Pin Drop

The staff at Ulster Politics can't help but notice how quiet it is on the blogs. It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Yes, that's a picture of a needle, but let's just pretend it's a pin. It's not that there isn't anything going on. There are a ton of battles being waged all over Ulster County right now as the deadline to submit petitions on Thursday approaches. Some people (like the average voter) are completely oblivious to what is going on, others who understand the process have gathered their needed signatures and are going about their normal life, some are still frantically out there getting signatures for one reason or another and then there are the Political junkies , who are waiting for Thursday at 5pm, like a lotto junkie waits for Yolanda Vega to pick the winning numbers.

HERE AND THERE

The Mike Madsen / Frank Dart story continues to have legs. Now Dart is claiming vandalism in today's Freeman that he believes is retaliation for the story. Hugh Reynolds devoted 3/4 of his column to the Madsen/Dart story in the Kingston Times. It's been the top story on Rich Cahill's blog for weeks now. Here's the bottom line. It's time to move on. There is nothing new to add to this story. Frank Dart got his wish, the public has been informed about what Madsen did. There is nothing else to add, so everyone should move on, and that's what we are doing to do.

The Conservatives. Usually, the Conservative endorsement is a slam dunk for most Republicans. It's a natural fit given the platforms of each party. Democrats who are true to their party's philosophy usually reject the Conservative endorsement. However, in today's world, the Conservative Party has been hijacked by people who don't care about philosophy. Some of the hotbeds of Conservative hijacking by Democrats are in the Town of Lloyd and in the Town of Wawarsing. Paging Jen Fuentes to Lloyd and Wawarsing, Paging Jen Fuentes to Lloyd and Wawarsing! We have Democrats taking the Conservative endorsement. No WF for you Lloyd and Wawarsing! That being said, given the Democratic hijacking of the Conservative Party (remember Vince Bradley 2007), it was in no way a slam dunk and a foregone conclusion that the Republicans in the Town of Ulster would take the Conservative endorsements. Quigley, Morrow and Kesick were all overwhelmingly endorsed by the Conservative Party in the Town of Ulster. That is a solid blow to the Democrats in the Town of Ulster. And don't write in and tell us that Vince Bradley wasn't a Democrat. We all know the story, let's not rehash that one.

The drama in District 8 continues with Noonan, Hayes, Terrizzi and Ronk. Newly added to this drama cast are Zatz and Bartels. If everyone did their fair share of work, everyone should have the required signatures, and we will see a primary for the Republican line. That's IF everyone did their work. The petition game is very tricky. Time will tell who played the game best.

There's the usual drama in Saugerties between the new Independence Party members and the Republicans. But in the end, everyone should have their signatures and the voters will decide in November.

Judicial candidate, Deborah Schneer (scheduled to be confirmed as Ulster County Court Judge today) has some Independence Party petitions floating around the County. Unlike everyone else, she does not need authorization to primary for that line because she is a judical candidate. The question is will she have the signatures? And will she submit them?

That's it for now. Stay tuned for our coverage of Petitions and the challenges that will follow.

Oh, and by the way, today is the deadline for the July periodic filing. Don't forget that one!