After unanimously supporting the bill when it first came to a vote last month, Senate Republicans including our state senator Steve Saland voted against overriding the governor’s veto of ethics reform. The Senate debate laid bare the acrimony between Republicans and Democrats, who traded accusations over which party was to blame for blocking ethics reform at a time when several political corruption scandals have reinforced the stereotype that Albany is rife with favor trading and influence peddling.

Read more about Steve Saland’s hypocrisy.

Dozens of Democrats March Proudly in Parade

Red Hook Democrats came together in an unprecedented show of solidarity on Hardscrabble Day 2008 with over 60 people walking and riding in the parade. Special thanks to local artist David Levine for his wonderful float and to Norman Greig for providing and driving the tractor.

Walking with us was Democratic Assembly candidate Anne Rubin who also greeted visitors near our table. Democratic State Senate candidate Ken Dow also visited us.

At our table in front of Merritt Books, we gave away free water and had a large selection of stickers featuring local and national candidates and issues. A big thank you to Lorelei Sharkey for providing the facepainting at our special edition double table in front of Merritt Books and to all the other volunteers who helped man our table and assemble and disassemble the materials.

All-in-all the day was a great success.