אין רעקארד איז דא א לענגערע ארטיקל אז די ארטאדאקסישע אידן פון ברוקלין, ווערן ערווארטעט ארויסצוקומען שטימען אין די לאקאלע עלעקשאנס, עס איז געגרינדעט געווארן א אידישע פאליטישע גרופע, וואס זאגן אז זיי האבן 1000 רעגיסטרירטע אידן וואס זענען בארעכטיגט צו שטימען אין סאליווען קאונטי.
November 03, 2005
Vote as bloc, Alliance tells Orthodox
Fallsburg's full-time residents concerned
By Steve Israel
Times Herald-Record
sisrael@th-record.com
Fallsburg – What many folks in Sullivan County feared is now happening. Ultra-Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, with second homes in Sullivan, are urging bloc voting for certain political candidates for county office and in Fallsburg, where most of the Orthodox live.
"Your vote helps you, your family and all Orthodox homeowners in the Town of Fallsburg," says the postcard from the Catskill Homeowners Alliance mailed to its members. "We must vote a block, so please do not split your vote..."
The group that says it represents more than 1,000 voters "strongly endorses" Democrat Steve Levine for Fallsburg supervisor, Democrats Neil Gilberg and Mike Weiner for the Fallsburg Town Board, Republican Mike Schiff for sheriff, Republican Leni Binder for county treasurer and Republican Steve Lungen for district attorney. Lungen is unopposed.
The call for a bloc vote worries residents in this county, where the growing presence of the Orthodox community turns up on everything from a kosher bakery's "Welcome to Fallsburg" sign to a billboard for a doctor with Hebrew words. Members of the ultra-Orthodox community have already given thousands of dollars to candidates, with most going to Schiff.
Many say they're concerned that a group of residents who are in Sullivan for just two months could decide an election. The previous race for Fallsburg supervisor was won by just 185 votes. Six hundred votes won the previous county treasurer's race. More than 1,000 Orthodox votes could have meant the difference in any of those elections.
"It's a little bit frightening, quite frankly," says Arlen Brown, sipping coffee at Tilly's Diner in Monticello.
"I don't like it, because they actually live in the city most of the time," says Bob Belcher, standing in line at Stewart's in Fallsburg.
The Alliance members say they have every right to vote in Sullivan. They're backing their chosen candidates "because they're more responsive to our needs," says Bernie Gips of Brooklyn. He has a home in one of the growing number of upscale second-home communities for the ultra-Orthodox in Fallsburg.
Those "needs" include opposition to a building moratorium in Fallsburg, which is supported by some candidates.
"We pay taxes, which support the schools our children don't use," he says. "We should be able to expand up there if we want to."
Most of the politicians who've won the endorsement say the Orthodox Jews are like any group of voters – although Gilberg says "a voting bloc is scary," and he won't be influenced by it.
"I don't look at it as different from Hispanics, seniors or unions," says Binder, one of several candidates who met with the Alliance in Brooklyn in September.
"They're like any part of the community we've reached out to," says Schiff's wife, Christine.
But there is a difference between an ultra-Orthodox voting bloc and the endorsement of a group like a union, says Tim Hill, Sullivan County Democratic elections commissioner.
A candidate can count on all of the ultra-Orthodox votes, Hill says. That isn't true with a group like a union.
In Monroe, votes from the Hasidic Village of Kiryas Joel decided the past two Town Board elections. The five incumbents lost in all areas outside Kiryas Joel. But they ultimately won because of a Hasidic landslide.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/11/03/blockvot.htm
Vote as bloc, Alliance tells Orthodox
Fallsburg's full-time residents concerned
By Steve Israel
Times Herald-Record
sisrael@th-record.com
Fallsburg – What many folks in Sullivan County feared is now happening. Ultra-Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, with second homes in Sullivan, are urging bloc voting for certain political candidates for county office and in Fallsburg, where most of the Orthodox live.
"Your vote helps you, your family and all Orthodox homeowners in the Town of Fallsburg," says the postcard from the Catskill Homeowners Alliance mailed to its members. "We must vote a block, so please do not split your vote..."
The group that says it represents more than 1,000 voters "strongly endorses" Democrat Steve Levine for Fallsburg supervisor, Democrats Neil Gilberg and Mike Weiner for the Fallsburg Town Board, Republican Mike Schiff for sheriff, Republican Leni Binder for county treasurer and Republican Steve Lungen for district attorney. Lungen is unopposed.
The call for a bloc vote worries residents in this county, where the growing presence of the Orthodox community turns up on everything from a kosher bakery's "Welcome to Fallsburg" sign to a billboard for a doctor with Hebrew words. Members of the ultra-Orthodox community have already given thousands of dollars to candidates, with most going to Schiff.
Many say they're concerned that a group of residents who are in Sullivan for just two months could decide an election. The previous race for Fallsburg supervisor was won by just 185 votes. Six hundred votes won the previous county treasurer's race. More than 1,000 Orthodox votes could have meant the difference in any of those elections.
"It's a little bit frightening, quite frankly," says Arlen Brown, sipping coffee at Tilly's Diner in Monticello.
"I don't like it, because they actually live in the city most of the time," says Bob Belcher, standing in line at Stewart's in Fallsburg.
The Alliance members say they have every right to vote in Sullivan. They're backing their chosen candidates "because they're more responsive to our needs," says Bernie Gips of Brooklyn. He has a home in one of the growing number of upscale second-home communities for the ultra-Orthodox in Fallsburg.
Those "needs" include opposition to a building moratorium in Fallsburg, which is supported by some candidates.
"We pay taxes, which support the schools our children don't use," he says. "We should be able to expand up there if we want to."
Most of the politicians who've won the endorsement say the Orthodox Jews are like any group of voters – although Gilberg says "a voting bloc is scary," and he won't be influenced by it.
"I don't look at it as different from Hispanics, seniors or unions," says Binder, one of several candidates who met with the Alliance in Brooklyn in September.
"They're like any part of the community we've reached out to," says Schiff's wife, Christine.
But there is a difference between an ultra-Orthodox voting bloc and the endorsement of a group like a union, says Tim Hill, Sullivan County Democratic elections commissioner.
A candidate can count on all of the ultra-Orthodox votes, Hill says. That isn't true with a group like a union.
In Monroe, votes from the Hasidic Village of Kiryas Joel decided the past two Town Board elections. The five incumbents lost in all areas outside Kiryas Joel. But they ultimately won because of a Hasidic landslide.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/11/03/blockvot.htm