The Omertà Report

We are taking a wait and see attitude on how Mayor Steve Noble is going to address the sales tax renegotiation that has been proposed by County Dictator Mike Hein. A reporter flat out asked the Mayor if he was "tough enough" to take on the Executive at a news conference according to one city hall insider. It's a more than fair question after all not only is Hein head of the family and Noble was thrown in as Capo of the Kingston crew with zero experience in politics or governing and has never run anything before in his life prior to being Mayor. Hein was an outsider when he became executive but he had worked under Lew Kirchner who was one of the only Democrats ever to win county wide before 9/11 when the county demographics shifted, Hein was also a smooth talker and was the county administrator, he created and was responsible for the budget and had political experience because before he became Dictator, the Chairman of the Legislature was basically the Executive, Hein had to make that person look good and sell the chair and the legislature his budget. They controlled his job and got all the credit for his work. Hein in many ways is very talented and unlike Noble he very much so earned his position but we digress. Hein is wrong on this issue and so far we are impressed by Mayor Noble on this issue. He's taking his time he's not rushing to Hein and letting him control the dialogue and he seems to be standing his ground. If this were to go through it would be a disaster. 80 cents of every dollar collected in taxes currently goes to personal, and every 100k makes up about one percent of the city budget. There is no way Kingston would not be looking at a huge increase in taxes to make up for this because instituting a new city run sales tax is not the answer nor would it ever happen, Noble is delusional even to suggest such a thing.

The one positive difference we have witnessed in the way Noble is governing as opposed to the way Gallo and Sottile governed is that  he's building a coalition instead of building a collision like Gallo would more so than Sottile. Noble is meeting with fellow town leaders and has them on his side in a bipartisan way but I cant some of those town supervisors  sitting at that table with Noble and taking him seriously, Im surprised  Quigley didnt tell him to get his fucking shine box.  Trust me, there  is just no way Quigley is not completly distracted in his own thoughts at those meetings thinking how Noble has no business sitting at the head of the table. However Noble is doing the right thing for his City so we are happy about that, we expected him to hide under his desk and have Julie talk to Hein. Is Stevie Wonder as tough as Hein? Not in this lifetime but there is strength in numbers and this is an approach that we don't see too often. There is a lot of distain by most town leaders of Kingston, they are fucking jealous cuz we are the best in the county and they can't handle it.  They seem to be giving Noble a fair shake and Noble is willing to bring them to the table which is great. All around so far the Mayor has handled the sales tax issue correctly.

Speaking of Noble we have to point out that the guy is modeling in a fashion show for some charity with Harley Davidson, he's gunna put his best make up on and get on the run way. Disgrazia! You believe this freaking guy, what is wrong with him??!! This is beyond embarrassing for the Capo of our family to be modeling like some broad on a run way, it makes us weak, it's not becoming of the office, it's not funny ha ha, it's more funny like he's a clown and its not the job of the Mayor to amuse us, write a check to the charity and that's that.

We were happy to see in DA Carnright's press release that the young woman will not face charges in the accident that killed four people in Saugerties last year. It's the right thing a lot of people on social media seemed outraged and angry but that anger and outrage is misplaced grief. That accident was just that an awful accident that poor young woman will live with that guilt of being the person behind the wheel that resulted in the death of her friends for the rest of her life and her going to jail will not bring those young men back. It's an unfortunate situation.

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer was investigated by NYPD this week for a demostic dispute with his girlfriend at a swanky hotel in NYC, the girl who's about 26 alleges that Spitzer chocked her when she brought up the idea of leaving him. Furthermore, turns out she was a call girl before dating Spitzer and it's likely how the two met. We believe Spitzer did what he's accused of doing and it shows were his head is at with the divorce, recent break up with his other girlfriend that ran his race for NYC Comptroller, he's out of control, we have nothing against the fact he was seeing a hooker, we don't judge, honeslty after the divorce and break up, we totally get how he would want to be with a person were no emotion or attachment exsists.  The rest of it though is really tragic, he never should put hands on a woman first off and secondly the guy is a very public figure, besides being a former Governor he owns a quarter of NYC real estate from Manhattan to Williamsberg, what is he doing being involved with a 25 year old that is younger than his kids and opening himself up to such trouble and ridicule? It erks us because the guy is so brilliant, tough, and has the ability to really make a difference. This guy would have been our first Jewish President and now he's the butt of jokes, it's so sad, there are some people that this happens to and it's like good riddance but with Spitzer it's disappointing, some of us worked hard for the guy in 2006 and really believed in him.

On a final note congrats to KPD Sargent Ricky Negron on his recent promotion.

New Hampshire Primary

In the New Hampshire primary for President we endorse Chris Christie for the Republican nomination and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Sanders and Trump both lead significantly in their respective party primaries but New Hampshire is historically known for last minute upsets and we hope tomorrow is no different.

The Omertà Report

KingstonCItizens.org recently has weighed in against a proposal to bring in a Shooting Range in Midtown Kingston, citing a law in the 1980's which banned the use of discharging firearms except in the case of law enforcement and for purposes of self defense. Now I would argue that a shooting range's purpose is for self defense and therefore their point is moot but that's not the issue as far as I'm concerned. My concern is not the shooting range and whether or not it's dangerous to have in the city, it's not.  Ms. Martin states on her dopey website that this is not about a position on gun ownership and I absolutely believe her, thats not the issue, this is about her attitude against private business in this city which is a sentiment that unfortunately is shared by the current administration and that my friends is far more dangerous than any shooting range could ever pose to this city. Remember that the common counsel gave Rebecca Martin an award and recognized her for her efforts to keep out Niagra Bottling plant that would have brought in hundreds of jobs to the city, Abasta!

Here you have a Doctor, a well educated individual that is looking to invest his own money to bring in a business to Kingston and once again we are saying no thanks, Kingston is closed for business. Unless you want free cbg money to plant a tree, compost or save a fish, we don't want to hear from you. It's not the job of the City to stop development, the city has no right to tell this Doctor that he can't open a gun range to teach people self defense and provide a safe place to train people on public safety with his own money, what planet are these people on?!  Ms. Martin goes further to state that the noise of the gun range will decrease the property value in the area, va fungool! We are talking about Prince st not West Chestnut sweetheart, there will be no effect in property value, you cant give homes away in that neighborhood and the reason being is because of  the anti business climate that exists in this city, which is why especially in that area you continue to see vacant store fronts increased crime and lack of opportunity. Its the job of the government to get out of the way of private business and the rest will take care of itself, we don't need people like Rebecca Martin getting awards from the city and attention for hindering buisness and creating an atmosphere that ensures the people that live in Midtown will continue to be poor and stupid.

CHANGE-  Meter collections in this city really leaves a lot to be desired. First let me be clear we are not talking about the people that write tickets or the people that collect the meter money, that process is pretty solid. After the money is collected is the issue, we hear the Comptroller's office installed cameras a few years ago, a lot of money goes through that office and it's right thing to do. However the meter money is not counted or stored in the Comptroller's office even though that department is in charge of parking enforcement. Meter money is stored with zero supervision in the bus department and clouted by bus employees, it's crazy, you are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars that go through that office with zero accountability. I'm not saying that there is any funny business going on but it's simply not appropriate for the city bus department to have anything to do with it. It's like sending the Internet guy out to collect a stray dog, it's not his job.  Mayor Noble should end this practice immediately its just common sense.

To the surprise of no one  Congressman Chris Gibson has announced that he is exploring a run for Governor of NY, I have always been a fan of Andrew Cuomo, he's one of us, he's a political animal that will cut your throat, he takes no prisoners and is just a great politician. Gibson will give him a fun for his money though in the end Andrew will come out on top.

Zepher Teachout will without question be the Democratic nominee for Congress, her early backing by the Working Families party all but assured that the party must get behind her if they want to take that seat back, there is no way a Democrat could win that district with one line, a split ticket would all but assure the GOP holds that seat.  Teachout also has shown she will be able to raise money, she raised 48k within 24 hours of her announcement and  has raised hundreds of thousands already since then. Teachout will have a tough time winning that district as an ultra liberal from Vermont, she makes Noble look like Ronald Reagan.