Mr. Amo sitting in the new Legislature.
No shame falls on our Monroe Town Board. LD#1 has eight EDs in Palm Tree and one ED in the Town of Monroe. This was Palm Tree's call.
Do note that the joint meeting was held in Monroe's Town Hall, the new legislator is a (D) and the new Chair of the Orange County Legislature is a (D). Not a bad night for the Town Board's new majority.