The Sullivan Times

The Sullivan Times We cover and uncover the big stories in Sullivan County, NY.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - Issue 2

Senate Dem Candidates Malick, Metzger Want To Stop Albany Corruption Winner of Sept. 13 Primary Faces Rabbitt For Bonacic’s Seat

Pramilla Malick (official photo)

Jen Metzger (official photo)

BY RICH KLEIN Jeffersonville, September 4, 2018 -​ One thing that’s certain about the outcome of the 42nd District State Senate race in November: a woman will take that seat for the first time thanks to the surprise retirement announcement earlier this year by

20-year incumbent John Bonacic that shook up the local and state political landscape. On September 13, though, Democrats will decide between ​Jen Metzger of Rosendale (Ulster County)​ and ​Pramilla Malick of Minisink (Orange County)​ -- and the winner will face Republican ​Annie Rabbitt, the clerk of Orange County​ and a former member of the Assembly, on Election Day. Bonacic, who served in the State Assembly from 1990 through 1998, is one of five GOP state senators who announced this year that they would not run for election. In 2016, he defeated Malick, a write-in candidate, by 25,000 votes. She lost every county but did extremely well in Ulster. In Sullivan, Bonacic beat her by some 9,000 votes. But Malick said she is very proud of the race she ran against Bonacic.

The State Senate is currently in Republican control thanks to a one-vote majority brought about by a strange power-sharing agreement in which two Democrats are caucusing with Republicans. But the 42nd District race could be the one seat that flips the State Senate back to Democratic control for the first time since 2010.

In telephone interviews with​ The Sullivan Times​ in recent days, Metzger and Malick stressed their activism and experience and both spoke much about corruption. “I see a lot of bipartisan corruption at every level of government,” Malick said. “Corruption does not know any party bounds. I have always served the interest of my community and the public. I have found corruption not only in government but I have found corruption in many institutions that are supposed to safeguard the public trust. A lot of the environmental groups have dark money, they lack transparency, they make back-room deals -- and I am not beholden to any of them and that is why none of them like me.”

Malick also talked about her her track record as a community organizer and as a former small business owner with her husband.

In that business, Malick said the couple provided the first broadband service to The Town of Tusten many years ago.

“I have a seven-year record of speaking truth to power..a seven-year record of fighting corruption, fighting the fracked gas instructure and of fighting this power plant (Competitive Power Ventures or CPV) and this energy policy that has allowed for this in first place,” Malick said. “My entire position has been to look for systemic causes of our public policy crises rather than just individual, stand-alone issues. Because I think that’s how we really are going to get public policy that serves the public interest.

And I see corruption as the root cause of every major public policy crisis of our day..whether it’s the healthcare crisis, the opioid epidemic, the privatization of critical public services like our mental health services, whether it’s climate change...it’s all really a result of corruption.”

She also asked why the major media covered the (Joseph) Percocco trial for almost seven weeks and never really elaborated on the “energy project” at the center of the trial. Percocco was a close advisor to Governor Cuomo before being convicted recently

on corruption charges. He is expected to be sentenced sometime after Cuomo’s Sept. 13 primary against Cynthia Nixon, who Malick said she supports. Malick also believes that a “corrupt” Dairy Farmers Association is “deliberately and willfully marginalizing small cooperative farmers and preventing them from transporting their milk to market. “ She specifically noted the pain that caused Sullivan’s dairy farmers and says she has conversed with some of them on this issue. Malick cites what she says is a broad background. “Even though I’m known as a community organizer, I have a broad background. I’m a former small business advisor and a former union organizer,” she said.

Metzger, who has a Ph.D in political science, concurs about corruption infecting Albany, saying that corruption exists in both the Senate and Assembly and in the executive branch. “Corruption is a huge issue,” she said. “We have a legal pay-to-play system….and an LLC loophole that allows corporate money to flow to candidates. It’s a priority of mine to shut off that river of funding. That has to end.”

Metzger said that in her meetings with voters, the issues that come up are “how can we revitalize our local economy, how can we attract good paying jobs, and how do we keep property taxes affordable in the face of ever-rising healthcare costs.”

She says that Sullivan County has particular challenges and also has a lot of potential. “Healthcare costs are a huge issue in Sullivan County,” Metzger said. “No one can afford the rising cost of healthcare anymore. And Sullivan stands out...the national average of people without health insurance is 10 percent but in Sullivan County, 18 percent of residents in Sullivan can’t afford health insurance.“ She added that over one quarter of children in Sullivan are living in poverty. “We have a lot of work to do there,” she said.

Both candidates say they are not one-issue candidates -- yet both want to be seen by voters as the environmental champion on the issue. Metzger cites her work as founder and director of Citizens For Local Power, which she says won a nearly 20 percent reduction in Central Hudson energy bills on behalf of over 300,000 residents and small business customers. And she is proud that in her work as Town of Rosendale councilwoman, she led the “charge” to enable the town to purchase all its electricity from a Wallkill hydro plant, saving constituents in energy costs and committing to renewable energy.

Malick, founder of Protect Orange County and ​founder of Stop the Minisink Compressor Station, cites her ​continuous work in attempts to stop Competitive Power Ventures’ Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda. ​Millennium Pipeline, the subject of an article in the debut issue of ​The Sullivan Times,​ worked with CPV to install a lateral pipeline between Millennium’s mainline and the CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda. “This is an ever expanding infrastructure,” Malick said, “and there’s no end in sight.”

Metzger says ​“we have to create the conditions to elevate everyone’s economic well-being and allow everyone in Sullivan County to realize their full potential. Rural development strategies have to be local and sustainable and they have to support diversification. You can’t throw all your eggs in one basket ...we can’t hope that the casino is going to be your savior. It’s created jobs but it’s not enough.’’

She also noted that “we have to address the way we fund schools. Over time, the state share of education funding has been declining and local property taxes have filled that gap but it’s just unsustainable. Liberty and Fallsburg taxes are through the roof and people are having a hard time affording to stay in their homes. “ And Metzger is already thinking about Albany. She cited a few Senate committees she’d want to join if she gets to Albany: Health, Energy, Education and Local Government. “From the moment I filed the paperwork to run, I have been focused on the general election. And that is the single most important thing. I’ve been speaking to all voters. Annie Rabbitt served for many years...but we need to bring a fresh perspective to Albany. Voters will have a real choice. “ The gap between Metzger and Malick in campaign contributions is huge.

Malick’s biggest donor in the most recent election cycle is actor and activist James Cromwell, who has donated $1,000. Malick, though, said that in 2016 against Bonacic, she had one of the “lowest costs per vote than almost any campaign in the country. I am able to do things with very little money that other campaigns have to spend an enormous amount on.”

Metzger has contributed $20,000 of her own money in 2018, according to the same New York State Board of Election records.

Her largest donors in the latest filing appears to be Thomas Konrad of Stone Ridge ($11,000), manager at ​Green Global Equity Income Portfolio and chair of the Marbletown (Ulster County) Environmental Conservation Commission. She also received ​two campaign contributions of $7,000 each from Michael Apgar and Gretchen Apgar of Montana; Michael Apgar is the founder of a startup broadband speed test company. Sean S. Eldridge, the former candidate for Congress who lost to Chris Gibson in 2014 and founder and president of Stand Up America, has donated $5,000 as has Peter Buffett, co-chair of the NoVo Foundation and the son of Warren Buffett. James H. Ottaway Jr. of New Paltz, chairman and chief executive of Ottaway Newspapers, donated $2,500 to Metzger.

NOTE: The Sullivan Times has reached out to Rabbitt’s campaign manager to arrange an interview and is awaiting a reply in the coming days.

Since 2008: Gunther Received $19,800 In Campaign Contributions from Crystal Run & Teitelbaums Over the past decade, Democratic Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther of Forestburgh has received $16,000 in campaign contributions from Crystal Run Healthcare CEO, Dr. Hal Teitelbaum and his wife, Jennifer.

In 2008, Crystal Run Healthcare, the entity -- which is under federal investigation regarding campaign contributions to Governor Andrew Cuomo -- was her biggest donor, with a contribution of $3,800. (In Sullivan County, Crystal Run operates in Rock Hill and Liberty; Crystal Run also operates 14 offices in Orange County and five in Rockland County).

Added together, Gunther’s campaign has received just under $20,000 from Crystal Run and the Teitelbaums, who live in Bethel’s Chapin Estates. Jonah Mandelbaum, a major developer from Warwick, has delivered $3,500 to the current Gunther campaign cycle.

The most recent contribution to Gunther was for $1,000 in November 2017, made by Hal Teitelbaum, who, in 1996, founded Crystal Run. An email to Gunther’s office late last week asking if she planned to return the $1,000 in light of the current investigation was not answered by press time.

An investigation by the ​Albany Times-Union​ last year revealed that Teitelbaum approached Mandelbaum, a key fundraiser for Cuomo in 2010 and again in 2013, to discuss the possibility of obtaining state grants to build additional Crystal Run facilities.

Crystal Run has been under federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, the FBI and the Orange County District Attorney regarding campaign contributions amounting to $400,000 and questions about receiving approximately $25 million in state grants in return for those contributions to build additional healthcare facilities -- in Rockland County. ​“Any accusation that Crystal Run engaged in a pay-to-play effort, or any other illegal or unethical conduct, to obtain state grants is absolutely false,” said Crystal Run spokesperson Loren Riegelhaupt in an email sent to ​The Sullivan Times​ yesterday. Asked if any state Assembly or Senate members helped to arrange any meetings between Teitelbaum and the Cuomo Administration regarding the state grants, Riegelhaupt declined comment.

Mandelbaum has donated some $120,000 to the campaigns of Andrew Cuomo since 2010 and has also been one of Gunther’s largest campaign contributors -- with $3,500 in contributions in 2017 alone. Mandelbaum’s wife, Donna Applegate, has donated $94,000 to Cuomo’s campaigns since 2010 but has not donated to Gunther.

Riegelhaupt’s public affairs firm, SKDKnickerbocker, with offices in Albany and Manhattan, also has close ties to Cuomo. Partner Jennifer Cunningham is known as a longtime advisor to Cuomo and helped get him elected Attorney General. For his part, Cuomo has recently stated that if the current investigation into Crystal Run finds any fraud, then contributions that his campaign received would be returned.

Gunther has not made public comments about the investigation into Crystal Run. Some of her campaign contributions, via the New York State Board of Elections, are listed below.

In a news release announcing the grants to Crystal Run and others (March 4, 2016) issued by Governor Cuomo’s office, Gunther said: “We are at a critical juncture in healthcare delivery in New York State, and Crystal Run Healthcare and Dr. Hal Teitelbaum are at the forefront. Their work to improve healthcare outcomes and ensure that the most vulnerable and underserved members of our community receive the care they need is paramount to improving the quality of life in Orange and Sullivan Counties. I'm grateful to Dr. Zucker and Governor Cuomo for their support and leadership as we all work to keep New Yorkers healthy." Jonathan Schiller, CEO of Catskill Regional Medical Center, has also donated $500 to Gunther for this campaign.

Over the years, Gunther -- who took office in 2003 -- has also enjoyed financial support from Bethel Woods founder Alan Gerry, who has donated $18,300 to her campaign since 2008, including $4,000 for this election cycle.

In January 2018, Crystal Run ​signed an agreement with Montefiore Health System ​aimed at advancing healthcare further in the Hudson Valley. That agreement came despite a pending lawsuit by six former Crystal Run physicians alleging that they were being forced to support the merger. The lawsuit further alleged that they would have their ownership stakes reduced and forced to become employees. In May, the lawsuit was settled.

As for Teitlelbaum, he is ​featured on Columbia Law School’s 2012 graduation page: ​"For better or for worse, I am very into micromanagement, and I want to understand what I’m doing,” says Teitelbaum, who serves as the company’s managing partner and CEO. “Crystal Run has attorneys, and we have in-house counsel, but at the end of the day, the buck stops here….I am committed to changing the healthcare system by doing things rather than talking about them.”

EDITORIAL “Forum” Format Is Debatable While it’s always good for candidates for any office to address the public, we were disappointed in the format of a recent forum on environmental conservation issues between Republican Congressman John Faso and Democratic challenger Antonio Delgado. The forum was held at The Western Hotel in Callicoon, so it’s great that Sullivan County is considered critical to the candidates’ success. Faso resides in Columbia County and Delgado lives in Dutchess County.

The fact that the public did not get to see the pair square off ​directly​ was a disservice to voters, even if unintentional. In the forum format, the candidates largely repeated lines from their stump speeches instead of allowing us to see how they handle the pressures of a real debate seated or standing directly next to their opponent.

I’m confident there will be debates between now and Election Day. But with attention spans short enough these days, we can only hope that, at this point, there are at least two more comprehensive debates -- that all are live streamed across the entire District. One should focus on jobs and the economy and the other should be on healthcare, including the horrific opioid crisis.

Our broken political campaign system is too heavily focused on radio/TV ads that conveniently ignore issues that most impact constituents’ lives. Debates, like in the days of Lincoln-Douglas, are an American tradition. Let’s demand more of them from all our politicians at every level of government.

The Sullivan Times Editor & Publisher: Rich Klein PO Box 502 Jeffersonville NY 12748 sullivancatskillstimes@gmail.com On Facebook and Instagram

No Birthday Blues For Slam At 52 Story and Photo By Rich Klein Perhaps the most talented homegrown musician in Sullivan County history, Slam Allen turns 52 this week. At a recent free event at the Sullivan County Museum in Hurleyville, the blues musician talked a bit about his career.

HURLEYVILL​E -​ Blues artist Slam Allen, who turns 52 on Thursday (September 6) says that while growing up in Monticello during

the late 60s through the 70s he recalls music clubs "on every corner...and on every other corner was a hotel. I watched my Dad and my uncles (perform) and wanted to be like them.”

Growing up, he played drums for the family soul band “The Allen Brothers,” and later

on, learned guitar from his father, Harrison Allen and his uncle, Cecil Allen. As he progressed in their eyes, the family knew they had a special talent to nurture.

Allen gave a talk laced with humor and personal stories and a mini concert in early August at the Sullivan County Museum and Sullivan County Historical Society that was attended by about 50 people, but with few under the age of 50 in the audience.

Over the past three decades, he's taken his unique blues act around the globe. And just like Wynton Marsalis with jazz history, Allen is ever-mindful of his responsibility to honor the great blues performers like James Cotton, Otis Redding and B.B. King, all who have influenced him greatly. “Everything I play came from people I’ve met along the way. I carry that spirit with me.”

He spent nine years as the lead singer, lead guitar player and "Frontman" for the legendary harpist Cotton and is credited in writing and singing all the songs on James' 2011 Grammy-nominated comeback album "Giant."

“I was able to record with James Cotton,” he told the Hurleyville audience. “If you listen to that album, you’d think it was my album. So I’m an unofficial Grammy nominee.”

Allen added that, “every note that I play is a piece of my life whether it’s good or whether it’s bad.”

I’m able feel people’s energy and give it back to you,” Allen said. “And the vehicle that gives it back to you is music. The man above guides me where I’m supposed to be. I don’t care if I know you for a minute or I’ve known you for 10 or 20 years I still manifest the same love. And I’m gonna do it here today. “ “Till the day they throw dirt over my face, I’m going to be around and make people happy,” Allen said.

He has recorded six albums and has played around the world and is currently in Switzerland. He told the Hurleyville audience that people often ask him how he plays blues in the Catskills. He replied, “You live there.”

Faso holds Slim Lead; Siena Pollster Thinks Delgado Can Close Gap A few days after the release of a ​new Siena College/Spectrum News poll​ that showed ​Republican incumbent John Faso​ leading Democratic challenger Anthony Delgado​ for the 19th Congressional District by five points, Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said that he believes Delgado “has room to grow because he has about 40 percent of voters who don’t know enough about him to rate him. That won’t be true by the end of this campaign.” “This is a district is very closely divided by party,” Greenberg said.

“What you see is the Democrats solidly behind Delgado and Republicans solidly behind Faso - and independents are moving towards Faso -- and that’s what gives him small lead right now. By end of campaign, there’s going to be millions of dollars spent by candidates, by their campaigns, by their parties and by independent messengers,” Greenberg said. “Voters will know a lot about them. It’s about educating voters. This is going to be a very spirited, tense, dramatic campaign. I anticipate it’s going to be a close election and one of the most closely watched in the country.”

Asked about Siena’s polling in 2016 when Faso beat Democrat Zephyr Teachout, he said: “In our first poll, we had Faso up by a point or two, then in our second poll right before the election, we had Faso up by six and he wound up winning by 8 (points). “ “Name recognition is not enough,” Greenberg concluded. “You have to give voters a reason to vote for you or sometimes for voters to vote against your opponent. “ Faso’s campaign has come under fire for campaign ads attacking Delgado over rap lyrics performed earlier in his career.

Comments made by SUNY New Paltz professor Gerald Benjamin, a Faso supporter, also got him in hot water for his comments that were viewed by some as racist. Benjamin has since apologized.

At presstime, Delgado announced that former Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed him.

- Rich Klein

Spinas’ Brother in Liberty ‘Emotional’ Over Middletown Indictments Liberty chiropractor Dr. Mark Spina didn’t want to talk much yesterday (Tuesday, September 4) about last week’s indictment of his two brothers and sister along with two other administrators at Dolson Avenue Medical in Middletown.

The U.S. Attorney announced indictments against James Spina, Jeffrey Spina, Kimberly Spina and Andrea Grossman on multiple charges relating to alleged healthcare fraud totalling $80 million. Kimberly Spina and Grossman live in Sullivan County.

In a brief phone call with ​The Sullivan Times​ on Tuesday, Mark Spina said “I have been told by the family attorney that I’m not supposed to say anything” before adding, “obviously, I’m extremely emotional and I’m not sure what will happen.”

Asked if his business in Liberty (pictured above) was connected in any way to Dolson Avenue Medical, he replied: “It’s just separate, that’s the way it is. “ The indictments handed up regarding Dolson Avenue Meical, portions which can be found on the ​Sullivan Times’ Facebook page​, said in part that those indicted in Middletown had created multiple fraudulent companies allegedly to hide monies. - Rich Klein