Tag: Saratoga Springs

In 2000 and 2001, Conservative/"Democratic" Saratoga Springs mayoral candidate Gordon Boyd wrote a series of letters to The Schenectady Gazette explaining his reasoning for opposing the upcoming dredging of the Hudson River. Much of his reasoning, though, appears to be severely misguided and somewhat flawed.

Below is a passage from a letter Boyd wrote on January 14, 2001 in The Gazette, where he attempts to explain why he feels the PCBs pose virtually no severe health risk to the people of our region:

"Until 2070, and probably longer, average concentrations of PCBs in Upper Hudson fish will make them unsafe for unrestricted human consumption. By then, the fishing and consumption restrictions will have been in place for nearly a century.

In short, the "benefit" of dredging the Hudson is this: no foreseeable change in the fishing rules for the lifetimes of most people alive today.

And to be at risk from PCBs you MUST eat the fish; there is no other way. EPA says none of the other ways people could be exposed to the PCBs pose a risk, whether drinking river water, coming in contact with sediments or breathing the air nearby. Only from eating fish, a voluntary activity, easily avoided."

Boyd's reasoning concerning PCB levels in fish appears to be quite a bit off track in regards to the real problem. The levels of PCBs in fish warn us about our health, what happens to the fish has little or nothing to do with it. Since toxins are bio-concentrated as they move up the food chain, we are most at risk, not the fish, which people do eat anyway, by the way, despite the restrictions.

To rebuke Boyd's claim, the FAQ page of the Clearwater website has an informative passage on the continuing consequences the PCBs will likely pose if the status quo continues to be maintained:

"Once bottom-dwelling organisms absorb the material it is passed up the food chain.  Insoluble in water, PCBs are not readily excreted and remain, in ever-increasing concentrations, lodged in the fatty body tissues of fish as they grow. As one consequence, aonce-thriving commercial fishing industry in the Hudson Valley, earningabout $40 million annually, is now all but dead. Almost all of theriver-dwelling fish are migratory, and the effects are such that the New York State Department of Health has issued an advisory telling people to severely limit their consumption, even of fish caught recreationally in
the Hudson."

In addition, extensive EPA studies in 1999 showed that by leaving the contaminated PCBs in the Hudson River, it will only likely lead to increased cancer rates throughout our region.

Here's a passage from "Toxic Flow" by Tim Gordon in the May 4, 2000 Chronogram:

"Last spring, the EPA announced findings that up to 40 percent of the PCBs, as much as half a million pounds, had left the hotspots and migrated into the surrounding ecosystem. They say that their studies show that this will lead to elevated cancer rates, with increased disease most pronounced north of Troy, near the GE plants, where the river ismost contaminated."

Once again, this research makes Boyd's argument that PCBs would only harm people through consumption of the fish another fallacy.

In addition, data currently shows that the current cancer rate (especially colorectal) is already much higher in communities along the Hudson River than in other communities with similar demographics throughout the region. The New York State Department of Health website displays that Hudson River towns, such as Waterford, South Glens Falls, and Schuylerville all experience colorectal cancer incidences at rates much higher than the federal average (and also much higher than the rest of the towns in Saratoga County, for that matter).

Besides this, Boyd also argues that instead of forcing a complete cleanup of the contaminated portions of the river, GE's proposed "source control" program should be used instead:

"The alternative to all this is certainly not to do nothing. No one, not even GE, is proposing that. The company's source control program, costing $200 million and not disrupting the upper Hudson landscape, should go forward. And unless EPA can show the area's communities a better cost-benefit from dredging, it should allow the PCBs to remain in place until and unless a less disruptive, less costly removal technique emerges."

But why shoud we trust GE with their source control program? After all, they were the ones who contaminated the river in the first place. What gives us any evidence that they would do anything differently this time? (Especially when money is at stake)

Boyd even goes on further to attack former Rep. John Sweeney's 2000 Democratic opponent, Kenneth McCallion for his support of dredging:

"Public opinion in upper Hudson communities is firmly against dredging. We know this from, among other sources, this month's election results. Dredging advocate Ken McCallion, running on both Democratic and Green Party lines, received 27 percent of the vote in Washington County, and 29 percent in Warren County against incumbent Republican Congressman John Sweeney, who opposes dredging. Two years ago, Democrat Jean Bordewich, who did not make dredging an issue, received 50 percent and 54 percent, respectively, in Washington and Warren counties."

Boyd's reasoning on public opinion once again appears to be faulty too. For all practical purposes, the substantial drop in the Democratic congressional performance in 2000 in the two counties in question was much more likely related to McCallion being an underfunded, token challenger to Sweeney, and not so much due to dredging issues, as Boyd likes to emphasize. Looking at the 2000 election results, compared to 1998, the Democratic vote margin actually dropped by substantial margins district-wide, and was not just an isolated affair in the two counties most affected by the Hudson River dredging.

Here are some excerpts from the letter:

"Saratoga Springs, like many small cities, is run by a cozy group of men, related to each other not by party affiliation, or even profession, but by business interests and opportunistic aspirations. They pay lip service to the principles and values they claim to represent, but sweep aside ant existing restrictions or regulations if they maintain their short term desires, or challenge their power base."

"It would seem obvious that the city Democratic Party would stand by their incumbent elected officials. Not so. Mayor Keehn faces within her own party an entrenched old guard, that has put forward a candidate to challenge her in a primary."

Here's what Ullmann had to say about Boyd's endorsement from the Conservative Party:

"For 30 years, no Republican candidate has won in New York without the support of the Conservative Party. The leaders of the Conservative Party must believe the candidate is really Republican. And he seems like to everything Republican, except the name."

Democratic Mayor Valerie Keehn has been one of the most reform-minded mayors serving the Spa City in decades. For once, we have somebody who is bold enough to govern without taking cues from the elite families who have largely run the city (and the county) for their own benefit for the past several generations. Over her past term, Keehn has largely fought to make the Saratoga Springs government more open-minded with increased participation in city committees from all elements of the spectrum, including younger people, senior citizens, as well as minorities. Besides this, Keehn has also worked to end loopholes in the city's tax structure, including ending a scheme which allowed developers to receive discounted rates for taxes owed towards the city's recreation program.

Gordon Boyd, who sits on the staunchly Republican Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce (the same crew who's printing the "Thank You Bruno" bumper stickers for that sleaseball of a State Senator of ours) seems far from being any kind of reformer and continues to be a strong opponent of the Charter Reform change desperately needed in the city. Unfortunately, Mr. Boyd's decision to initiate a divisive primary could ultimately cause the Mayor's position to be lost to the GOP. (But then again, maybe that's what Mr. Boyd indirectly wishes for)

Scott Johnson, the Republican candidate for mayor, was a generous contributor to disgraced U.S. Rep. John Sweeney. Can't get any more good ole' boy then that...

There was a good comment from "SaratogaDem" on the Mayor's race over at The Times Union Local Politics blog the other day:

"Boyd and McTygue are both Democrat in Name Only DINO's who've made their careers out of getting along with the Republican good old boy network in Saratoga Springs. Boyd even got thmself elected to the board of the Chamber of Commerce! Last year, they both endorsed Joe Bruno, and Boyd has a history of supporting fellow Republicans George Pataki and Roy McDonald."

Accounts: John Franck(D) vs. ?(R)

John Franck has announced he will seek a second term on the Democratic line.

There is still speculation as to who will get the GOP line for Accounts this time around, but rumors are flying around that Stephen Towne may want his old job back. Just great - one the top dogs at Roohan Realty may try to control the real estate assesments again.

Public Works: Tom McTygue(D) vs. Anthony "Skip" Scirocco(R)

It will be VERY, VERY interesting to watch how this one goes down...

Finance: Ken Ivins(R) vs. ?(D)

Democratic-endorsed independent Matt McCabe's decision to step down from Comissioner of Finance has been a tremendous disappointment. McCabe has run the department far more efficiently than any of his Republican predecessors, working to close the loophole where the semi-corrupt, GOP-dominated county government double-billed the city for welfare expenses.

Recently it was announced that another Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce hack, Ken Ivins, will be running on the GOP line.

Public Safety: Ron Kim(D) vs. Richard Wirth(R)

Don't have too much to say on this one yet...

Lenz sold out the city on the water issue. Why? Because the Republican party machine bosses told him to. Why? Because the county water plan, running a pipeline network from the Hudson River, would allow suburban hyper-development to happen in rural towns outside the city where it is currently constrained. Note: Tom Roohan, Republican city chair, runs the foremost real estate agency in the city, and owns many pieces of rural property outside the city. At the bidding of Roohan, Lenz surrendered the city's control over its own destiny. In effect, the city will be asked to subsidize suburban development in the surrounding towns, and city residents would have to pay whatever the county decides to charge for water. To make matters worse, Lenz got a council majority to toss out a half-million dollars worth of engineering consulting work done on behalf of the Public Works Department's own water plan - which was a sensible plan to draw water from nearby Saratoga Lake, part of which lies within city boundaries. To defeat the city's own plan, Lenz enlisted a claque of lakeside property owners from outside the city, and inflamed them with misinformation about the DPW project. All this was done for the sake of a mythical computer "chip plant" which, if it existed, the Republican machine would like to stick in Malta - along with thousands of new suburban McHouses. Next on the Republican council majority is Steve Towne, Commissioner of Accounts, whose latest misdeed among many was a peremptory reassessment of city property, with an eight percent across-the-board boost of assessed value for existing buildings and weasely exemptions for favored clients with new (previously unassessed) houses.

Steve Towne's day job is comptroller for the Roohan Real Estate company, and it happens that higher benchmark valuations lead to higher commissions for real estate sales. Connect the dots. Steve Towne also happens to be Republican party chair Tom Roohan's cousin. Connect some more dots.

?(Rathman) criticized Halfmoon Republican Committee Chairwoman Regina Parker for saying that the Republican committee will select DeCerce's replacement. "It's arrogant of the town Republicans to think they have the power to plop in this replacement," Rathman said. "It's supposed to be the Town Board that fills that position. I think it speaks to the one-party rule going in Halfmoon right now.?

It's a sad day when the Republican party, my party, would stoop to the levels that they have just to maintain control of a town judgeship. And, if these actions are representative of your tactics in general, I'd be frightened at what lies just beneath the covers of the party, just to maintain control of Saratoga County? Shame on you, and I'm truly sorry for Saratoga County, a beautiful place that deserves so much more. Editor's Note: Mr. Rohling is referring to the sudden resignation of Ballston town justice Ken Kissinger just weeks before the general election, allegedly because his employment has resulted in a transfer from the area. His resignation is effective Dec. 26. His term ends Dec. 31 and his name will appear on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 8. Former Republican town justice Cynthia Amrhein has announced her intent to seek the position as a write-in candidate but if Kissinger receives the most votes, the town board will appoint an individual to fill the position.