Carmel Debate, 10-29-09: Marc Pekowsky for Carmel Town Council

At Thursday's debate held in the Town of Carmel, Marc Pekowsky, candidate for Town Council stood head and shoulders above his opponents.

When asked about his vision and qualifications, Pekowsky explained, "I am a centrist who is willing to work on behalf of the residents and businesses in Carmel. While I live in Carmel with my wife and family, I do not work here, nor do I have any business connections in Carmel. Therefore, I can be an honest broker when it comes to making critical decisions involving taxpayers' money." Pekowsky was applauded for his honest, candid manner.

Many Carmel residents felt Pekowsky had made a strong case for his candidacy by demonstrating a fair and balanced approach to Town government. Particularly welcomed was Pekowsky's commitment to open, transparent government which has been sorely lacking in Carmel in the last 14 years. Also applauded was Pekowsky's economic vision for the Town that would preserve its character while offering job opportunities to its citizens.

Why Did Smith Fail to Win a Majority Vote from His Party: Part II

In our last blog post we addressed why Don Smith failed to win the majority vote from his party. At last night's debate in the Town of Kent, we witnessed another example of why Don Smith failed to win his party's majority vote. During the debate Kevin McConville read excerpts from the New York State Commission of Correction regarding the 2006 Putnam jail suicide of Spencer Sinkov.

The report clearly states it was the responsibility of the Sheriff to prevent the suicide: "Sinkov's death could have been prevented had proper suicide prevention precautions been taken and had department policy and procedures been properly followed." The Sheriff hung his head in shame.

Don Smith's only reply was to ignore the statistics in the FBI's 2008 Crime in the U.S. report regarding increasing crime in Putnam County (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html).

Smith also ignored the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services rising crime statistics for 2006-08 -- which Smith likes to omit although he was Sheriff during that time. To confirm these facts, visit http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/. Smith brazenly stated that crime did not rise and there is no threat to Putnam County.

Once again, he avoided discussing the Karen Meltz excessive force lawsuit, the charges of illegal search and seizure by his office in the Nelson lawsuit, and, though he was visibly shaken, denied any responsibility in the Sinkov suicide lawsuit.

If you believe in justice, if you want a safe and secure Putnam County, vote for Kevin McConville for Sheriff of Putnam County - Row A of the ballot.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Why Did Smith Fail to Win a Majority Vote from His Party?

In the Republic primary for Sheriff on September 15, Don Smith failed to win a majority of his own party - receiving only 47.8% of the vote. That's surprising for an incumbent who has been in office almost eight years. Obviously, the people who know Smith best wanted another candidate.

There are a lot of reasons for Smith's failure:

Poor Law Enforcement

• New York State Criminal Justice reports Putnam crime is up 34% in last three years
• Alcohol-involved accidents up 163%, total auto accidents increased 67%

Ineffective Training

• Condemned by NYS Commission of Investigation for failure to properly handle teen rape case
• Did not properly train in use of force: Deputies injured and hospitalized a woman
• Injured woman sued: lawsuit settled in her favor, damages to be paid by taxpayers

Violations

• Sheriff violated Putnam ethics code, let Deputy Dunn head Putnam Humane Society
• Smith allowed Dunn to make TV ad in uniform, an ethics code violation

Lawsuits Naming Smith

• Karen Meltz excessive force lawsuit settled out-of-court; taxpayers pay
• Sinkov suicide lawsuit settles, Smith held partly responsible for suicide
• Nelson lawsuit charges illegal search and seizure; in preliminary stages

Malfeasance

• Failure to act on findings by NYS Commission of Correction to prevent additional suicides in jail led to Sinkov suicide
• Accepted $1,000 campaign donation from jail medical provider, Americor, 10 weeks after Sinkov suicide
• Americor found 35% at fault in Sinkov suicide, supported Smith
• Smith failed to update policy and procedure manual during eight years in office
• Did not control overtime in jail, taxpayers will pay

Why is Kevin McConville the right choice for Putnam County Sheriff? Because he has a five-point program for crime fighting and prevention:

1. Instilling core values
2. Promoting safety
3. Ensuring safety
4. Training, education and mentoring
5. Enforcing the law equitably
   

New Political Commercials for the Town of Carmel

10-2-09 Press Conference held by Putnam County Sheriff candidate, Kevin McConville