On the ground

The 2008 DCDC Annual Dinner was held last Saturday, June 21st, at the SUNY Delhi Alumni Hall Hospitality Center and a good time was had by all.

We had a rather lengthy but highly distinguished roster of speakers, including Congressman Steven Israel (NY2, Assistant Democratic Whip, and more), Congressman Maurice Hinchey and Delaware County CSEA Union President George Lawson.

The Democrat of the Year award was presented by Joan Homovich (last year’s recipient) to the lovely and talented Tom Coddington. Additional remarks and congratulations were offered by fellow Hartwick alum and DCDC 2nd Vice Chair Tom Schimmerling.

I think Lenny Sienko, former DCDC Chair and current Hancock Town Chair, summed it up for us all: “The decor, the food, the service, the atmosphere, the presentations were all done with ‘a touch of class’.”

If you missed it (or if you were there and want to relive fond memories), check out these photos from the event, courtesy of Dan Flanagan:

[Show as slideshow]

So, let’s run with that ‘winds of change’ cliche and say that those winds of change seem to have blown Mr. Bruno right out of the State Senate.

Yes, you read that right. The news came down last night: Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno will not seek re-election this year.

The New York Times reports that there may be any number of reasons for the sudden announcement, although they say that exhaustion from the pending federal investigation into his “outside business interests” was not one of them.

Yeah, whatever.

The story also mentions criticism leveled at Mr. Bruno “[a]fter the Senate Republicans lost a key special election in February.” That would be a reference to that wonderful upset victory by Darrell Aubertine that was still sending us all to bed with smiles on our faces right through April.

No doubt Bruno realized that he wouldn’t be Majority Leader after the election in November. He only had a one-seat edge and we all know he’s going to be losing it very shortly.

Speaking of this, by the way, a June 12 Quinnepac Poll found that 51% of respondents want to see the Democrats take control of the Senate, while only 35% said it should remain in Republican hands. We have some really terrific candidates like Don Barber and Paloma Capanna and, as TAP pointed out recently, upstate may very well hand the Senate to Democrats all by itself.

Much to the State GOP’s surprised chagrin, I’m sure.

Governor Patterson’s office announced last week that his Economic Security Cabinet, made up of 20 state agencies, will hold a series of meetings with the citizenry to discuss the economy.

Brave man! Or, to be more accurate, brave staffers!

The meetings will begin promptly at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. They will be held as follows:

June 19 Western NY Region - Erie Community College-Downtown

June 25 Finger Lakes Region - Rochester City Hall

June 26 Central NY Region - Onondaga Community College

July 1 Southern Tier Region - Broome Community College

July 7 Mohawk Valley Region - Mohawk Valley Community College

July 16 Watertown- Jefferson Community College Plattsburgh - Clinton Community College

July 24 Mid-Hudson Region - Orange County Community College

July 28 New York City- Brooklyn Borough Hall New York City- Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building Art Gallery 163 West 125th Street

July 30 Long Island Region - Farmingdale State College

July 31 New York City - York College/CUNY

Naturally, none of these are what you might call nearby — the closest meeting will be taking place on July 1st in the Binghamton area. Then again, it’s worth your while to go (if you can spare the gas) and offer your input.

Word is out that the NYS Democratic Party is now hiring field organizers. As pointed out over at TAP, this isn’t the job to go for if you have aspirations to be able to retire in five years, but it’s a good opportunity if what you want to do is be a part of history — ’cause this year is like that.

Duties would include:

• Organizing and implementing house meetings
• Voter registration
• Identifying and engaging supporters in the campaign
• Getting out the vote
• Volunteer coordination for phone banks and door to door operations

If you’re interested, send a resume to vondam@nydems.org.

>???????? ????? ????????MEDIA ADVISORY * *

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Rachel McEneny

May 29, 2008 518-581-8247

Rep. Gillibrand to Hold Neighborhood Office Hours in Masonville and Sidney

Hudson, NY - Today, local Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand announced that her staff will hold Neighborhood Office Hours on Thursday, June 12th at the Masonville Federated Church located on Route 206 and the Sidney Municipal Center located at 21 Liberty Street.

These satellite Congressional offices will have staff on hand to hear concerns and to help constituents with any problems they may be having with federal agencies – such as veterans benefits, Social Security checks or other federal issues.

“I realize that with busy work schedules and soaring gas prices, it is often difficult for my constituents to travel to a district office, so I’ve decided to take my office out into the communities I serve, to hear your needs so I can better represent the families of the 20th district” said Congresswoman Gillibrand.

Congresswoman Gillibrand, a member of both the Armed Services and Agriculture Committees, encourages local residents to come out to meet her staff and share their priorities for Congress, opinions on important issues and requests for help with federal agencies.

WHO: Congresswoman Gillibrand

WHAT: Neighborhood Office Hours to help local residents with problems with federal agencies

WHEN: Thursday, June 12th

Masonville: 10:00am-1:00pm

Sidney: 2:00pm-6:00pm

WHERE: Masonville Federated Church

State Route 206

Masonville, NY 13804

Sidney Municipal Center

21 Liberty Street

Sidney, NY 13838

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