2012 Clermont Election Returns

2011 Election Returns for Clermont

Charles Larsen for Clermont Town Board

Charles Larsen

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE 

CLERMONT TOWN COUNCIL

I have lived in the Town of Clermont since I was ten years old. I have worked and played here, raised my family here, and given my time and my commitment to this community.

• I have been a member of the Clermont Fire Company for fifty-two years.
• I have been on the Zoning Board of Appeals for fifteen years, and I am currently its Chairman.
• I have been involved with the Farm Bureau of New York for thirty five years, and I am currently the State Board District 10 Director.
• I have been a member of the Village Green Committee for thirty years.
• I have been a Fire Commissioner for six years.

I am dedicated to this community and to its citizens and to their welfare in a manner and to a degree that is rare today, and I am running for the position of Member of the Clermont Town Board in the belief that my experience and expertise will serve the town well.

Dianne O'Neal for Clermont Town Board

Dianne S. O’Neal

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE 

CLERMONT TOWN COUNCIL

My family and I have been Clermont residents for 26 years. I have been a Member of the Clermont Town Board for four years. During my time on the board, Clermont town taxes have remained the lowest in Columbia County, and our tax rate for next year will drop by 1/2%. At the same time, we have renovated and enlarged the Town Garage, maintained and improved the town buildings, and built a new Little League field and Recreational Park. Prior to my years on the Town Board, I served for two years on the Planning Board.

I have had fifteen years of experience as a librarian and a conservator of works on paper in a major research library and in several museums. This background has given me not only skills and experience in those fields; it has also honed my ability to get things accomplished and to balance many tasks.

Our farm in Clermont has been continuously farmed since 1680, and local farmers grow corn and hay and raise sheep and cattle on the property today. In Alabama, my family has also been farming on the same land for 200 years. I am the Treasurer of our family farm there, and our cattle operation has operated at a profit every year since 1991. In 1931 a member of our family founded the American Farm Bureau for FDR and served as its president until 1947. Farming and quality of life is of paramount importance to me.

The support and protection of the Clermont community and its citizens are extremely important to me. As representative on the Town Board I will continue to work to keep taxes as low as possible, to keep Town property in good repair, and to keep the community a safe place to live.

Meet the 2011 Clermont Candidates

The CLERMONT DEMOCRATS INVITE YOU TO

MEET THE CANDIDATES

Saturday OCTOBER 22, 2011 

between 2 to 4 PM

At CLERMONT FARMERS MARKET 
1828 Route 9, CLERMONT

Elect CHARLES LARSEN, for Town Council

Re-Elect DIANNE O’NEAL, for Town Council

Elect PHYLLIS HEIKO, Town Justice

Refreshments will be served

Also invited to join us are the Democratic Candidates for County Offices:

GEORGE DAVIS MD, County Coroner,

PETER STOLL CPA, County Treasurer

EUGENE KEELER, County District Attorney

RICHARD KOWEEK, County Judge

Special Invited Guests include:

Judge THOMAS BRESLIN and Judge RAYMOND ELLIOTT

Candidates for the NYS 3^rd District Supreme Court

The Strongest Team in Years

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This year in Columbia County, voters are going to have a real choice. They can choose whether to support the same old bunch of people, who don't seem to get much done. Or they can chose the incredibly qualified Democrats who are running Countywide this year.

Competency!

(l-r) Richard Koweek, Peter Stoll, Eugene Keeler, Dr George Davis

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Judge Richard Koweek for County Judge

Richard Koweek grew up and has lived is entire life in Columbia County. He raised great kids here too.

He's practiced most every kind of law that is handled at County Court. He was also elected City Judge in 2009 and currently sits in Hudson City Court. That experience will serve him well on the bench. It will also serve the people of Columbia County well. His opponent is sorely lacking the broad based experience that Judge Koweek brings to the bench.

County Court jurisdiction is broad and diverse, and the position of County Court Judge is multifaceted. It requires a person who can deal with emotional family issues with sensitivity and understanding yet is firm and forthright when dealing with people who have harmed others. He also understands the legal complexities of estate and civil practice. But most of all, he is fair and respects all who come before the Court.

Judge Koweek’s background, temperament, and experience uniquely qualify him to be the next Columbia County Court judge

Visit Judge Koweek's website.

Judge Koweek has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic Committee,  Working Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation

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Peter Stoll CPA for County Treasurer

Peter Stoll is a Certified Public Accountant licensed and registered in New York State with extensive audit and income tax experience. He also has an extensive knowledge of information technology, financial systems, and internal controls. Skills that have been sorely lacking, as our county has thrashed back and forth from one unthought out scheme after another.
Peter Stoll has managed the finances for several mid-size businesses for the past 35 years. In this way he has developed the skills required to manage, monitor, and control the way public money is spent in Columbia County. He has a record of implementing major cost savings. Something that the next few years are going to require. He is eager to put his skills to work for the benefit of all of us, and to help reduce the cost of managing the County’s government.

These times require that we seek out and hire only the best people we can find to help solve our financial situation. That is what elections are supposed to be about, hiring the best person for the job at hand. We have found the best person for the job. He is Peter Stoll, the only CPA in the race.

Learn more about Peter on his website.

Peter Stoll has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic Committee,  Working Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation

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Eugene Keeler for District Attorney

Gene Keeler is an institution in Columbia County. He is a former elected district attorney and has held the positions of public defender, conflict public defender, and, currently, director of legal and advocacy services at COARC. Gene holds a J.D. degree from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He is an attorney with 30 years of general practice that includes criminal law and elder law, and is a licensed master’s-level social worker.Gene Keeler knows what is wrong with the system, because he has seen it from every side.

He has been telling the people of this county that the system is rotten and broken for years. Everyone knows about the cronyism, favoritism and shoddy work at the DA's office. But only one person was willing to stand up and call it out for what it was. That man is Gene Keeler. Lots of people have no problem with what goes on there. Because they figure that if they ever need to get off of a DWI or a domestic assault, that there familial, business or political connections, will get them off. When they have issues with the police or the DA's office, everything is just taken care of, with easy sentences if it even goes to court and rarely does anyone read about it in the paper.

But the regular Jane or Joe, who work hard, pay their taxes try to be good citizens, get the book thrown at them, in order to keep the conviction rate high at the DA's office. Political connections should not buy you a "get out of jail free card". Gene has promised to end the “get out of jail free” program for the well-connected. Instead he will give all citizens equal treatment under the law.  Isn't that what we should all expect?

He cares about justice, not statistics. While at the same time, he will make sure that all evidence gets to court and will ooperate fully with the police and community agencies. He will work full time to save the taxpayers money, and will work especially hard to assist victims and to lock up hard-core criminals.

It's time to clean up the mess at the District Attorney's office and stop playing political games with people's lives. Gene will make it a place where all of the citizens of Columbia County will feel that they have an impartial and fair person sitting in the prosecutors chair. Eugene Keeler is the right person for District Attorney.

Eugene Keeler has been endorsed by:
Columbia County Democratic Committee  Working Families Party, and the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation

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Dr. George Davis for County Coroner

Dr. Davis has served one four year term as County Coroner. He is also the only doctor in recent memory to serve as Coroner. Shockingly, the Coroner's position does not require any medical training at all. All that is required is getting the most votes on Election Day. 

Not many people understand what a corner does. Most people think that the coroner pronounces people "dead". In fact the coroner often gets to the scene quite a while after a person has died. What the coroner mostly does, is investigate why or how the person died. In essence the coroner is the advocate for the deceased.

Dr. Davis has four years experience as County Coroner. He has 30 years’ experience in family practice medicine in Columbia County. He has done extensive training in death investigation. He has a detailed knowledge of the legal system and ethics, and holds a Master’s Degree in bioethics, along with extensive experience in grief work.

He is the advocate for those who have no voices. He is the compassionate doctor who tends to the grieving families. He is the only candidate in the race for coroner with the education, experience and medical training to do the job properly.

He has earned the thanks and apprecaition from so many people in Columbia County, because he was there for them at one of the worst times in their life. He's earned their respect and he should have your vote. Keep the doctor at the corner's office.

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Clermont Town Board Affirms Voting Rights of 2nd Home Owners

At its meeting Dec. 29, Clermont’s Town Board passed a resolution supporting the rights of second homeowners to vote in the town, joining the swelling ranks of municipalities who have passed similar resolutions.

The Town Boards of Copake and Chatham as well as Hudson's Common Council have previously passed similar resolutions.

The Clermont resolution read: 

Whereas several of the residences in the town of Clermont are owned and occupied by second homeowners, and whereas a large portion of the town and school taxes collected from properties in the town of Clermont are paid by other than full time residents ... the town board supports the right of second home owners to choose to vote in the count where they maintain a residence. The town board opposes the attempt to disqualify voters on the basis that their second home is not a residence.

Clermont Supervisor, Democrat Raymond Staats, said in the Register-Star that he was proud of the resolution passing.

“It’s costing a lot of money. It’s tying up the courts, which is a waste of their time. I think they have better things to do,” he said. “It’s based on mostly second homeowners. I think it’s ridiculous. It’s been decided in the Scott Murphy race that second homeowners have the right to choose. They’re challenging on the same basis and I don’t think it’s right.”

Read more: Register-Star