The Big Primary

We get $1M for a new fire station and Gov. Cuomo gets a jacket.

The Town of Jay held an important primary last week, coinciding with the Democratic primary for governor. 

Andrew Cuomo is our incumbent governor, here's a photo of him receiving a honorary jacket from one of our fire commissioners, Wayne Roberts. Cuomo alienated the rural areas by ramming through a foolish knee-jerk gun law (complete with a fatuous title, the SAFE Act) after the Sandy Hook school shooting. 

I'm no hunter or shooter but I expect leaders to govern with intelligence and principles. The law is a purely emotional marketing gimmick, pandering to uninformed voters. It's a mishmash of nonsense such as outlawing clips that hold more than seven bullets. When asked what people are supposed to do with their ten-round clips, he sheepishly suggested loading them with three fewer rounds. Um, who enforces this? 

The law also makes it more illegal (no kidding) to shoot first responders. I should be indignant, as a proud representative of last responders. (Everyone seems to arrive at the scene or  station before me.) What about us?

The most popular yard ornament in Upstate NY

Media overhype of outliers such as the Sandy Hook school shooting yields a perception that gun violence is a growing crisis, even though it's declined 75% in twenty years. Most fatal shootings are suicides. But emotions always trump facts. 

Gun violence is down sharply...therefore we need another gun law.

Even in an era of stupid, reactionary gun laws, the SAFE Act is singularly awful. It's so bad that the Veterans Administration declared it would violate the law and eighty percent of NY counties passed resolutions opposing it - some even directing their police departments to flatly ignore it. Sheriff's and psychiatrist's organizations overwhelmingly oppose it. The law is so poorly written that it ironically prohibits law enforcement to carry loaded weapons on school grounds. 

Upstate gun manufacturers, such as Remington, announced that they are abandoning NY because of the law virtually criminalizes their products. Thus far about 125 people have been laid off from Remington and ATI, with another 1300 employees on notice. I think they were looking for an excuse to move to a 'lower cost state', today's euphemistic reference to Right to Work states. Cuomo just handed them a gold-plated excuse, an example of poor leadership. Working class citizens must now bear the burden of the impact on the upstate economy.

But, no worries, it's so easy to claw back union-represented manufacturing jobs, right? Besides, the state will pay any price to preserve the really important jobs...such as those in the entertainment industry. Mr. Cuomo recently authorized a $16M corporate-welfare gift to CBS. In return CBS agreed to keep the Late Show in NYC, preserving 200 jobs ...downstate. 

CBS actually had no plans to move. But they will cheerfully use a $5M state grant to renovate the Ed Sullivan theater to Stephen Colbert's satisfaction. (We can expect a future grant to bankroll renaming the theater.) What a fine return on investment for CBS, which donated $45K to the Cuomo campaign - and, as if we needed one, another shining example of crony capitalism. CBS recently reported that government subsidies to corporations aren't worth the cost, but they had no ethical issues taking the cash. 

Mr. Cuomo's inept leadership created a opening for newcomer Zephyr Teachout to challenge him in the primary. She received the largest primary vote against an incumbent governor in NY history - winning Jay and all of Essex county, without even campaigning upstate!

Zephyr whats-her-name carries half the state, including Essex County.

With the state and federal government effectively controlled by outsiders there's a trifling interest in NY and national politics up here. There's more buzz over our town's Republican primary for highway department supervisor than the Democratic gubernatorial primary.  

Westport Town Hall. My partner, Larry, wheels a voting machine into the truck.

I worked as an Election Inspector in my home district last week. I also helped with the collection of voting machines scattered around little town halls and firehouses throughout Essex County. That job requires two-person teams, one Republican and one Democrat - third parties are disenfranchised - who pack up and haul all the paraphernalia required to run a countywide election. I suppose we're expected to watch each other and ensure no one fools with the machines. People around here are too honest for that. Besides, they have deep roots and were more interested in bringing a newbie up to speed on local affairs. 

The election inspectors and machine-haulers will be eliminated someday when everyone votes online or by mail. But such innovations move at a geologic pace in NY. For now, people such as myself can enjoy a thoroughly pleasant ride (with equally pleasant Republicans) on the county dime, ambling along scenic country roads, with occasional stops at little, quaint polling places. One of them was Mineville's fire station, where only two voters showed up on Election Day. My Republican teammate said that's because Mineville didn't have an important local race like we did in Jay.

I anticipated a low turnout at Jay.  I brought along a magazine (last week's Economist, salvaged from the huge box of discarded periodicals at the town dump) and the Kindle. Ha! It was busy non-stop and I soon returned all the reading material to the truck. Nearly every Republican in town voted, we used 200 ballots. Once again I felt like the clueless city-person, having no idea why the turnout was so huge. After all, The Repubs didn't have a primary for governor.

Glenn, Jay's Fire Chief, and Robbie, Upper Jay's Assistant Chief vie for "Highway Super".

That's when I realized that almost no one gives a damn about governors, Cuomo or his primary challengers - especially when there's a Highway Department Supervisor primary battle. State and national politicians are only accountable to their employers, certainly not the people in a county that represents one-half of one percent of the state vote. And, there's no corporate money (I hope!) involved in running a town garage supervisor campaign. Two candidates were vying for the Republican nomination. There will be Democratic and Independent candidates in the general election, and all three candidates have a real shot at the job. It's reassuring to see democracy in practice...perhaps it'll catch on elsewhere.

I know Glenn and Robbie, either one would have been an excellent choice. I was probably the only voter in town who was relieved to get a Democratic ballot so I didn't have to vote against one of them. 

Most Democrats were irate over "only" being allowed to vote in the gubernatorial primary. I was amused by that until I realized that they, not I, had the right priority.

I counted down the seconds and closed the voting machine precisely at 9:00 pm. Then we queried the machine for the results. Robbie (coincidentally pictured with Wayne and Cuomo above) won in a landslide. I announced the results to Glenn and his entourage. I was happy for Robbie but I felt bad for Glenn. I also read the governor's race results, Cuomo lost Jay but no one cared. 

On the dark, deserted drive home I reflected on how the Empire State could re-learn civics from one of its humble little counties. 

Late Summer Days

Suzy discusses moose and garden with our corn- growing neighbor

A week ago a cold front dropped down from Canada, temperatures plummeted from from the upper 70s to the mid 50s; summer is instantly over. Good! It's my least favorite season. I haven't seen (heard or felt) a mosquito, black or cluster fly for a week. These are the glorious days of pre-autumn and the leaves are beginning to turn.

Best of all, it's harvest time. One of our neighbors has a small cornfield and his sweet corn is the best. We stopped at a nearby orchard and their early apples I eagerly awaited were mushy and tasteless. A bad apple year is a one of life's enduring disappointments. All is well, however, the Courtlands I bought yesterday (for one-third of the dud's price) were excellent. Often, the less you spend, the better the produce. 

Stephen and Lily dig potatoes

Our potato crop was a success, also the kale, tomatoes and cucumbers. We'll need better sunlight next year for the crops that didn't quite make it this year, notably the carrots, squash and beets. Another garden will be comstructed in front of the cabin next year. It'll have to be fenced because we've seen critters around there.

Katherine on Twilight

The kids visited in late August, Stephen and Lily toured all over, including Montreal. Katherine spent most of her time in the saddle, riding both horses to her heart's content. The weather was warm and it was buggy, but they seemed to enjoy their visits. I finally scaled Jay Mountain but it was Suzy's second ascent. The view from up there was magnificent, you could see all the way to Lake Champlain with the Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance.

Katherine at the summit of Jay Mountain

We've plugged away at our wood-splitting and cutting. I still don't think we have enough for the season, but we have our backup heaters. I removed the V-joint paneling around a window on the south wall so I could assess the prospect of replacing it with a door. We can, so I ordered a door with a full glass panel. That will provide much more light and even though it's a door, it'll be far more energy efficient than the old window. I like the looks of those old windows but they are inefficient, and wasting heat means depleting our wood supply early. 

The families who are well into their second century here, such as the Coolidges, put up their firewood early, neatly, and directly in the sun to dry properly. Those who do a particularly fine job of it aren't averse to building it near the street so passers-by can see how sixth-generation Adirondackers stack their wood.

The Coolidge's firewood stack

Upper Jay's Chief, Jeff Straight, teaches firefighters how to run a pumper.

I finished my six-week firefighter pump apparatus class. I drove our American LaFrance tanker and even backed it in to the station, right between the lines - well, sorta. The NY state exam for the certification included a written and practical portion. For the practical, we drafted water from a 'crick' feeding the AuSable River, across from Sue Benway's farm. Then we pumped it between three engines, one each from Upper Jay, Jay and Keene. I warily eyed every new hose lay, dreading the effort involved in rolling up and re-stowing them. We strung out many large diameter hoses wearing heavy gear...and it was a hot day. But our class of about a dozen rookies and experienced firefighters survived the exam and the practical. Only one guy (not me) fell into the creek.

Three pumpers can move a lot of water.

The Volunteer Ambulance down in AuSable Forks voted me in last week. (In this part of the country, north is considered 'down'.)  I registered for the EMT-Basic certification class over (not up) in Wilmington next month. It's a six-month class, with a state exam and practical in April.

It's nice to live in a small, rural area in the mountains where, every morning, there's more color than yesterday, a faint smell of wood smoke, and geese noisily going about their migration. Fall is arriving.