Schmitt’s Apparent Contamination Cover-Up Put Residents at Risk

According to documents recently obtained by The Cornwall Democrat, Colin Schmitt had knowledge of PFAS contamination at New Windsor’s Butterhill Wells Water Treatment Facility during his 2018 Assembly campaign, but allowed the facility to pump water to residents for seven months after the NYS Department of Health informed the Town. It was only after Schmitt was safely elected and inaugurated to the Assembly post to which he now seeks re-election that the bad news was allowed to come out and the facility taken offline for remediation.

The evidence suggests that Colin Schmitt placed the importance of his 2018 campaign for Assembly above the health of New Windsor residents.

Schmitt became the $60,000 per year Chief of Staff to George Green, the ailing New Windsor Town Supervisor, in December 2017, within a month of his application for the position, with neither public notice of his appointment nor any vote by the Board. According to the “New Position Duties Statement” filed by New Windsor with the Orange County Human Resources Department (who subsequently rejected it), Schmitt was to oversee “multimillion-dollar projects such as [the] new water source...already in development.” That source was Butterhill Wells.

Test reports from NYSDOH at Butterhill indicate the finding of contamination in samples taken in September 2018. An article authored by the eventual remediation contractor cites the fact that the Town was verbally notified in September of that year.

Excerpt from New Position Duties Statement

Screenshot of Test Result Taken September 27, 2018

Excerpt from Article by Remediation Contractor

New Windsor Tackles New Contaminants

Author: Fil L. Fina III

Posted to Waterworld.com, Aug 13th, 2020

What "oversight" could Colin Schmitt possibly have performed to allow a water project, begun with full knowledge of the potential for PFAS contamination, to go forward without sufficient testing? Not only is there no excuse, but the evidence shows that test results revealing contamination were kept from the public at a time when both water was being pumped from the new plant and, coincidentally, Schmitt was running for the Assembly seat he now occupies.

Now the Town of New Windsor is facing lawsuits from 102 residents resulting from the contaminated water, as well as the added expense of the filtration system required to make the “cleaner, better tasting, more dependable, less expensive” water safe for residents to drink.

Just as Donald Trump puts his career, image, and personal gain ahead of all else to the detriment of our safety, so too does self-serving Colin Schmitt. A contaminated water supply, easily covered up, is no big deal to a politician bound and determined to wield power and avoid consequences, even at the cost of his constituents' health.

Ironically, Schmitt has since been appointed to the Assembly Minority Task Force on Water Quality.

Republicans Leave Trail of Lies and Hypocrisy from D.C. to Cornwall

Republicans from Trump to Schmitt Attack Democracy

For years, the GOP has been playing the same old con game with the American people. In 2017 their discredited “trickle-down” tax cut just got rich people richer while it blew up the deficit. They tout “family values” to deny freedom to Americans based on gender, race, sexual preference or identity, yet too often are caught violating their own rules. The same people that advocate for gun ownership to protect against government tyranny defend shooting Jacob Blake in the back because he “might” have had a knife. Led by Donald Trump, they say that armed anti-lockdown protestors are just exercising freedom of speech but Black Lives Matters protestors are lawbreakers. They say they’re pro-life, but the mother they forced to give birth cannot afford healthcare for herself or her newborn or is not able to get contraceptives through her health insurance. To the Republican right, 12-year-old Tamir Rice’s toy gun was a threat to police officers, but Kyle Rittenhouse’s assault rifle got him an attaboy and a water bottle. These dishonest themes, promoted from the top of the GOP’s ticket, are being played out in elections across America.

Those double standards are standard GOP practice right here in Orange County, too. Look at our own Assemblyman, Colin Schmitt, who has taken his cues from Trump since he entered the Assembly. He has voted against every bill that promotes police accountability. The wrongheadedness of those votes was driven home by the death of Daniel Prude, an unarmed black man killed for having a mental health crisis in Rochester.

And while he professes to be a staunch defender of American values, Schmitt stands alone as the leading New York legislator in terms of voter suppression. Schmitt was the only member of the Assembly to vote against a bill (A.10807) which allows voters to apply for an absentee ballot more than a month before election day. Schmitt, a member of the National Guard (as he is quick to point out), even voted against an earlier bill (A.779) that ensures the timely transmission of ballots to military voters stationed overseas. Of course, since Schmitt has never served overseas in uniform, he probably doesn’t recognize how long the mail takes, so he just follows the Trump playbook.

Meanwhile, Schmitt’s leader continues to show Republican hypocrisy on a scale that would make Richard Nixon blush. Trump claims to be the “law and order” candidate while he pardons and commutes the sentences of his convicted political allies, like Roger Stone. He has even gotten the Justice Department to act as his personal attorney in a rape-related civil suit – at taxpayer expense!

And Schmitt’s not alone, even in Orange County, where 30-year Republican politician, Chair of the Orange County Legislature and State Senate candidate, Steven Brescia, was caught accepting illegal campaign contributions from a local business. While Brescia claimed accepting a donation 50% too large was an oversight, it strains credibility for a veteran politician not to know what the corporate contribution limit is. 

So, if a Democrat is suspected of any wrongdoing we hear, “Lock her up!” When a Republican violates the law they say it is “just a mistake.”

This year, we Democrats say, “Vote them Out!” 

The Colin-oscopy: An Examination of Colin Schmitt’s Record

By Isabella Crow and Michael Kochler

America is reaching a critical point in its reckoning with law enforcement. As with any hot-button issue, the solutions have been polarizing: on the left, cries for racial justice are intertwined with calls to restructure policing; the most conservative policies advocate for the expanding of department budgets and police authority. However, at the imagined middle ground of this debate, is policy that aims to make police officers more accountable to the public they are bound to protect and serve. A Conservative might admit that accountability is a commonsense approach—a Progressive might call it the bare minimum.

Colin Schmitt calls it a bill he will vote “NO” on. 

• S.03595 established the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office, designed to provide avenues for recourse after police malpractice. Schmitt voted no.

• S.08496 authorizes Disclosure of Law Enforcement Disciplinary Records which would prevent “bad apples” from being continually promoted or employed. Schmitt voted no.

• A.10609 required courts to compile and publish data on misdemeanors and violations and law enforcement departments on arrest-related deaths. The law will lead to a public record of the number of arrest-related deaths; the race, ethnicity, age, and sex of the individual; the location where the death occurred; and a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the arrest-related death. Unsurprisingly, Schmitt voted no.

• S.06601 required Police Officers to Provide Medical and Mental Health Attention required to persons under arrest or otherwise in custody and would allow a person who was denied such attention to pursue civil litigation against the offending officer. This bill became all the more relevant in the wake of Daniel Prude’s death in Rochester. Schmitt voted no. 

• A.05045 amends criminal procedure laws to waive certain surcharges and fees for defendants under the age of 21. Inexplicably, Colin and the entire Republican caucus voted no.

The common thread between all of this legislation is that it was designed to provide the same amount of accountability from police officers as we expect from the rest of society. These bills would make our communities safer and our law enforcement stronger; and yet, as a knee-jerk Republican reaction, Schmitt voted no on any bill that even hinted at police reform. 

Republican New Windsor Town Supervisor Endorses Sarita Bhandarkar for NY Assembly

“From day one, Sarita will have a strong voice in the legislature, and will ensure that New Windsor is heard.”

New Windsor is the home town of the 99th District’s incumbent Republican Assemblyman—the place where he got his start with a patronage job as a political appointee with a prior Town Board. The Town’s current Republican Town Supervisor, George Meyers, has endorsed Democrat Sarita Bhandarkar in the Assembly race.

Supervisor Meyers’ full statement:

"Today, I announce my endorsement of Sarita Bhandarkar for Assemblymember in the 99th District. As a Republican who works to represent all of my New Windsor constituents faithfully and equitably, I recognize the importance of assembling the best team, regardless of party label. Sarita is thoughtful, intelligent, and fair, and is passionate about improving the lives and livelihoods of everyone in our community. From day one, she will have a strong voice in the legislature, and will ensure that New Windsor is heard.

“For the past two years, our District and our Town have been ignored in the Assembly. Our current Assemblyman, Colin Schmitt, has not been the primary sponsor of any law that has benefited New Windsor. And unlike other productive Republicans in the Assembly, he has been simply unable to work with the majority to deliver for his constituents. This is not a surprise to New Windsor. Our Town’s prior administration invented an ineffective Chief of Staff position for Colin that cost our taxpayers $100,000 annually. Although my first act as Supervisor was to eliminate this role since it had no function, Colin had already used the title to position himself for future office. It’s time for all of us to stop funding his vanity and, instead, invest in representation who will work hard for us.

“I will be voting for Sarita Bhandarkar on November 3rd and encourage my community to do the same.”

Democrats Shatter Donation Records to Protect Supreme Court

Bloomberg News: Democrats Raise $100 Million in Court Fight, Republicans Mum

ActBlue, the primary political donation platform for Democratic campaigns and causes nationwide, said that it shattered all hourly and daily records for contributions as news spread of the tragic loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The outpouring of support for Democratic candidates, especially in the Senate, is one measure of the heightened stakes of the election, but it remains unclear whether the court fight will also buoy flagging Republican morale as their unqualified, criminal leader remains bogged down in lackluster polling. Also unclear is whether the hypocrisy of Republican Senators will reduce enthusiasm for their reelection. New polls in the coming weeks—and the final poll on November 3—will tell.

Donate to Flip the Senate:

• Flip the Senate 2020! (Splits donations directly to 11 competitive seats)

• DSCC: Donate Now to Flip the Senate! (Democratic Senate Campaign Committee)

Donate to Protect Voting Rights:

• Fair Fight (Stacy Abrams’s organization)

• Protect the Vote Coalition

Congressional Democrats Introduce THRIVE Agenda

Linking up with the Green New Deal, amid catastrophic fires in the west and floods and a hurricane bearing down in the east, Congressional Democrats this week signed on to a values-based American recovery plan called the THRIVE Agenda.

”The THRIVE agenda takes a broader approach, incorporating those elements into a new platform of eight pillars aimed at empowering workers, communities of color, tribal nations, and people affected by economic upheavals caused by COVID-19 and other crises.”

Read all about it here.

COVID Information Email from Governor Cuomo

COVID Information Email from Governor Cuomo

Governor Cuomo’s office sent the following email out today:

Dear New Yorker,

The unofficial start of fall is here.

Yesterday, on Labor Day, we honored the dedicated men and women in New York and across our country who make up our workforce, and we had special reason to celebrate them this year. During New York's long and continuing fight against COVID, it was our workers, including the men and women of organized labor, who showed up every day and risked their lives to protect all of us.

As we enter a new, post-Labor Day phase of the pandemic that presents new challenges, I want to update you on a few important matters.

School Reopening

First is the issue of schools. I recognize that many parents and teachers are nervous, and they have good reason to be.

While we cannot eliminate the risks of COVID, we can arm parents and teachers with the facts. To that end, the State is requiring all school districts to report daily data on the COVID infection rate and new cases at every school. This information will be publicly available on a new online dashboard that will have constantly updated data for your school.

In addition, the State launched a SUNY COVID-19 Case Tracker that provides real-time, up-to-date data on COVID-19 testing and other vital information at each of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities.

With this transparently available data, parents and communities will be in a better position to make decisions and stay safe.

Voting

Second is the issue of voting. New York has taken a host of measures to make voting safer and easier during the pandemic.

For the first time in our state's history, all registered voters can request an absentee ballot (under the "temporary illness" excuse). If you choose to vote by absentee ballot, then there are several ways you can cast your completed, signed ballot.

1. Put it in the mail ensuring it receives a postmark no later than November 3

2. Drop it off at an Early Voting poll site between October 24 and November 1

3. Drop it off at a poll site on November 3 by 9pm

4. Drop it off at your county Board of Elections Office starting September 8 through no later than November 3 by 9pm (see the list of county Boards of Elections Offices here)

In addition to absentee voting, New Yorkers can also take advantage of Early Voting. For nine days, from October 24 to November 1, registered voters can cast their vote in-person at an early polling site. Of course, New Yorkers can still vote in-person on Election Day, November 3, as well.

Whatever method you choose, make sure your voice is heard. Learn more about Early Voting and Absentee Voting.

I want to take a moment to thank you for your cooperation and responsibility over the past few months. Together we brought the infection rate down by taking simple, effective precautions like wearing a mask and getting tested.

This new phase we are entering will test our diligence. We must continue to be careful and smart. It's up to all of us to ensure our continued success in the weeks and months ahead.

Ever Upward,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’

The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.

There is no bottom.

From the article in The Atlantic: “Trump, while standing by Robert Kelly’s grave, turned directly to his father and said, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”

Do you know any servicemembers or veterans? If they don’t already know, now is the time to show them who Donald Trump really is.

Meet Your Candidates: James Skoufis

Meet Your Candidates: James Skoufis

Senator James Skoufis is well known to most Cornwall voters. First elected to represent us in the Assembly in 2012 our senator is completing his first term in the state senate. The senator may be best known for his outstanding constituent service, often getting personally involved. He and his staff assisted over 4000 individuals with unemployment claims during the pandemic. 

Senator Skoufis is also known for his independence, often butting heads with fellow Democrat, Governor Cuomo. It is that independent streak, no doubt, that earned him the leadership of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee in his first term.

Our senator is also known as someone that gets things done for us in Cornwall. For starters we can look at the long-awaited repairs to the 9w bridges. Your editor was told at a public hearing that those projects were not expected to begin for at least another five years – if the money was still available at that time.

In Albany Senator Skoufis introduced about 280 bills since starting in the Senate. In his first year, he passed more bills than any other freshman senator in New York history. Meanwhile James’ successor in the 99th Assembly District has been totally ineffective as assemblyman. 

Schmitt Leads Republican Voter Suppression Efforts in New York State

The Colin-oscopy: An Examination of Colin Schmitt’s Record

In keeping with this month’s voting rights theme, we look at Colin Schmitt’s votes on voting. Since 2019, as the Assembly’s leader in voter suppression, Colin has consistently voted against bills which make voter registration more accessible and the process of voting safer and easier.

Colin voted no on each of these key bills:

• A120 clarifies a court’s ability to take sworn testimony from a voter about the authenticity of his or her own signature. 

• A774 authorizes pre-registration for individuals at least 16 years of age and required the adoption of policies to encourage student voter registration. 

• A775 requires that the Board of Elections transfer the registration and enrollment of a voter who has moved to their new residence within New York State. 

• A779 consolidates primary election dates and ensures the timely transmission of ballots to military voters stationed overseas. 

• A780 extends the voter registration cutoff date. 

• A10807 allows local Boards of Election to expand the timeframe for voters to submit absentee ballots. Colin was the ONLY “no” vote, ensuring his place as the legislature’s leader in voter suppression.

• A8280/S8806 is a comprehensive automatic voter registration bill ensuring that all New Yorkers are registered to vote. Schmit's comments about the bill’s lack of safeguards followed the false Republican narrative that more voters means more fraud. 

There is also Colin’s “No” vote on the budget that included funds for early voting, electronic poll books, and online voter registration.

No bill that ensures greater access to the polls can ever be a danger to any democratic process.  Restricting the vote is characteristic of autocracies. Any politician with a vested interest in suppressing the vote of the people they govern should not be governing those people in the first place. 

Fortunately, all of these bills passed despite Colin’s efforts to ensure otherwise. Another example of his ineffectiveness in Albany.

Quick Movie Poll

John Lewis Leaves Legacy of Change

With the passing of John Lewis on July 17, the nation and the world lost more than a civil rights icon. John Lewis was also a legendary Human Being. Congressman Lewis was an advocate, a fighter for the rights of the disenfranchised.

A protégé of Martin Luther King, Jr, John Lewis was the last surviving speaker at the watershed March on Washington in 1963. John Lewis was present when President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act two years later. 

With all that is going on in the wake of George Floyd’s murder it may be difficult to see the changes that have taken place since “Bloody Sunday.” The country was witness to that change as the Alabama State Troopers saluted the Congressman's funeral caisson as it crossed the bridge, named for a confederate general and grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, where he was nearly beaten to death by their predecessors. Even more poignant was the image of a white trooper named Bubba (seriously) lifting a little black girl onto his shoulders so she too could see John Lewis cross that bridge one last time.

John Lewis shed blood for the right to vote, as surely as any veteran of any foreign war. It is to John Lewis that this edition of The Cornwall Democrat is dedicated. Rest in Power, Congressman Lewis.

—————

This election season, Congressman Lewis’s legacy is on the line. Learn what you can do to beat back the Republicans’ attacks on civil rights.

The Young Democrats’ Point of View

by Isabella Crow

As America enters the final hundred days before the 2020 presidential election, the right to vote has become more tenuous than ever. Since Shelby County v. Holder gutted the 1965 Civil Rights Act in 2013, voter suppression tactics have proliferated across the nation, primarily sabotaging would-be Democratic voting blocs. Voter ID laws, registration restrictions, closing polling sites in historically blue districts, felony disenfranchisement, and egregious gerrymandering have all contributed to a voting system rigged in favor of the Republican Party that crushes marginalized dissent under its heel.

These concerns have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. As common sense public health guidelines warn that in-person voting would be detrimental to the nation’s coronavirus response, Republicans are staging coordinated attacks on the solvency of the USPS—the only agency with the power to ensure free and fair balloting in the largest mail-in election in US history. In addition, millions of Americans are faced with an eviction crisis of historic proportions, threatened with not only the loss of safe and secure housing but their right to vote. Statistically, those most vulnerable to homelessness are more likely to be people of color, and to cast a blue ballot.

Voter suppression is the lynchpin of the Republican machine. They cling to it so staunchly because they know their power depends upon it. Assemblyman Colin Schmitt’s vocal opposition to the redrawing of gerrymandered district lines and the automatic voter registration bill stems from his fear that extending accessible enfranchisement to all New Yorkers will lead to his, and his party’s, electoral demise.

NY’s Democrats Lead State and Local Efforts

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, Sarita Bhandarkar, candidate for 99th Assembly District, delivered greeting cards and chocolates to residents at Valley View Nursing Home and at Braemar at Wallkill Assisted Living Facility, just two of the many facilities in the county which were hit by COVID-19. Sarita spoke with caregivers, as well as with the families of resi-dents. She said, "We commend and thank the essential workers and care-givers who worked long hours caring for these residents during this pandemic.”

In a statement on the ongoing protests Sarita said, “I saw on the news that protests were planned in NYC over George Floyd’s death. My first reaction was, I think, the normal reaction of many black and brown Americans. I texted my brother and said, ‘Please don’t go. I want you to be safe.’ Safe. The right to be safe. That is what we want in America.

“When protesters say Black Lives Matter, it does not mean Blue Lives Don’t. It means we need to recognize that we live in a country which has not yet lived up to its ideals. It means we need to recognize systemic injustice and systemic racism-- we need to acknowledge they exist if we are going to progress as a people.”

And Sarita could be seen at rallies and vigils, not just talking but listening and adding to her own perspective. 

Senator Skoufis, while being busy in Albany, has found time on weekends to volunteer at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and Newburgh Mutual Aid to Feed Neighbors. All the while he and his staff assisted over 4,000 individual constituents with unemployment claims. The Senator slowed down only to take time to fight off and recover from a bout with the deadly Coronavirus himself.

In Albany, the Senator and his Democratic colleagues passed two  bills in early June. One bill requires New York State Police to wear body cameras. Another repeals section 50-a of the Civil Rights law, which currently shields police personnel records. Both bills promote police accountability. The Sena-tor’s work is not done there either. The legislature will reconvene later this month. 

Here, in Cornwall, the Democratic majority on the Town Board have been working to ensure Cornwall’s safety and viability during the pandemic, working with local small businesses on the reopening. Councilman Josh Wojehowski used his expertise in the hospitality trade to work with Cornwall’s restaurants and the Town to ensure a safe and successful phased reopening. As a result, restaurants have expanded outdoor seating with permission from the Town. Reliable sources revealed new businesses are coming to Main Street, one being called “a game changer.”  

Councilman Wojehowski informed this publication that the Main Street Revitalization is still moving forward, too. The renovation of bridge street and traffic circle beautification are on track. According to Supervisor Randazzo both projects should be completed this year.

Additionally, the Town Board passed a resolution on equality for all on July 13th. Councilwoman Virginia Scott added, “If I could share one message to our community it would be that your Town Board has the responsibility to effectively address issues that are raised by the community with respect. Our responses must be well thought out and we did take a mindful approach in order to develop a resolution to assert our position as local leaders that we will not condone or tolerate discriminatory behavior.”

The board also passed a resolution against the Danskammer Plant after receiving feedback from community. 

Republicans’ Missteps and Lack of Understanding Intensify Emergencies

Just as New Yorkers were looking to put the worst of the pandemic behind us, just as we prepared for Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings to finally tell us that it was safe to reopen parts of the economy, we were made witness to an absolutely horrific eight minutes and 46 seconds. The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, following as it did on the heels of the killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, galvanized white America in a way not seen before, even during the struggle for Civil Rights in the 1960s. It was an America that was already being made aware of the price of systemic racism in the higher COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death rates of African-Americans; their higher rates of job loss; and the continual harassment of People of Color who were doing nothing more than jogging or bird-watching.

The Republican responses to these crises have been anemic, insensitive, or outrageous. The Trump White House, as has been its custom, denies and obscures the true nature of the nation’s miseries with conspiracy theories and outright nonsense. The pandemic is either a “Democratic hoax” or a “Chinese virus.” The same is alleged to be true of the economic slowdown that followed. The peaceful protests for justice are the result of “anarchists, socialists, or terrorists”, rather than the consequence of centuries of injustice and systemic racism. Instead of offering real solutions, the President chooses to fan the flames. Then, in classic Republican fashion, the talking points from Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have been repeated by local Republican officials who have been stubbornly distracting from and downplaying the serious nature of these issues.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than saluting Governor Cuomo for his groundbreaking leadership in formulating a science-based plan to control the earliest and, by far, most severe outbreak in the nation, what did Assemblyman Colin Schmitt do? Like too many short-sighted Republicans, he wanted to re-open in May.  

He risked spreading infection by going door-to-door with petitions demanding in-person graduation ceremonies, and he introduced a bill seeking to limit Governor Cuomo's power. In other words, while Democratic candidate Sarita Bhandarkar was making wellness calls to vulnerable citizens, Colin Schmitt, like so many Republicans, got COVID completely wrong. 

Schmitt, instead of realizing—as the rest of the civilized world has—that a healthy populace is necessary to a thriving economy, like his fellow Republicans locally and nationally, treats the economic catastrophe as if it is separate from the pandemic and has been focused on reopening without regard for the potential consequences. Schmitt was pushing for the reopening in mid-May.

We are seeing the results of such policy decisions in states that reopened too soon. Those states that followed President Trump’s advice rather than the CDC’s are seeing the worst spike in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Governor Cuomo’s approach worked; the results are clear. 

Orange County Executive, Republican Steve Neuhaus, managed to encapsulate what appears to be his party's misguided reply to these growing crises. Comparing the protests against police violence and the protests against Corona-mitigation measures he said, “It sounds crazy but in reality, that is what we are looking at here, #doublestandard.” What's “crazy” is the Republican idea that being “forced” to wear a mask equates with the long and often violent denial of “inalienable rights” to a large segment of Americans: no nation can thrive if any part of it  doesn't feel secure.