Chemung County Politics Open Chat

[MsKreed 1,182]

Here's a race that should be a lesson that answers the the question "does every vote count"?

 

 

 

[KarenK 383]

I saw that.  Lost by 1 vote.  Still have the mail ins to count I suppose. 

I'm a bit surprised on that one to tell the truth. 

[Ann 264]

54 minutes ago, KarenK said:

I saw that.  Lost by 1 vote.  Still have the mail ins to count I suppose. 

I'm a bit surprised on that one to tell the truth. 

I thought mail in ballots were counted on Election day.  How can they declare winners if there are still ballots to be counted?

[Chris 2,162]

20 minutes ago, Ann said:

How can they declare winners if there are still ballots to be counted?

Numbers posted last night are unofficial. You can do some math and probabilities to declare winners in some races, but as in the case above, some are just too close to declare over until certified. 

[MsKreed 1,182]

1 hour ago, Ann said:

I thought mail in ballots were counted on Election day.  How can they declare winners if there are still ballots to be counted?

The "absentee" were mailed in and included....I'm not sure what "Affidavit" refers to?

 

[LocalSportsGuy 43]

I'm still stunned Nick Grasso won reelection. Dude was caught drinking and driving yet no one seem to care which is flat out embarrassing. 

[KarenK 383]

6 hours ago, LocalSportsGuy said:

I'm still stunned Nick Grasso won reelection. Dude was caught drinking and driving yet no one seem to care which is flat out embarrassing. 

Not sure if this guy missed removal from the ballot or hasnt tendered his resignation but he's also re-elected:

[KarenK 383]

16 hours ago, MsKreed said:

The "absentee" were mailed in and included....I'm not sure what "Affidavit" refers to?

 

[Chris 2,162]

Ok that makes sense. And Lord knows in a couple of those races a mail-in ballot that arrives, say, tomorrow, could make a HUGE difference.

[Adam 373]

7 hours ago, Chris said:

Ok that makes sense. And Lord knows in a couple of those races a mail-in ballot that arrives, say, tomorrow, could make a HUGE difference.

31 in that swing the other way would be very welcomed, but not holding breath

[Lawana Morse 55]

I would love to hear some feedback from more in the community regarding the resolution we passed through committee last night that supports an end-to-end audit of the NYS voter rolls. I have heard a few voices for and a few against and all are very passionate in their stance.  

I voted it through the committee and am most likely going to vote it through on the floor for a few reasons:

1. I see this resolution as a show of support to those in the community who feel like something is off with our voter rolls in the state. I honestly don't think that resolutions from the counties and towns do much to sway the state floor. During Covid, one of the biggest frustrations for me was feeling like concerns were simply swept under the rug. I remember conversations with school officials that I left feeling like I wasn't taken seriously and that I was given a pat on the head and told to run along rather than having my concerns actually addressed. Those interactions made me think there was some stuff going on that shouldn't be. If there's nothing to hide, will it really hurt to put the concerns and fears to bed? I don't see how asking for confirmation that all is well feeds into the "misinformation."

2. I appreciate all the work our county BOE does (there are things they go above and beyond to do that are not required to help ensure our county rolls are accurate), but as I saw while out campaigning, there is cleanup needed.

3. I like to think I am an honest person with integrity and that I don't have a scammer's imagination, BUT I can think of at least 4 different ways how I could commit election fraud. I can't even begin to imagine all the ways someone with bad intent and lots of resources could do so.

[Chris 2,162]

It certainly can't hurt!

 

[Adam 373]

i think it worth attention, though i can see a few Legislators trying to make hay from the process and not doing the peoples' business. Thanks as usual for coming in and keeping folks involved!

 

[Chris 2,162]

Well here's what some of the local politicians think:

You can find that audio here.

[Lawana Morse 55]

If you've haven't had a chance to see what occurred at the meeting last night, let me give a quick recap. 
On 1/8 we were informed by Chairman Margeson that due to the County Exec deciding to change the software being used to submit route slips to the legislature without consultation with the legislature and clerk, that we might not have an agenda for the 1/22 meeting. Margeson had planned that night to make a formal statment but due to the issues with the streaming system, he held off on the statment until last night. During the past two weeks, I have not said anything in hopes that maybe, just maybe, this power struggle could be resolved. I know - a little naive of me, right? But out of respect to the leadership of the Legislature, I sat back. 

Last week, each member of the legislature received an email from the Exec with a statement from him regarding this issue and giving his side to the story. We also recieved all the route slips and needed information for each. Then we received our normal email from the clerk that the agenda had been upload to Novus. But - it was all blank. 
My thought was, ok, a compromise has been reached. We have the information for the 1/22 meeting. There was a glitch with Novus. THEN last night happened. The Chairman in passing said he did not receive the email from the Exec. During the opening of the meeting, he gave his statment. I was thrown off because, again, naive assumptions by me thinking we were going to be able to do our job. 

So - where I'm at. I have a he said/she said side of the story concerning the software so I can not confidently know where the real disconnect has occurred. I see a constant power struggle between the branches that I had been hopeful of seeing progress made given a better starting relationship between the Exec and Chairman. I see the Exec undermining what is considered the legislative workings due to what he has seen as the legislature undermining/trying to control his areas. I see the logic in the leadership of the legislature to not "give in" on this issue because of past events but have the frustration /anger of not being able to do our job because neither is willing to compromise. Truth is, this software could be a zillion times better but since no effort was made to involve the legislature in this process, a process that is set in place by the legislature to ensure a smooth transfer of information for making the needed decisions, we are now where we are. 

I fully believe in the transparency of government, but do believe some conversations need to happen behind closed doors. I do believe this is an issue that the public needs to be made aware of while respecting that every detail of every conversation does not need to be made public. Out of respect for the leadership of the legislature and honestly, because I don't want to cause more harm than good with this, I did not speak out at last night's meeting. There is nothing I could have said to change what was happening. I am fully prepared to be blasted for not saying or doing something. I already have been. Part of this is deciding what fight to fight. I will not speak out/fight when I am not confident of the facts that I have been given and I will not make enemies of those I need to stand with me regarding other matters. I am frustrated with the leadership in not finding some compromise. I respect that they have been talking to the Exec regarding this and if there was a compromise to be had, they would have done so. I can see all sides to this. 

My last statment on this matter: we need our Exec to be open to listening and taking ideas and suggestions that are not his own. To understand not everyone is out to undermine his leadership. That this county is a partnership of the Exec, Legislature, and the people for the good of the people. 

[MsKreed 1,182]

I have a question.

Does the Legislature still has access to use Novus to submit and generate Agenda items from their own branch...... or has the IT Department (under Executive direction) disabled their access to the Novus site?

The current Policy (below) was implemented in February 2021 under Resolution 21-113. As a “policy” rather than Local Law amending the Charter, I assume it did not require the Executive’s approval.  

However, the Chemung County Charter clearly establishes that it is not within the Executive’s powers and duties to control the “conduct and procedure” of the Legislature:

Section 203 of the states that “In addition to all powers conferred by the foregoing of other provisions of this Charter, the County Legislature shall have the power among others:

(f) to adopt by resolution all necessary rules and regulations for its own conduct and procedure;"

 It seems like (even if Novus is inaccessible to the Legislatures), Agenda items can be introduced under the policy as "exception granted by the Chairperson for good cause"

It would be in the best interest of the County for the Chair to "grant exceptions" at least in the short term to have some resolution presented to address an interim "policy" for Route Slip and Resolutions. 

It's worth noting that particular (Feb 2021) Legislative meeting included some lively debate about the Policy adopted under 21-113, as well as 21-056 (Resolution establishing Legislative Redistricting and Efficiency of County Government Operations Advisory Committee).  Both topics were questioned by several members of the Public and discussed in depth by various legislator (some of whom voted to postpone both resolutions indefinitely). 

The details of the meeting can be reviewed as follows:

Video: February 8, 2021 Full Legislature Meeting

Minutes: Feb 8, 2021 Minutes

After it convened, the "Government Efficiency" part was (rightly) abandoned by the Redistricting Committee.  The legal consultants at SUNY explained that the required redistricting is a defined and specific process that cannot be combined with changing district sizes or government structure (elected Exec vs appointed Manager, etc).

Personally, I think the Charter does need to be revised to have clearer procedures for Agenda policy as well as examining the number of legislators and executive structure.  However, these issues should not be decided by Legislative committees -- the Legislature should pass a resolution to form a Charter Commission (with diverse members outside the elected branches) that can comprehensively evaluate the entire Charter.

[Chris 2,162]

More and more local politics has become as distasteful as national politics. This back and forth between the Executive and the Legislature is ridiculous. 

It's like the minute some, not all, politicians get elected into office, they forget what they are there for. Or should I say who. And it's not themselves!

[Hal 341]

14 hours ago, Chris said:

t's like the minute some, not all, politicians get elected into office, they forget what they are there for. Or should I say who. And it's not themselves!

And …. back to the same old pissing match they go ! While some  Legislators are out doing the business of the People the others are busy fighting like children over who gets the bigger cookie . 

[Chris 2,162]

Jeff Murray did a good write up about this issue.

Absolutely ridiculous. 

[KarenK 383]

1 hour ago, Chris said:

Jeff Murray did a good write up about this issue.

Absolutely ridiculous. 

Looks like Mark finally woke up too.

 

[MsKreed 1,182]

In the Standing Committees, Margeson clearly said that "all requests made through Novus will be processed appropriately. The Executive branch needs to continue using Novus until the Legislative branch decides to change the policy for how requests for Legislative actions are made". 

While that sounds like requests for Personnel and spending, etc from the Executive departments are not being submitted....it doesn't explain why requests can't be processed for items that legislators want to introduce. Hopefully, the Legislature will take the opportunity to use the "free time" (that they're not working on Executive route slips) to fill the agenda with other issues that serve their constituents. 

For example, this initiative that @Lawana Morse shared on her FB page: 

 

 

Edited January 25 by MsKreed

[Lawana Morse 55]

On 1/23/2024 at 12:32 PM, MsKreed said:

 

Quote

Does the Legislature still has access to use Novus to submit and generate Agenda items from their own branch...... or has the IT Department (under Executive direction) disabled their access to the Novus site?

Yes access is still there. (I know you've seen the statements from Margeson regarding this but wanted to make sure to answer it)

Quote

Personally, I think the Charter does need to be revised to have clearer procedures for Agenda policy as well as examining the number of legislators and executive structure.  However, these issues should not be decided by Legislative committees -- the Legislature should pass a resolution to form a Charter Commission (with diverse members outside the elected branches) that can comprehensively evaluate the entire Charter.

😉 100% agree.

 

[Lawana Morse 55]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:07 PM, Chris said:

More and more local politics has become as distasteful as national politics. This back and forth between the Executive and the Legislature is ridiculous. 

Yes. It's frustrating watching from the outside and frustrating seeing it more in depth from the inside - especially when you're damned if you do - damned if you don't. 

I saw on another forum someone playing the party blame game "This wouldn't be happening if partyX was in control". All I can say to that is a big ole' "B-S". This isn't a party issue. It's a personality issue. An issue of forgetting - or never even caring - why you are elected in the first place. There is blame on both sides and nothing is going to change unless the desire for complete control is abandoned. 

[Adam 373]

11 hours ago, Lawana Morse said:

Yes. It's frustrating watching from the outside and frustrating seeing it more in depth from the inside - especially when you're damned if you do - damned if you don't. 

I saw on another forum someone playing the party blame game "This wouldn't be happening if partyX was in control". All I can say to that is a big ole' "B-S". This isn't a party issue. It's a personality issue. An issue of forgetting - or never even caring - why you are elected in the first place. There is blame on both sides and nothing is going to change unless the desire for complete control is abandoned. 

Nailed it, sadly i think many in local elected positions concentrate more upon politics rather than leadership( which is what most sane voters expect when casting ballots). Worse yet, local elections are too closely following the tactics of their National counterparts and its become one big FB burn-contest

[MsKreed 1,182]

The Executive says an agreement has been reached between him and the Legislative leadership

He posted a short video on his FB page: Here

I'm glad they are moving forward to do their jobs and conduct business.....but do have some concerns regarding continuity and retention of archives. 

There does not seem to be any online records of Legislative and Committee meetings prior to November 2008, when Novus was implemented. In fact, since the Resolution Moss references (08-184) was preceded the use of Novus, we can't access it ourselves. If there was a prior online system that shows information before 11/08, it's not readily accessible. 

Now that the public has had access to over 15 years of minutes and agendas, I sincerely hope that data will still be openly available, and that the new Peak system includes a link to Novus and clear Public Notice on where/how to find older records.