Here is a breakdown by Ward of the % of the total vote by party. Again 2nd Ward uses 2001 figures
| Ward By Party | 2005 | 2009 | % Change |
| 1st | |||
| D | 48.5% | 34.0% | -29.9% |
| R | 51.5% | 66.0% | 28.1% |
| 2nd | |||
| D | 63.9% | 24.0% | -62.4% |
| I | 0.0% | 28.7% | NA |
| R | 36.1% | 47.3% | 31.0% |
| 3rd | |||
| D | 47.4% | 34.6% | -27.0% |
| I | 0.0% | 21.2% | NA |
| R | 52.6% | 44.2% | -16.0% |
| 4th | |||
| D | 61.4% | 58.3% | -5.0% |
| R | 38.6% | 41.7% | 8.0% |
| 5th | |||
| D | 24.2% | 0.0% | NA |
| I | 0.0% | 16.2% | NA |
| R | 75.8% | 83.8% | 10.6% |
Quick observations:
- First Ward sees huge gains to Republican
- Second Ward three way race costs Democrat the most
- Third Ward : independent candidate hurts Democrat somewhat more but significant impact on both candidates
- Fourth Ward: slight gain by Republican , slight loss by Democrat
- Fifth Ward: Gain by Republican
Again turnout was quite low but interesting nonetheless.
November 11, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Could you post the number of Democrats and Republicans voting in each ward? I don’t mean the votes cast on a particular line but the people who showed up to vote and their percentage change. You could also see what percent chose “none of the above.” This could even be done in unopposed races.
Hold that thought.
November 11, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I’d like get to that but I do not have the data right now. I’ll try to work on it as time allows.
November 11, 2009 at 8:10 pm
It’s disappointing to see the First Ward Alderman do so well. If you look at Wednesdays Gazette there are two stories on city government that I think are quite telling.
In the first Mayor Thane has tasked city engineer Richard Phillips with creating a long term plan, similar to the road program, the would replace a certain percentage of the city water mains each year for the next five years. That would replace the current “plan” of waiting for pipes to burst then swinging into emergency mode to replace them. Phillips is quoted “We’re not able to do as much preventative maintenance as we’d like. We keep responding to breaks and emergencies and we’re not contributing to the longer-term results.”
Phillips also said the Common Council would have to bond for an amount it could afford to fund the program while still attending to other needs. He added that having a long-term plan in place will be helpful when applying for state and federal grants.
Mr. Isabel is opposed. He said he wouldn’t want to bind future generations by borrowing large amounts of money to fund the replacement of infrastructure. And McDonald Engineering made it seem like the city’s problem with infrastructure is not that serious during a recent presentation. “I want to wait on this.”
The second story is on an anticipated deficit in this years budget of $540,000. Sales tax receipts are projected to be $300,000 less than anticipated and a potential $240,000 cut in state aid. City Controller Heather Reynicke is quoted as opposing borrowing as a solution. She recommends streamlining services, increasing revenues and increasing the tax base. “Our tax base is not big enough to accommodate what we do. We depend on the state a lot, too much. What if they reduce us every year?” The article goes on to list what Mr. Isabel recommends and, predictably, it has nothing to do with increasing revenues or the tax base. (Those approaches seem to annoy him for some reason.) He would like to ax the mayors confidential aide. Ax the supervisors position in the codes department. Postpone the overhaul of the cities zoning laws. And trim overtime.
To sum up- Mr. Isabel plans to block the Mayors attempts to fix the city’s infrastructure. Block her attempt to straighten out the codes department. Block her attempt at modernizing the zoning laws. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone after he spent the last two years trying to block the mayors attempts to expand the tax base, garner additional revenue from the golf course, market the city to potential residents and business owners, ect.
Why do the residents of the First Ward support a candidate who is clearly an obstructionist politician? I doubt even Mr. Isabel believes his agenda is healthy for the city. Joe Isabel is putting his own personal political ambitions ahead of what is best for the city.
I think those of us who pay enough of attention to city government to realize it should be a lot more vocal about it.
November 11, 2009 at 11:45 pm
If you were following what was truly going on you would have attended the meeting with Jack Mc Donald several weeks ago. Joe and I discussed it this morning on my radio show. The firm said they felt there was a greater problem with the valves not being in the proper positions from years of repairs and not being turned back to the correct position after a fix. Several valves feed one line and presumably if they were all in the correct position problems with the water flow would be corrected. they are in the process of ckg these valves ad when done will make a report for the council. I have discussed this with Alex at great length on a previous thread.
This does not mean that if pipes and valves need to be replaced they won’t be. Let’s wait and see what the study determines and then move forward. To arbitrarliy bond a for a lot of money and we are not sure what the problem is, does not make sense. That is why we hire a consultant like Jack McDonald.
As for the shortfall, Joe has been preaching for months there were going to be problems and that is why he tried to pass the hiring freeze. Which was conveniently misplaced and never given to the alderman for 6 weeks. In the meantime, the mayor hired another aide, and a supervisor for codes. The aide was approved at 17,000.00 a year by the council for a part time position. She made it full time by going to the Urban Renewal Board and having them pay another 17,000.00. This has only recently come to light. Not only do you have salary, but what about benefits and pensions?? If they are getting it, who is paying for it?
Again Alderman Isabel is not for going into the taxpayers pocket at every turn. He is fiscally conservative, not like the mayor who wants to spend and hire. We have to live with in our means. It was the council that voted to use the county at 25,000 for the zoning, and not use the mayor’s firm that wanted 50,000.00.
It is obvious our city needs positive change, but some of the mayor’s decisions have not been in the best interest of the taxpayer. Putting it off on Alderman Isabel is not going to work. The mayor must accept responsibility for hiring people after the council voted for a freeze.
And the mayor is directly responsible for this debacle with the fire hydrants for allowing Gerry negotiate a MOU with the union with out council approval. The contract would have been awarded a week ago.
November 12, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I’m well aware of Jack McDonalds report concerning the valves and its impact on the hydrant issue. The leaky and deteriorating water mains are a completely separate issue. Solving the water pressure problems caused by the faulty valves won’t do a thing toward repairing all the aging water mains. In the long run waiting for them to break, one by one, then calling in people to work overtime to find and replace the faulty main is the most expensive and inconvenient possible solution there is. A systematic program would have several advantages including reducing the overtime used to do the work and making us eligible for state and federal grants.
One of the reasons I put Mr. Isabels quote in my post is to show that he doesn’t seem to oppose the idea. “I want to wait on this.” Until when? Why? When would be better than now considering the stimulus money going around now? As my post indicates I think he opposes doing it NOW because he wants to run for mayor on the theme of “What did she accomplish?”. References to Jack McDonald and the problem with the valves is just Mr. Isabels attempt to muddy the waters; he knows it’s not related.
If Mr. Isabels heart is truly with the taxpayers why would he oppose all attempts to get the Municipal Golf Course to improve its dismal fiscal performance? You’re free to come to your own conclusions but I think his knee-jerk opposition to everything the mayor wants to do is obviously motivated by political considerations. He even opposed creating a committee to improve the image of the Greater Amsterdam School District to make the city a more attractive place to live. It’s cost free and can only help the city; how can anyone oppose it unless they’re taking an obstructionist stance? To me the totality of his actions speak very clearly.
The combined salaries of the Confidential Assistant and Codes Supervisor account for 0.3% of the budget. That’s a fraction so small it’s dwarfed by the typical increases you see just to account for inflation. For that tiny imperceptible blip you’d let the codes department continue in its current fashion?
The city of Amsterdam has been in a downward spiral of diminishing population leading to tighter budgets leading to cuts in services for my entire life. If Mr. Isabel ACTUALLY believes we can go on looking for new places to cut every year without working on the revenue side of the equation he’s sadly mistaken.
November 13, 2009 at 9:29 am
MJD,
Do you have more insight into this: He even opposed creating a committee to improve the image of the Greater Amsterdam School District to make the city a more attractive place to live.
I’m curious why this has garnered no traction from any leader other than the mayor who initially proposed the idea.
November 13, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Maybe because it is the school board’s responsibility? I think it would be inappropriate for the council to become involved in school board issues.
November 14, 2009 at 1:00 pm
flippin’,
I really don’t know what happened after the mayor proposed the idea. My understanding was that the committee would have representatives from city government and the school district among others. I do remember Mr. Isabels response though: “Nobody leaves Amsterdam because of the schools! They leave because of the taxes!”
Maybe we’ll see a rebirth of the idea in the coming year.
November 12, 2009 at 7:15 am
I do not see any reason for a full time “confidential” aide. It seems the Mayor throws $30K-$50K around like it is nothing! How much of our tax dollars go to salaries in the Mayor’s office alone? Sorry, but the new confidential aide would be the first to go. How can she justify this FULL TIME position? What exactly are the duties, to update Facebook and Twitter? Get an intern! There are college students everywhere looking for positions such as this one. Paying someone is to do these things seems a ridiculous waste of taxpayers money!!!
November 12, 2009 at 9:12 am
I see the non-stop assault on everything continues without pause. It is amazing that every act of city government is wrong. Too bad you didn’t win Diane since you always know what to do without any doubt. I have yet to hear one solution from you to any problem. So why hold back?
BTW – great post MJD
MJD, keep those thoughts flowing!
November 12, 2009 at 3:34 pm
ML,
I’ll give the benefit of the doubt that your final comment was cheeky but I think it teeters on the line in terms of my comfort level and acceptability. You can challenge Diane on her points so please engage on the points and maybe best for tone of exchanges if we move beyond the parody going forward; I think your point has been made.
Thanks
November 12, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Please excise the offending line. Perhaps a new name is in order?
My apologies to any I have unintentionally offended.
November 12, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Until this administration starts being fiscally responsible, I’m afraid, you can expect vocal criticism.
November 13, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Diane,
I profoundly disagree as the point is to address the role of the school district in light of fostering growth in the city. To proceed with economic development initiatives without addressing the vital and essential role of the school district as a core driver of that development misses the mark completely. We are not debating governance as that is clearly the role of the school board and its elected officers; we are debating whether the school district should factor into community wide initiatives and strategies for economic development. As long as we view the city as a set of isolated silos versus a community we will never bring growth back and we will be stuck pinching pennies while millions of dollars pass us by.
Please reconsider as the school district is not an island to itself although that has been the traditional view.
November 13, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I can see your point of view, but I can also see the other side. Should not the school board be addressing their own issues, ie: improving test scores, percieved safety issues, attitudes of students etc. I would think that the school board would want to see such improvements so they can toute an excellent school system. Without an excellent school district, we cannot draw the middle income groups that would invest in our community. Individuals that would buy two familys and convert to single families. We need increased test scores and more concentration on credit courses instead of sports. (I am not against sports, I just think there needs to be more positive intellectual activity coming out of the middle and high schools. Once that happens and we can compete with other areas with better school districts, then we can move forward.