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The Daily Mail Copyright 2019, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 227, No. 212
WEEKEND
The nation’s fourth-oldest newspaper • Serving Greene County since 1792
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PAGE A6
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Saturday-Sunday, October 26-27, 2019
Delgado appeals to leadership
nFORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT SUN
By Massarah Mikati Johnson News Service Times of sun and clouds
HIGH 60
Rain and drizzle late
LOW 45
Periods of rain
57 51
Complete weather, A2 Saturday - Sunday, October 26-27,
2019 - C1
COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
and Kinsey, who played who played Pam Beesly, insights and about the show. Fischer, their behind-the-scenes Office,” ‘created a podcast with an idea: a rewatch podcast full of actresses from “The they came up and Jenna Fischer, two working together creatively, Angela Kinsey, left, to find a way to continue Angela Martin, wanted York Times Nathaniel Wood/New best friend banter.
‘Office Ladies’
The nder Mifflin return to Du INSIDE TODAY!
WASHINGTON — In his continued effort to expand rural broadband, U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-19, co-led a bipartisan letter this week to Senate and House leaders, urging them to increase federal funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program. The letter, which was signed by 48 House members, called on leaders of the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees on rural issues to designate $605 million to ReConnect. The program itself offers loans and grants to businesses and local officials to expand broadband in underserved, rural areas.
The House of Representatives’ appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020 included the $605 million of funding for ReConnect, but the current Senate appropriations bill has not designated any funding for the program. “Affordable broadband access is critical for rural families, farms and businesses across the country,” the letter stated. “It allows small businesses to thrive, farmers to use precision agriculture technology, students to complete their homework at home, and patients to access modern health care solutions.” In addition to providing $550 million to ReConnect in the last fiscal
Contributed photo
In his continued effort to expand rural broadband, U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-19, co-led a bipartisan letter this week to Senate and House leaders, urging them to increase federal funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’Äôs ReConnect Program.
See DELGADO A2
nSPORTS
2 0 1 9
Contentious county sheriff race heats up By Sarah Trafton
Hudson tops Catskill Hudson’s Azizur Rahman steps into the ball during Thursday’s match against Catskill. PAGEB1
n OPINION
Misunderstood, disrespected The 1st Amendment isn’t getting the respect it deserves. It is battered and misunderstood. PAGE A4
n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice
A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-B5 B7-B8
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Columbia-Greene Media
EDITOR’S NOTE: Diana Benoit declined to be interviewed in person and submitted her answers via email. Peter Kusminsky completed an in-person interview. CAIRO — Two former state police investigators will face off Nov. 5 for retiring Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley’s seat. Peter Kusminsky, 55, and Diana Benoit, 55, both of Cairo and both with decades of experience in law enforcement, believe they have what it takes to be the county’s next sheriff. Kusminsky is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines and won the Republican primary in a 2,230282 vote. Although Kusminsky received the Independence party endorsement, Benoit will appear on the ballot because of litigation between the two candidates. Kusminsky did not have a section of his Independence party signatures properly bound, which is required by state election law, according to court documents and thus had these signatures thrown out. No primary was held for the Independence party. Benoit did not participate in the interview process, Independence Party Chairman George Acker said. Both candidates secured a Wilson-Pakula from the state Independence party, which is authorization given by a political party
to a candidate not registered with that party allowing him or her to run as its candidate. Benoit did not speak with the Independence Party because she was not notified of the interview, she said Diana in an emailed stateBenoit ment. When asked why she chose to run on the Independence party line after making allegations that the Greene County Independence Party was not a duly constituted party and therefore should not have a line on the ballot in May, Benoit said she is running on the state Independence party line. “The Greene County Independence Party did not file their paperwork,” Benoit said. “Those parameters have not changed. The New York State Independence Party is duly constituted and they are authorized to give out a line. That is the line I have. That is the line they gave me.” The Daily Mail submitted a Freedom of Information Law request to the state and county board of elections for the Greene County’s Independence Party’s committee biennial election results, which are required to be filed 20 days after the committee election according to state election law. The state board of elections had a gap
in the paperwork after 2011 until March 2019 when documents were reviewed in May. Greene County Board of Elections had no paperwork for 20112019, according to the FOIL response Oct. 8. Peter Correspondence Kusminsky between the two boards in June 2019, shows that the results from 2012, 2014 and 2016 were submitted. “We recently received [the results] and are forwarding them to your office for your files,” Greene County Election Commissioner Marie Metzler wrote. Additionally, contrary to Benoit’s claim, this paperwork does not determine which parties receive a line on the ballot, state Board of Elections Director of Public Information John Conklin said. “The status of a party is determined every four years during the gubernatorial election,” Conklin said. “Any party whose gubernatorial candidate receives at least 50,000 at a general election is an official party. Once official, the individual candidates can submit ballot access documents such as petitions or nomination certificates that determine whether they gain a ballot line in a given election.”
JAIL AND BAIL
will be tasked with coming to office during a time of a tremendous change with a new jail facility on the horizon. Kusminsky said the jail is an appropriate fit. “I’m fairly confident they chose that location because it would give them the least resistance from residents because there’s already two correctional facilities on the same site,” Kusminsky said. “As far as its distance from Catskill, it’s a little bit less than 10 miles. Seventy percent of the inmates there are actually taken to town and village courts and only 30% back to the county court.” The jail has decreased in size from 130 beds to 60, Kusminsky said. Because 10% of the jail must be kept vacant and four beds are designated as medical, the number of general population male beds is reduced to about 38, Kusminsky said. “We currently, I believe, have 36 inmates, so for today’s standards it would not be overbuilt, however, the bail reform is going to have an impact.” Bail reform is predicted to cut jail populations in half, Kusminsky said, which would put Greene County at about 20-25 inmates. “Either way that pod would have to be staffed,” Kusminsky said. “So a fluctuation between eight and 10 is not going to change the staffing. So I don’t necessarily
Whoever becomes Seeley’s successor
See SHERIFF A2
Schumer’s attempt to thwart SALT cap fails File photo
In this September 2018 file photo, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to the press at Old Mud Creek Farm in Hudson. Schumer’s attempt to quash the Republican cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT, failed Wednesday.
By Massarah Mikati Johnson News Service
WASHINGTON — An attempt by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to quash the Republican cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT, failed Wednesday. Schumer used the Congressional Review Act to force a vote on the Senate floor to eliminate an IRS ruling that nullified New York’s attempted workaround of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which failed in a 52-43 vote. The Republican tax bill capped the state and local tax deductions at the first $10,000, a threshold too low for some of the wealthier New York property owners. In June, New York attempted to circumvent the cap with legislation that allowed local governments to set up charitable reserve funds that would give tax credits equal to 95 percent of a contribution. However, the IRS then issued regulations that block governments from giving tax credits for charitable contributions.
“The IRS’ harmful rule is just part of a cynical political game that needlessly hurts state tax credits in virtually every state impacting charitable contributions, education, home school, and many other areas,” Schumer said in a statement Wednesday. “Taking away the SALT deduction was brutally unfair to New York’s hard-working homeowners who bear the brunt of the Trump tax bill.” Schumer concluded that he would continue to search for ways to eliminate the SALT deduction cap. The SALT deduction, which New Yorkers typically use to offset high state income and local property taxes, was targeted by the Trump administration and GOP after the 2017 tax bill lowered rates for corporations and people with high incomes. New York, followed by New Jersey,
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See SCHUMER A2