HOME

JOIN US! GET INVOLVED IN OUR DEMOCRATIC ELECTION PROCESS!!

The Rhinebeck Democratic Committee will hold a caucus on Saturday, January 28th, 2012
10:00 a.m. at Village Hall, 76 East Market Street, Rhinebeck, New York

for the purpose of making nominations for candidates to run for the following offices:

Village Trustee (2)         2-year term

Rhinebeck Democratic Committee Co-Chair Warren Smith will call the caucus. 

Current Village Trustees Brant Neuneker and Terry Gipson are seeking nomination for re-election.

All enrolled voters in the Democratic Party registered and resident in the Village of Rhinebeck are eligible to vote and are strongly urged to attend. Town of Rhinebeck Democrats welcome but may not vote.

Legal notice posted 10 January 2012, in the Village Hall, Rhinebeck, New York.

Rhinebeck may be the only location in Dutchess County
that will not hold any special elections on March 20.

But we do have our Village elections that day.

Participate in your local government: Come out to Vote!

After all the absentee votes cast in the November 8th election were counted, our hard-working, knowledgeable, deserving and capable candidate, Elizabeth Spinzia, emerged as the winner of one of two open seats!  Her victory over Republican candidate, Debbi Mimoso, gives Democrats a majority position, completing a lineup that includes two other Democrats, Gina Fox and Joe Gelb, and Republicans Tom Traudt and Bruce Washburn, who were re-elected.  Republicans have controlled the Rhinebeck Town Board for all but 2 of the last 110 years, so Elizabeth's win is especially significant.
 
The counting process took over 6 weeks, required 2 meetings at the Board of Elections with both candidates and their attorneys, and BOE staff; as well as 2 appearances in State Supreme Court.  It concluded on December 23rd when the last Democratic witness took the stand and defended her vote against a Republican challenge.  State Supreme Court Justice James V. Brands ruled that this vote was legitimate and should be counted, which lead to a final vote count of 1092 to 1089, a difference of only 3 votes - just enough for Elizabeth to be sworn to office in front of a packed room at Town Hall on January 1st.
 
This election proves that every vote does matter.  The makeup of the Town Board was decided by our absentee voters, the people who were so determined to make their voices heard, that they made arrangements to vote when they knew they'd be away from home.  We want the news of this extraordinary race to reach everyone so that, hopefully, even more people will be inspired to vote in local elections in the future.

Congratulations go out to Kathy Kinsella, who was sworn in as Highway Superintendent for her fourth consecutive term, after a resounding victory at the polls. Supervisor Tom Traudt and Town Board Member Bruce Washburn were also sworn in to office for their new terms, along with Town Assessors Emery Ruger and Bill McGann, and Town Justice Willie Sanchez.

Our thanks go out again to Board Member Gina Fox, who continues to serve for two more years but was not fortunate enough to win in her bid for the Town Supervisor position. And to Jeff Romano, who taught us all some new things about the Town Assessors' responsibilities.

Joel Tyner, Rhinebeck's own Dutchess County Legislator, announces his candidacy
to take on Chris Gibson in the 2012 federal elections!
No endorsements have been made as yet by the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee.
Click HERE to view Joel's website.

Meanwhile, he is running unopposed for another term as Dutchess County Legislator,
in the 2011 elections. Joel has been endorsed by the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee.

Terry Gipson, one of Rhinebeck's own, currently serving as a Rhinebeck Village Trustee,
is running for the NYS Senate, to win the seat currently held by Steve Saland.

Terry Gipson has been endorsed by the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee.

Click HERE to view Terry's website.

Rhinebeck Democrats Post All-Time Record for Voter Turnout:
Local Democratic Strength Can Fuel Success In November 2010

Rhinebeck Democrats “stormed the polls” in the last election (November 2010), setting an impressive county-wide record for voter turnout in this election. Looking ahead to next fall's all-important Town election, we are encouraged by this performance! We can vote Democrats into key positions, and bring a Democratic majority back into Town governance.

The chart below compares Rhinebeck and county-wide voter statistics for the last election.

Voter Turnout - Nov. 2010
	Rhinebeck	Dutchess	Difference
Democrats:	69%*	53%	+16%
Republicans:	65%	63%	+2%
No Party (NOP):	51%	44%	+7%
Total:	62%	53%	+9%
* County Record

Even within our Rhinebeck voting districts, Democratic strength was evident in the point spread between Democratic and Republican turnout. Districts 1 and 7, traditionally the most Republican leaning, boasted equal percentages of Democrats and Republicans voting, 67% in 1 and 65% in 7. In other districts, Democrats had the edge: 68% to 64% in 2; 69% to 61% in 3; a whopping 72% to 67% in 4, a similarly high 72% to 69% in 5 and 63% to 58% in 6.

Rhinebeck Democrats got out and voted last November notwithstanding the evident disenchantment or disengagement of Democratic voters elsewhere. Why did Democrats in Rhinebeck turn out? Partly for Kevin Cahill, we suspect. Rhinebeck is the only community Kevin represents in Dutchess County. But importantly, also because we tracked voters at the polls, and made calls in the afternoon to encourage Democrats to turn out. To our knowledge, the Republicans did no such thing locally, and even though our effort was not the full court press that we've had in the past, it must have made some difference. The takeaway is that if we make the effort to get our voters to the polls, we should easily prevail in Town races this November.

If you want to see more Democratic ideals and values at work in our community, and you'd like to be part of the high-spirited effort to accomplish this end, please contact us. We welcome all friends, old and new.

DUTCHESS COUNTY VOTER REGISTRATION

Below are the latest statistics for voter enrollment in Dutchess County, courtesy of BOE Democratic Commissioner Fran Knapp. While Democrats still have an almost three thousand registrant lead over Republicans, these latest figures do show that Republicans gained new registrants in 2011, but the number of registered Democrats actually went down slightly.
In fact, voter registration overall went down slightly.

Please remember to help new neighbors and those turning 18 register. For information on voter registration and down-loadable registration forms, please CLICK HERE:

D.C. Party Enrollment	2010	2011
Democratic:	55,858	55.841
Republican:	52,390	52,549
Independence:	8,667	8,905
Conservative:	3,247	3,342
Working Families:	597	601
Green:	379	377
Libertarian:	75	76
Liberal:	658	634
Marijuana Reform:	4	4
No Party:	43,540	43,099
Right to Life:	552	524
Other:	79	81
TOTAL:	166,046	166,033

* The party enrollment changes that took effect after the November elections are included above.

NEW YORK LOSES TWO CONGRSSIONAL SEATS

The New York Congressional Delegation has lost two congressional seats due to changing population trends reported in the 2010 Census. The New York delegation will consist of 27 representatives, our lowest number since the 1800s.  New York had lost two seats after redistricting after the 1990 Census.  This trend means that New Yorkers' voice in national and international politics is diminishing. Hey, Albany, when will the lines be redrawn?

ARE YOU A RHINEBECK DEMOCRAT?

Join us on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35408964163

Do you have news of interest to other Rhinebeck Democrats? Email us.