Staten Island Democratic Association

est. 1961 as Staten Island’s reform Democratic Club

www.sidems.org

At our November General Meeting:

· Dr. Scott Noren – Candidate for U.S. Senate

· Assemblywomen Janele Hyer-Spencer

· Nominating Committee Report

Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 8:00 P.M.,
at the Staaten, 697 Forest Avenue
(718) 448-6000

Cake, coffee, & soda will be served.

Editorial Policy:

Items for publication must be submitted to the newsletter no later than the last Friday of the month before the meeting. Please send items to: cmaxbauer@yahoo.com. Unless explicitly stated, the views herein are those of the authors and not of S.I.D.A.
Chris Bauer, Editor(718) 273-3796

S.I.D.A. President’s Message

The Marcellus Shale basin, which runs through Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is estimated to hold enough natural gas to meet the nation’s needs for about two years. About 8.5 percent of the Marcellus Shale located within the state of New York is under the New York City watershed. The watershed supplies water to 15 million people, including 9 million New Yorkers. Recent advances in drilling technology combine horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This now allows drillers to gain access to pockets of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale that were previously inaccessible.

The State rules which currently govern drilling were put in effect prior to the advances in drilling technology. Therefore in October, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a draft of new rules governing natural gas production in upstate New York, which includes drilling operations near New York City’s water supplies. The public will be given an opportunity by the Department of Environmental Conservation to comment on the draft rules during the official comment period.

Under the proposed new rules, drillers would be required to disclose the fracking chemicals they use, the state would create buffer zones around reservoirs and aqueducts in the watershed, and special approval would be required for wells drilled within a 1,000-foot corridor of underground tunnels that carry drinking water to New York City.

The use of hydraulic fracturing raises serious environmental concerns. Hydraulic fracturing mixes water with chemicals which is then injected under high-pressure into the well to break the shale and allow natural gas to flow out. Hydraulic fracturing requires anywhere between three million to five million gallons of water per well. As much as 50 times more water than a conventional well requires. Given the water requirements, hydraulic fracturing could potentially impact the operations and reliability of the New York City water supply system, particularly during droughts.

Another major concern is that the fracking chemicals used could enter the water supply. Although the gas wells are lined, well casings have failed before, allowing chemicals to enter water supplies. There is also the issue of the specialized treatment and disposal fracturing wastewater requires. There is currently no specialized treatment plant in the region designed to treat fracturing wastewater.

The federal government has issued New York City a special permit which allows the City’s drinking water to go unfiltered from a network of reservoirs and rivers in five upstate counties. If our water supply becomes polluted because of fracturing wastewater or chemicals entering our water supply and the special permit was revoked, the city would have to build a treatment facility that could cost nearly $10 billion, roughly what the state estimated it would earn from gas development over the next decade.

Given that the cost to filter the City’s water supply would wipe out any economic benefit the State would gain by allowing drilling in the watershed area and/or near any of the connecting infrastructure, the new State rules on drilling should favor maintaining our pristine water system over natural gas production.

Sincerely,

Richard Reichard
President, S.I.D.A.

Dr. Scott Noren

Dr. Scott Noren is a candidate for United States Senator from New York and will be a guest speaker at our November 17 General Membership meeting at the Staaten. He submitted the following statement.

The most basic two parts of Dr. Noren’s platform on the health care portion are to:1) Cap monthly premiums indefinitely until the economy really recovers;2) Encourage candidates from other states to run like himself.

Background

Dr. Scott Noren is an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon practicing in Ithaca, New York. He was born in Park Ridge, Illinois on April 7, 1960. He graduated from Niles West High School in 1978 and then attended the University of Illinois at Chicago achieving a Bachelor’s degree in Biology.

He then completed his Dental School training at Loyola University of Chicago in 1990. He did a one year General Dental residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He then completed a one year Oral Surgery Externship at L.S.U. in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following this, he did his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, completing this in 1997.

He then entered the U.S. Army active duty and spent six years serving his country. He was a medical whistle blower while on active duty. Following active duty, he did two Oral Surgery Associateships in Duluth, Minnesota and Saratoga Springs, New York respectively. He then purchased an Oral Surgery Practice in Ithaca, New York in 2005, a practice that had been there for over 40 years

Dr. Noren and his wife Michelle have three children aged 12, 13, and 14. Scott also has a 24 year old daughter living in Illinois. He is a member of the New York State Surrogate Decision-Making Panel (S.D.M.C.) and the Tompkins Chamber of Commerce, Governmental Affairs Committee.

Leap from the Field of Medicine:

He had been a medical whistle blower in the Army, and had lobbied in D.C. for better peer review. What he experienced in DC in the offices of Schumer and Clinton was very disappointing. That started his journey into seeing how he could make a difference at that level as a health care provider and not a typical D.C. politician.

Public Option Question

The way to getting a public option that will not destroy the economy further is through aggressive insurance reform (capping monthly premiums for the consumer like they are doing with COBRA, but not quite that level), reducing obesity, smoking and substance abuse, and, making the option catastrophic and chronic disease only. Elective surgery and treatment would not be covered and would need to be paid for. This is an “I want” society but we need to pay for 300 million people vs 30 million in Canada and elsewhere. It can be done but through fiscally sound policy that does not raise taxes.

People that are supportive of a public option also need to consider the following; if a physician currently opts out of Medicare or even private insurance because the fees are not paying their overhead or they want higher income, why would they voluntarily sign up to be a provider in a public option? Also, if they do accept some private insurance but those plans pay them greater than a Medicare based rate, why would this provider sign up for the public option?

Critical Shortage of Health Care Workers

The cost of tuition and all expenses to go to medical and dental school is outrageous, even in the SUNY system. It is 22/45K; that is 22K for tuition and 45K for all expenses EACH year. That is a state program; this coupled with low reimbursement rates for primary care discourage pursuit of primary care as a career. We need to immediately change reimbursement rates for primary care, work on initiatives to help fund tuition and expenses, and eventually work on low or no cost rates. When you go to a military school, you pay no tuition, owe time to the government and get paid lower than what your private practice colleagues get. We can tweak that but have a similar situation so that you don’t graduate with enormous debts. We also need immediate incentives for people to lower obesity and smoking which is an enormous drain on the system.

Campaign Finance Reform

Dr. Noren started out this campaign feeling that we could consider passing stricter campaign finance legislation. It’s clear that the present Congress and Supreme Court have no intention of making a major dent here. It’s important to get this done because health care bills, credit card bills, etc are all written deceptively in the favor of special interest groups. The only viable and yet difficult way to change this is as follows. Run your campaign with no Lobby money and no donations from employees of the Insurance, Gas/Oil , Financial/Oil industries. If we start a voluntary consortium of candidates nationwide, we can change just enough numbers in Congress to upset this little balance of special interest. This would be the most sweeping change in D.C. politics to reform campaign finance and the way we write bills.

Stable Jobs, Compete on a Global Level

Stable jobs are created when there is demand for the product or service, the overhead is manageable, worker satisfaction is high and the overall economy is stable. This sounds redundant but we need a healthier America (reduce obesity, smoking and substance abuse) to keep costs down and a politician to look the camera in the eye to say this. We need to compete with Japan and other countries on use of robotics and automation so we can manufacture and sell in the global market. We need to become independent of China covering our debt and do things to lower our debt, not add to it. Eventually, stiff trade policies will be needed to be in place but we have no current bargaining chips. As a side note, unions can be a good thing, but they have also outstripped the ability of some companies to operate in a fiscally sound fashion.

Prevent a Future Economic Situation

After calling the Treasury Department early into the TARP as a U.S. Senate candidate, Dr. Noren found out that no measures were placed in writing to prevent more derivatives and poorly approved and packaged mortgage instruments from being allowed. He would mandate by law that these financial instruments would be highly regulated and law would be written to prevent the same “House of Cards” style mortgage market. There is a real disconnect from the Treasury “guidelines” and what is mandated by law. The rationale by the Treasury (per this employee) was that they wanted to maintain “liquidity” and felt laws would stifle this.

Dr Noren’s website is www.norenforsenate.com.

Assemblywomen Janele Hyer-Spencer was originally scheduled to be one of our guest speakers at our October meeting. Her write-up can be found in our October newsletter.

Minutes

General Membership Meeting
October 20, 2009

President Richard Reichard called the meeting to order at 8:30 p.m. He mentioned that we would be holding an election for the Nominating Committee. Joanne Olbrich made a motion to close the ballots for the evening’s election at 9:30 pm. The motion passed. Susan Chew, Bonnie Rothman, and Paul Casali volunteered to count the ballots.

Councilwoman Janele Hyer-Spencer was scheduled to be one of our speakers. However due to a family matter she was unable to attend

1st Guest Speaker

Assemblyman Matt Titone was the first speaker. (Note: Due to a scheduling conflict, Assemblyman Titone was not one of our scheduled speakers. However, he was able to leave another function in Queens earlier than anticipated to make the meeting.)

Assemblyman Titone spoke briefly about the Marriage Equality March that he attended in Washington DC. He felt that they had a great turn out.

Assemblyman Titone also mentioned that Governor Paterson is proposing some budget cuts due to the five billion dollar deficit New York State is facing for the next two years. He mentioned that these proposed cuts were unexpected and that the proposed cuts are for education and health care. NYS is facing difficult economic times and proposed cuts are in areas that the legislators fought hard to keep. He thinks that Governor Paterson may be calling the legislators back into session sometime soon.

Assemblyman Titone mentioned that five of his bills have been signed into law this past year. He also was particularly proud when the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office contacted him because they were able to prosecute offenders due to the Assemblyman’s Luring of Children Bill.

Assemblyman Titone along with his Chief of Staff Chris Bauer have been working hard on a project to secure farmland in Staten Island. They are looking to secure a total of 25 acres in various parts of Staten Island. He mentioned that the farmland will be completely self sustainable, profitable, and ecologically friendly. He also mentioned that the New York State Farm Bureau is looking to donate all the plantings. He said that gardening can be therapeutic and feels it will be good for certain conditions and populations. Assemblyman Titone mentioned that a percentage of the harvest would go to food banks. He also mentioned that the first phase of this project would begin at Snug Harbor with groundbreaking expected to begin this November.

After the presentation, Assemblyman Titone took questions from many members in attendance. The minutes from the September General meeting were accepted as published in the newsletter.

Social Secretary’s Report

Social Secretary Susan Chew reported that she is working with Roseanne McAllister on the All Dems Holiday Party. The party is scheduled for December 3 from 7:00 – 11:00 pm at the Crystal Room. There will be a buffet dinner and the cost is $45 per person or $40 with a new unwrapped toy.

Vice President’s Report

Vice President Dennis Brown presented highlights from the last Executive Committee meeting held on September 30. President Reichard briefly spoke about the united fundraiser that was held recently for John Luisi, Democratic Candidate for Staten Island Borough President.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Gary Carsel gave the following balances:

Balance 9-30-09 $9,277.03

Balance 10-20-09 $7,546.12

2nd Guest Speaker

Assemblyman Michael Cusick was the second guest speaker. He mentioned that on October 21 they are officially dedicating the John W. Lavelle Charter School. The Assemblyman also mentioned that he recently attended a Democratic Conference and the Governor presented his proposed budget. He said that the legislators will have to make cuts and they will be cuts that people will not like. He mentioned that the delegation from Staten Island always felt that Education and Health Care are untouchable. Unfortunately, now they will have to consider the Governor’s budget and will have to make some tough decisions in light of the five billion dollar deficit that we face. Assemblyman Cusick appealed to S.I.D.A. for their ideas to come up with revenue so that the legislators will not have to make so many painful cuts. He mentioned that people don’t want to pay more taxes, but the money is just not there and something has to be done. He mentioned that the legislators have already created new fees and increased others to bring in additional revenue. He asked that members contact the legislators with ideas.

After the presentation, Assemblyman Cusick took questions from many members.

Although not a scheduled speaker, Senator Diane Savino also addressed S.I.D.A. members. She spoke about the deficit that continues to grow and the revenue that continues to drop. Senator Savino said that now they (the legislators) are faced with something they do not want to do and that is to make real cuts.

In the past, they have managed to get around this, but past practices got us into trouble. Senator Savino mentioned that the real estate market has not rebounded and that unemployment is higher than it has been in 30 years, and sales tax revenue is down. She also mentioned that New York State’s 2009 Budget of $131 billion dollars is double what it was in 1998. She explained that this is due in part to an increase in programs.

She said that there is a paradox, people do not want to pay more taxes and at the same time, they do not want cuts. She mentioned that the legislators are faced with some tough decisions as they find themselves with a five billion mid-year deficit. She mentioned that the upstate region is in really bad shape because there is not enough industry up there.

Senator Savino also mentioned that she feels we need to find a way to provide health care for all Americans. She said she supports the President’s goal but feels that New York State should not be penalized.

After her presentation, Senator Savino took questions from many members in attendance.

President Reichard gave the following candidates time to speak to the membership: Janine Materna, John Luisi, and Debi Rose.

The candidate’s spoke about their campaigns, endorsements and the need for help as Election Day comes close. They also thanked S.I.D.A. for all their help.

Neighborhood Housing

Albert Gill, the Director of Neighborhood Housing Services (N.H.S.), spoke about N.H.S. and its various services. Mr. Gill mentioned that N.H.S. is located at 770 Castleton Ave. Mr. Gill mentioned that the N.H.S. project makes homes affordable for many people. People can qualify for up to $150,000 in subsidies.

He also mentioned that N.H.S. would be holding a luncheon at the Staaten on October 30, 2009. Joanne Olbrich made a motion that S.I.D.A. buy a ticket to the luncheon to send a member. Joy Robins made a friendly amendment to the original motion that S.I.D.A. send two members to the luncheon. The motion passed. Mary Kain made a motion for S.I.D.A. to take a full-page ad in the N.H.S. journal. The motion passed. Joy mentioned that she and her husband Ralph Dickar were available to attend the luncheon. S.I.D.A. member Peter Killen got up and displayed the Team Democrat signs he made. The signs were for candidates John Luisi, Debi Rose, James Pocchia and Janine Materna. Peter mentioned that all the candidates need help with their respective campaigns and he urged S.I.D.A. members to sign up and volunteer to help where they could.

Cindy Lowney mentioned that absentee ballots are available for people who could not go to vote on Election Day. Absentee ballots can be delivered to the various campaigns, and they must be postmarked by November 2, 2009.

President Reichard mentioned that the next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 27 instead of Wednesday, since Debi Rose had a fundraiser scheduled for the 28th.

Results of Nominating

Committee Election

Chris Bauer*……….. 26

Susan Chew ……… 17

Loretta Prisco …….. 16

Joann Olbrich …… 13

Richard Reichard. 13

Joy Robins………….. 13

Anne Taylor……….. 12

Mark Herman…….. 11

Michele Akyempong** 10

Dennis Brown**….. 10

*The person with the most votes chairs the committee.

** Since Michele and Dennis tied with 10 votes they will both serve on the committee.

Finally Councilwoman Letitia James spoke briefly to the S.I.D.A. members.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Marie Dwyer
Corresponding & Recording Secretary

Letters

We in S.I.D.A. like to make our views known. The following are some of the letters written by S.I.D.A. members that have appeared in print. Unless otherwise indicated, all letters were in the Staten Island Advance or posted on the Advance’s website www.silive.com. Unless explicitly stated, the views herein are those of the authors and are not the views of S.I.D.A.

Posted October 13, 2009
Luisi Will Tackle the Problems Molinaro Has Failed to Address

If I had a dollar for every letter I have read in the Advance complaining about traffic, overdevelopment, etc., I would be a wealthy man.

And as long as we continue to vote James Molinaro back in office, nothing will change. The same problems we have been complaining about when he was first elected in 2001, were still there when he was re-elected in 2005 and are still with us in 2009.

Maybe Mr. Molinaro should have respected the voters and not run for a third term?

This year, we have an opportunity to vote for a candidate for borough president that will bring experience, vision and the ability to think outside-the-box to develop strategies to address the Island’s problems.

John Luisi’s experience includes working to increase ferry service as a member of the Ferry Riders Committee and to preserve the Island’s green space as a member of the Protectors of the Pine Oaks Woods.

As a member of his local civic association and community board, he has been an advocate for sensible development that preserves the character of our neighborhoods. Isn’t it time to stop complaining?

If you agree, then the clear choice for borough president is John Luisi.
- Richard Reichard

Printed October 25, 2009
Mayor Bloomberg Hasn’t Done Enough for Staten Island

Regarding Staten Island, Mayor Bloomberg told the Advance, “I think we can always do a better job. And we will.” After eight years of doing nothing for Staten Island, I must say that I for one don’t believe him.

Bloomberg promised us a new 120th police precinct and a fourth precinct, but these projects have been postponed. He has increased our property taxes, water rates, and bridge tolls. So where did all of this money go? Apparently not to police precincts!

There has been no development at the home port during his eight year term, despite a real estate boom. And even with this latest supposed plan, construction won’t begin until 2012.

Bloomberg said the city has agreed “in principle” to back low-interest loans for the borough’s hospital systems, but he won’t commit to a steady funding stream. Visiting an overcrowded emergency room is a nightmare. Principles won’t relieve our heath care crisis, only action and funding will.

Staten Islanders have heard this same kind of lip service from Mike Bloomberg for eight years. Meanwhile, our health and safety continue to be compromised due to his fiscal mismanagement.

Bloomberg had his chance. Eight is enough. Vote for Bill Thompson.
- Janet Wilson

Printed October 25, 2009
Was Letter-Writer’s Real Complaint about Landscapers or Immigrants?
To Brendan Moynihan, “Men of Staten Island shouldn’t need landscapers” [Your Opinion, Oct. 7]:
My friend just told his neighbor’s son, Johnny, he will no longer need him to cut his grass; exercise is good.

He also told Johnny’s sister to stop the paper; he’ll walk to the local store to pick it up.

No more car wash; he’ll do that himself and Johnny need not show up to shovel his snow.

Baby-sitting will stop also. Why should people hire someone to watch their kids? Didn’t you marry to spend the rest of your lives together? There are a lot of things you can do at home with the kids.

And daycare? Fuhgeddaboutit.

My wife didn’t get a job until our kids attended school full time and she could work part time. Hell, she would have been great taking in wash, but, you know. A widowed friend of mine, who recently remarried, had the audacity to pay her college niece to stay with her two kids so she could go on a three-day honeymoon this summer. What nerve.

Huh? What’s that you say? You were talking about immigrants?

Oh, so it’s OK for little Johnny and not immigrants. Housekeepers are in trouble!
- Emanuel Braxton

Flashback

We keep our history alive by reprinting articles from past newsletters, minutes from past meetings, or other items of interest from the past. If you have items that might be appropriate for the Flashback column, please call Joy Robins at (718) 816-4128. This month’s Flashback is the minutes of the July 20, 1999 meeting held at the Cargo Café.

General Membership Meeting
July 20, 1999

President John [F.] Lavelle called the meeting to order at 8:20 p.m. The minutes were accepted as read.

President Lavelle announced that Hillary Clinton had declined to be our honoree at the September brunch. The pool party had been a big success; David and Liz Goldfarb were thanked for being our hosts. The party had also been successful as a fundraiser for the club.

President Lavelle announced that at the August meeting, the speaker would be Jim Scarcella of the National Resources Protective Association, who would speak on the dredging of the Kill Van Kull.

Treasurer Ralph Dickar gave the Treasurer’s Report:

New Balance $1,334.

Joy Robins and Herman and Sylvia Zaage had sponsored the July Newsletter; the Richardson Family would sponsor the August Newsletter. The profit from the pool party was $779.82. Joe Getcy and Olivia Brennan will sponsor a future Newsletter.

The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as read.

President Lavelle announced that S.I.D.A. members can attend the Young Democrats’ dinner for $30, instead of $45. The profits from this dinner will help Todd Turner in his campaign for the National Committee of the Young Democrats.

A $300 deposit had been given to the Pavilion for the September brunch.

President Lavelle introduced the speaker for the evening, Linda Davidoff, the head of Citizens’ Action in New York City, who would speak on Campaign Finance Reform.

Ms. Davidoff first asked for a moment of silence for John F. Kennedy, Jr. She announced that while the 1998 effort to put a Campaign Finance Reform referendum on the ballot in New York City did not succeed, it did influence the City to put its own Campaign Finance Reform on the ballot; one of the reforms was to provide those candidates who meet the criteria with 4 to 1 matching funds. This reform helps candidates win without making commitments to special interests. Linda distributed Clean Money petitions to get the support of New York State legislators. While Governor Pataki has introduced Campaign Finance Reform legislation, his falls far short of the reform that Citizens’ Action is pushing: ultimately, primarily public funding of campaign. Citizens’ Action is also involved with reforming health care, and increasing public parkland.

President Lavelle suggested that members write to Senator Marchi to ask him to support the Campaign Finance Reform legislation. Bob Cutrona spoke on closing the Fresh Kills Dump. We have been promised that the dump will close on December 31, 2001. That date is beginning to seem unlikely, because the other boroughs have been fighting proposed transfer stations, and the National E.P.A. is now investigating to see if the transfer stations violate the civil rights of residents. People United to Close the Dump is writing letters and meeting with National officials to get the dump closed on time. Governor Pataki, Mayor Guiliani, and Borough President Molinari must come up with alternative plans to insure that the dump closes on time. Attorney General Spitzer must enforce the law that says that the dump must close by a certain date.

David Goldfarb asked for support for the Bell campaign against gun violence.

President Lavelle thanked Linda Rispoli for her phone calls to remind members of the pool party.

Mark Herman reported that S.I.D.A. members brought in more signatures for Democratic candidates than any other Democratic organization. The North Shore District – Mark’s – brought in more than any other district.

Loretta Prisco, John Lavelle, and Chris Bauer had attended the swearing-in of Gene Prisco to the Staten Island Community School Board. Loretta reported on the first School Board meeting with the new board. She urged members to attend School Board meetings to support Gene and other members.

The next Executive Committee meeting is August 10, at the home of Anne and Tyrone Butler. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

- Joanne Olbrich
Corresponding & Recording Secretary

ALL DEMS HOLIDAY PARTY 2009

Join your fellow Democrats from

The Staten Island Democratic Association,
The Democratic Organization of Richmond County,
The North Shore Democratic Club,
The Anthony R. Gaeta Democratic ClubThe Young Democrats of Richmond County and
The South Shore Democratic Club

In Celebrating the 2009 Holiday Season
at The Crystal Room, 67 Olympia Boulevard

Thursday, December 3, 20087 PM – 11 PM

Gourmet Buffet including Beer, Wine and Soda

$45 per person$40 with a new, unwrapped toy

Responses are strongly recommended in advance:

RSVP by November 23, 2009

Make checks payable to: Staten Island Democratic Association

Indicate the names of those who are attending and their club affiliation and send to:

Staten Island Democratic Association
P.O. Box 140371, Staten Island, NY 10314

For Information contact:
Roseann McAllister – 718-720-5199
Susan Chew – 718-447-7122

Door prizes for early arrivals. 50/50