Sign fight in Ramapo continues
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- November
- 28
Three weeks after the Preserve Ramapo slate was swamped by the incumbent Democrats and their lock on the Monsey area bloc vote, plans are being made to seek criminal prosecution against those who tampered with the challengers’ election signs.
Preserve Ramapo activist Michael Castelluccio said the Rockland District Attorney’s Office and the state Board of Elections would be contacted because it seemed to Castelluccio that the tampering was meant to deliberately mislead voters.
Duplicates of Preserve Ramapo signs were posted on Election Day, some directing voters to the wrong ballot line and the wrong Web site.
Weeks earlier, bogus yellow and green Preserve Ramapo signs began popping up, calling the group Perverse Ramapo, and accusing it of having a racist agenda targeting the Jewish ultra orthodox community in and around Monsey.
The Ramapo town police investigated the most recent incident, and no charges were filed.
One of the people putting up the signs was Jacob Wagschal of Monsey, according to a police report obtained this week by The Journal News. Wagschal first told the police that the bogus signs were made by Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence “to throw off the Preserve Ramapo voters.”
“Wagschal then changed his story again,” the report stated, and he said “the signs were made by members of the community to help the supervisor’s election and that Wagschal and his friends were placing them throughout the town for the community and not for Supervisor St. Lawrence as Wagschal initially stated.”
St. Lawrence said he had nothing to do with the incident. He thought was a matter of people being foolishly overzealous.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 1:53 pm by James Walsh.
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All I have to say to this is…..HA HA HA HA…good for a laugh.
I'm sorry, but Preserve Ramapo is just trying to creat more problems in Ramapo.
Signs, I'd hate to tell them, are ignored by most people in factoring in their vote. And, more often than not, whether it's 2 months before election day, or 2 days before, most find them to be "eye sores".
So, Preserve Ramapo, why waste taxpayer time by asking the DA's office to take action on a crime that hasn't actually happened.
Preserve Ramapo is a joke. What crime was committed?
Why start this all over again?
That's a good question to ask the Journal News and Preserve Ramapo
cmon guy with the Republican ticket (that automaticly pulls 4-5,000 and still didnt come close …c`mon the FAT LADY SUNG, GET OVER IT NANANA
Losers, get a life and stop acting childish.
Mom, it's mine… No, it's mine… He stole it… He's copycating me…
Kids, grow up.
What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong! Should this guy just get a pass?
Who do you think is getting a pass, "Chestnut Ridge Mom"?
An election was won. People voted, and they aren't WRONG for who they want to choose.
As for the signs, they are just a nuisance and no one really pays much attention to them, so let it go.
Preserve Ramapo candidates, who were on both the Republican and their own party line, lost. End of it.
The sigsn are not important anymore. Let it go already. None of us likes them enough to feel they have any issue.
Are we still on this?
Only the sorest of losers gives a crap about signs.
Nothing was done illegally to any signs, etc. During any election season some signs are put up on private lawns, or public places, and for some reason, sometimes they aren't there at some point. Could be a resident who just didn't like seeing the sign, or someone from campaigns, whatever.
The main thing is, that political signs are a blight, and eye sore, and to claim that there is something illegal going on is ludicrous and a waste of our taxpayer money for sour grapes to try to make a mountain out of something that doesn't exist.
If the anti Preserve Ramapo voters were so sure of themselves, why did they have to resort to making phony signs? I drive through Spring Valley and Monsey every day, I did not see signs on private property in comparison to Preserve Ramapo signs. I for one hate St. Lawrence, but I would not resort to lowering myself to his level but messing with his signs—it happens to be illegal!
Yes the election is over, what has St. Lawrence done to reach out the people who did not vote for him. In the Journal, they said that he must do this in their endorsement. I guess I can wait until hell freezes over!
The fact of the matter is simple. Because people of Ramapo did not vote, their vote will NEVER count again. There will soon be a huge increase in Bloc voters with the Pomona "college" and all of the ASH buiding that will go on now that St. Lawrence is permanently installed.
That is a very sad fact.
I'm sorry, but the only people allowed to vote for Supervisor, Town Council, and any of the 6 Legislators comprising Ramapo Township, are, amazingly enough, HUMAN BEINGS AGE 18 AND OVER WHO RESIDE IN WHERE???? Come, you know the answer….say it….say it… .RAMAPO.
So, obviously, other parts, aside from what those who are anti-semetic want to claim just voted alone, voted for who they wanted. Now, not all residents in Ramapo voted for St. Lawrence, or for Mele, etc. But, someone would have to win each seat.
What has St. Lawrence done since November 6th? The same that he has done since he first became Supervisor. Made Ramapo one of the best places to live, otherwise, it wouldn't have been recorded by the media, etc.
Also, I don't see other Towns air their town meetings live, or spend as much time fighting for our utility rights, etc. as Mr. St. Lawrence has done. He is also at Town Hall every Thursday night, live, and supports local events, school teams, etc. Now, no other Town, or the County even, does that!
He makes himself more available to the public than anyone else. The open space was bought to actual preserve sections of Ramapo, etc. You may not have wanted him to win, that's your perogative, Chestnut Ridge Mom, but unless you live outside of Ramapo, you got to vote in Ramapo, so Ramapo voted.
So, enough. No one stooped to low levels, etc. I'm sorry, but a former gang member isn't what I'd consider good for any town.
Oy Vey
You have got to kidding! You call the Larry the Lounge Lizard show a Town Hall Meeting. My goodness, he thinks he is Jay Leno! Only he is not entertaining or funny…just a stupid clown! Does he ever show anyone who is disagreeing with him on his local talk show?NO! I caught a bit of it tonight, he was talking to an old, very old high school friend. Oh and yes he said that he is goint to do some outreach to those who did not vote for him. He will only try to reach into our pockets. The video of him talkint to his base is back on PR website. It's a real eye opener.
Over 10,000 votes were cast against him. I think that's a number that is hard to ignore. But he will. He is now a permanent Town Supervisor, thanks to the majority who did not vote.
I think Larry the Lounge Lizard should be his new title!
Chestnut Ridge Mom,
You're blind. I said that the Town Of Ramapo airs it's Town Meetings live, and also that Supervisor St. Lawrence every Thursday is live on local access as well, highlighting local groups, etc.
Now, does it have to be a forum for open fighting, etc? No, it's not something that has to be that way. He did it, most likely, as a way to show positive things going on in Ramapo. From the achievements of local students, etc.
But, you just want to whine and bash, so go for it.
Obviously, he's doing something actually nice and it's still a catch-22 to someone like yourself. BUT, if your child had done some achievement worth attention, you'd be happy to have him/her on…..so I think some slack is called for here.
>>Yes the election is over, what has St. Lawrence done to reach out the people who did not vote for him. In the Journal, they said that he must do this in their endorsement. I guess I can wait until hell freezes over!
One of the first agenda items Chris St. Lawrence mentioned in his acceptance speech at the Holiday Inn was his intent to form a committee whose sole purpose was to start a healing process in the town. St. Lawrence is no idiot. He has seen the signs and knows that there are many who disagree with him. I've said it before, I think he realizes that had Preserve Ramapo put up a truly viable candidate to oppose him, the race would have been a lot closer than it turned out to be. Chris knows this and knows that to survive the next election he can no longer ignore those who are against him. What would Mele have done had he gotten into office? He would have cleaned house, firing people not because of lack of ability, but because of spite.. I don't say this arbitrarily. I've spoken to people close to Preserve Ramapo and they have all told me this guy and that guy would be the first to go. Now that's what I call healing.
Airmont Dem says: "I’ve spoken to people close to Preserve Ramapo and they have all told me this guy and that guy would be the first to go. Now that’s what I call healing."
Sounds more like removing the disease before the healing begins.
oy vey
There is never any substinative information given at Larry the Lounge Lizards televised meetings. It is all Fluff. There is never any voice of desent on the televied meetings. Maybe you see some at the meeting portions that are not televised, but I doubt it. He clearly does not want us to have a voice. I think that is where the rage in the community comes from. I would be so happy to a Representative from Chestnut Ridge on the board. But that would put Larry and "His Community" in a less powerful positon and we can't have that. He doesn't want the people outside of the bloc to have any say in what happens in the town. I submit that every thing he does, every thought he has is about that exclusive community and how it will benefit them and his power base. The rest is smoke and mirrors. He has the power to health this town. Add representatives from every Village, give us a vote and a voice. Again, hell will freeze over first.
If you are looking for a bad actor in all of this, it is Larry. The bloc vote is just looking out for themselves and bleeding the beast. Who can blame them?
The rage is coming from anti-semetic portions of the community who just are not organized in an adult, and orderly fashion.
In the 11/30 Journal News was a letter to the editor that hit it on the head. Chestnut, you and others had a voice, you're just jealous that maybe the hasidic community was organized because they chose to be. All groups/neighborhoods, etc have their own issues, but you know what? So does Preserve Ramapo. Yet, instead of acting in a mature manner, members of PR stalk those who don't sign their petitions, stand on dais at meetings, try to interrupt meetings as if they have tics, and do not really have an issue that represents the portion of Ramapo that they feel doesn't have a voice.
St. Lawrence's Thursday show isn't supposed to be a Town Board meeting, and maybe, just maybe, Cablevision doesn't allow past a certain hour for the live Town board meetings. I know the County Legislature only has a 2 hour block on the Wednesdays their meetings are aired.
So, just deal with it. IT's over, nothing should happen due to childish people worried about signs that are no longer cared about.
The votes have been delivered, now it's time for the payback.
Also, why was this story not published in the paper- it certainly is newsworthy.
As newsworthy as 'dog bites man'. Move along, there's no story here.
What about the At Large issue. Again, I say that the best way to heal Ramapo is to give the rest of the town a voice instead of throwing the petitions in the trash, put it to a vote. I pay a lot of taxes and I want the people of Chestnut Ridge to have a vote and a voice.
As it stands, only the village of Monsey is heard. Taxation without respresentation. Why doesn't Larry want to hear what we have to say? POWER, that's why! It is a very corrupt way of doing business.
PS Wagschul and his cronies should be punished for messing with the signs. It is a crimal act. Or should that just be swept under the rug, since they were doing as Boss Hogs wanted, oh—I mean Larry in case you didn't get the joke.
All of Ramapo has, and had a voice. Give it a rest Chestnut Ridge Mom.
By the way, lame joke. But then, whiners are usually lame.
Clearly the allusion to Boss Hog and the its TV show reference shows the level of intelligence of the Preserve Ramapo block. The reference to the village of Monsey was also a lame attempt at humor.
Chestnut Ridge Mom,
First off, know your community. Monsey is not a village.
So, you want a ward system and essential want to change the rules cause you can't get enough people out to vote for your candidates. Maybe your side doesn't have enough numbers.
The Ward system boondoggle! Proponents seem to think that this would be done with a geographical plan. No. The Wards would be chosen by population and geography. Chestnut Ridge would not get their own council member – it would likely be shared with spring valley. With the ward system – the Monsey/New Square/Kaser community would have at least one member on the board. So. The Preserve Ramapo folks that are fighting to eliminate the influence of this community would actually be putting their members on the board. Stop the ward system push – it is pointless. Learn to run a campaign properly instead and make another run in 2 years, because this one was a joke