Westchester GOP also goes with Ball
-
- May
- 28
The Westchester Republican Committee last night endorsed state Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, in his bid for a second term. John Degnan, former Brewster mayor and trustee, who is challenging Ball for the GOP line, apparently couldn’t get his nomination seconded to move the debate to the floor and allow him to address the convention. There’s a video here of last night’s happenings.
For other Westchester convention news, go here.
Update of sorts: The headline on this blog is a reference to the previous post, about the Westchester GOP selections for state Senate races.
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on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm by Mike Risinit.
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The thunderous applause after Greg’s endorsement is representative of his overwhelming support through out Westchester.
Degnan was nominated two times. the first time there was some legality as to the person doing the nominating and the second time, there was no second…just absolute silence. Why not second to put to a vote?????
No one in the room had the ‘balls’ to second.
What the heck were they all afraid of?
Still can not figure out what people see in Ball other than he can talk the talk to the public with a look of sincerity but that is about it.
Behind the public persona …may be a totally different person.
Degnan was re-nominated out of pity. No one wanted to second him.
More proof that REAL Republicans support Ball.
Only the uninformed support Ball. Nobody who gets to know him or his accomplishments would.
There were only 5 people at the Westchester County Convention representing the entire 99th Assembly District. This compares to the 90 or so in the 99th Assembly District that showed up at the Putnam County Convention. Let’s see, they disqualify one, another had to make a motion… that only leaves three left. I guess two of the three had to make the motion for Ball and second it. I guess that leaves one person who wouldn’t second for Degnan. That’s a little different than the “spin” being put on this.
Not that I’m a fan, but in the video, there looks to be at least one hundred people there, and they are all cheering ball, so the “facts” seem to speak otherwise.
Degnan should loose graciously and move along, we have not heard the Ball camp whining about their loss in Putnam county.
Press release by DC
Ball avoids another “inside job” at the hands of John Degnan.
Last night’s political maneuvers at the Crown Plaza in White Plains prove the Mr. Ball’s claims to be an outsider in New York State politics. Real voters from Yorktown, Somers and White Plains succeeded in silencing a challenge from ex-Democrat John Degnan.
Last night’s Westchester Republican convention was well attended although most County candidates are running unchallenged by other Republicans. The only challenge to be considered by the Westchester committee was for the 99th Assembly District seat.
Bernard Johnson, a 78 year-old Yorktown Heights resident, attended the GOP convention last night to nominate John Degnan for that seat. County Chairman Doug Colety made a showing of questioning Mr. Johnson’s standing to nominate a candidate after failing to find his name on the list of county committee members.
Thomas Belcastro of North Salem then nominated John Degnan but did not receive a second from any of the hundred or so in attendance. Despite the fact that these were Ball supporters, any of them could have seconded the nomination to allow the debate to move forward. Instead, those very members from Somers and Yorktown moved to close the nominations and shut Mr. Degnan out of the debate process in Westchester.
After splitting the vote with former Willis Stephens supporters in his home county of Dutchess and suffering a defeat in Putnam orchestrated by corrupt Putnam county officials stripped of their powering following Stephens defeat, real Republicans came forward in Westchester to the avoid further embarrassment of John Degnan’s claims to be a Republican.
The JN forgot the Conservative Party convention last night.
Ball: Westchester GOP, Westchester Conservatives, Duchess Conservatives, Duchess GOP
Degnan: Putnam GOP
No one: Putnam Conservatives, Pawling GOP
Speaking of the Conservative Party, did anyone check with Putnam County Conservative Party Chairman James Maxwell, at his parties convention Greg Ball said to Mr. Maxwell, “If you were 10 years younger, I would take you outside and kick your a—” This information has been confirmed by Mr. Maxwell.
NO endorsement from Ball’s hometown???? Why did they not endorse anyone??????
Maybe they were smart to stay out of this race or maybe they know more than the rest of us.
PRESS RELEASE:
from – Putnam County Republicans
_
Ball rejected by Dutchess and Putnam County Republican
Committee Members in his re-election efforts!
(Thursday, May 22, 2008) In a stunning vote (97-50) Assemblyman Greg Ball was rejected by
the Putnam County Republican Committee for re-election to another term in the New York State
Assembly.
John Degnan, a life-long Republican and former Mayor of the Village of Brewster, swept the
nomination for the position as the Republican Candidate for Assemblyman of the 99th District.
Degnan declared after the vote that “the circus had left town” referring to the often bizarre
conduct of Mr. Ball over the last year and a half in office.
This overwhelming win by former Mayor John Degnan at the Putnam County Republican
Convention followed the vote two weeks ago by the Dutchess County Republicans where they
refused to endorse Mr. Ball’s re-election campaign to the New York State Assembly
Re:
Not everybody there is in the 99th Assembly District. Westchester is a big County.
Earlier post says that Ball threatend to kick someone’s @#$ !
Maybe people will learn that there are the many faces of Ball, depending on who he is with and who he wants to threaten and who he wants to impress. These tactics have people believing him.
Scarey to think of a person like this making decisions with our tax dollar.
JB,
Stop saying the vote was 97-50 for Degnan. The vote was 97-7 for Degnan, 34 proxies for Bye Bye Scannapieco and 7 more that he controlled.
140 people in the room, and seven voted for Ball. Seven.
This guy has no idea what spitstorm is coming his way. He’s blind. His entire military record is going to be exposed. Doesn’t Ball understand that? Including WHY HE NEVER WENT OVERSEAS?
Hmmm… Westchester GOP shuts out Degnan… I’ve seen most of your post before. It’s interesting how you conveniently left out some facts, but added some other (facts?)
Ball frantically avoids another devastating defeat at the hands of John Degnan.
Last night’s political maneuvers at the Crown Plaza in White Plains prove the falsehood of Mr. Ball’s claims to be an outsider in New York State politics. Political leaders and committee members from Yorktown, Somers and White Plains succeeded in silencing a challenge from John Degnan.
Last night’s Westchester Republican convention was sparsely attended because most County candidates are running unchallenged by other Republicans. In fact, the only challenge to be considered by the Westchester committee was for the 99th Assembly District seat.
Bernard Johnson, a 78 year-old Yorktown Heights Republican and district leader for three decades, attended the GOP convention last night to nominate John Degnan for that seat. County Chairman Doug Colety made a showing of questioning Mr. Johnson’s standing to nominate a candidate after failing to find his name on the list of county committee members. Although Serafina Mastro, President of the Yorktown Republican Committee confirmed Mr. Johnson’s standing, Mr. Colety refused to accept the nomination by Mr. Johnson.
Thomas Belcastro of North Salem then nominated John Degnan but did not receive a second from the three remaining district members in the room. Despite the fact that these were Ball supporters, any of them could have seconded the nomination to allow the debate to move forward. Instead, those very members from Somers and Yorktown moved to close the nominations and shut Mr. Degnan out of the debate process in Westchester.
After failing to gain support in his home county of Dutchess and suffering a resounding defeat in Putnam, Ball insiders stacked the deck in Westchester to avoid further embarrassment.
The Journal News
Incumbent State Assemblyman Greg Ball received the endorsement from the Westchester Republican Committee last night. His challenger, John Degnan, former mayor of Brewster, failed to receive a nomination for voting.
The Westchester GOP chairman said the first nomination for Degnan was not valid because the Yorktown man was not certified as a committee member. A second nomination for Degnan was not seconded.
Ball’s nomination comes after Degnan took the Putnam County GOP endorsement and after both men tied at the Dutchess County convention. Ball has referred to his opponent as a “pro-illegal alien activist.
For more on the Westchester GOP convention, check out this video by Southeast resident Nick Genovesi or visit lohud’s Politics on the Hudson blog.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 11:35 am by Marcela Rojas.
Following former Brewster Mayor John Degnan’s announcement last week about running against Greg Ball for state Assembly, the incumbent’s camp posted this on the Yahoo Internet group, Brewster10509. The post can also be found on Ball’s Web site as a blog item.
“Ball ready to roll, faces illegal immigrant activist”
SOUTHEAST, NEW YORK. New York State Assemblyman Greg Ball, an Air Force Captain and former business executive, says he “welcomes the challenge” after acquiring his first challenger for reelection yesterday. John Degnan, former Mayor of the Village of Brewster, New York, received the ceremonial endorsement of a group led former Assemblyman Willis Stephens Jr., whom Ball ousted in 2006.
Degnan is remembered for his failed 2007 sanctuary city initiative to grant ID cards to illegal aliens, when he invited the Guatemalan consulate to come to the village to offer its mobile ID card service to distribute identification cards to illegal aliens. Assemblyman Ball, who opposed the measure, also orchestrated the defeat of a similar plan by ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer to grant driver’s licenses illegal immigrants.
In his 2006 state of the village address, Degnan promised that the village would construct a hiring site for Brewster’s day laborers, which was defeated by a protest led by Assemblyman Ball that included agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement agency and hundreds of residents of the tiny village. Former Mayor Degnan told The Journal News that he had felt “enthusiastic” about playing an “integral role” in the failed sanctuary measure to secure a work shelter site for undocumented residents of Northern Westchester and Putnam Counties.
During an unsuccessful 2007 campaign for office, Degnan left the Republican party to run as a Democrat. Hispanic residents of Brewster complained of a decline in their quality of life during Degnan’s mayoralty, citing overcrowding and joblessness. The ex-Mayor’s opponents labeled Degnan a “slumlord”, a charge which he rejected. Although he later hired a worker to fight the overcrowding, even Degnan’s own supporters concede he did little to tackle the immigration issue.
Ball, fresh off a recent legislative victory to provide free college tuition to veterans of the Armed Forces, is known as “Albany’s most ardent supporter of legal immigration”. He is a state chairman of Lawmakers for Legal Immigration, an immigration reform group, and achieved prominence for his work with 9/11 Families for a Secure America, enacting the 287(g) program to empower state law enforcement officers to act as ICE agents to crack down on crime and deport incarcerated illegal aliens, as well as a series of immigration bills that passed in the State Assembly to crack down on contractors breaking state labor laws. Illegal immigration costs New Yorkers more than $5.1 billion per year for education, medical care, and incarceration.”
John Degnan’s press releases are written by someone whose donated thousands of dollars to DEMOCRATS Mike Santos, Ken Harper, Pete Hansen… but he’s a Republican… right?
On one side: Greg Ball, the former Air Force officer who founded the Courage Cup in 2004 while living in D.C. On the other: two Washington women whom Ball handed the event off to last year — temporarily, he says — when he moved home to enter politics in Upstate New York.
But why did Ball, 29, now a busy freshman state assemblyman, even want to keep running a youthful charity party several hours from his home district? Perhaps because it helped him win his seat.
The Reliable Source found that a New York political action committee started by Ball — which later transferred its entire treasury to his campaign — netted as much as $10,000 by selling tickets to the 2005 Courage Cup. That’s four times the amount the polo match raised that year for its prominently advertised beneficiary, Work to Ride, a Philadelphia charity that teaches poor kids to play polo.
It’s unclear whether anything about the arrangement was improper. But it shocked several D.C. area Courage Cup ticket buyers, who said they had never heard of the group and were stunned to find their names in Ball’s campaign finance records.
“I thought the money was going to kids,” said Andrew McKenna.“I’d be pretty [infuriated] if I found out this was for a political race.”
Fear not, though, even with the controversy, this year’s show will go on. Andrea Rogers, the official President and CEO of The Courage Cup, announced today via press release that the organization’s Meadow Matches will take place as scheduled at the Great Meadow Polo Club on Saturday. And she notes that tickets are still available
... to lie than contribute money to a Democrat?
About Greg Ball, I thought when he signed an agreement with the United States to serve in the military that he would fulfill his commitment. Why did Greg Ball leave the military before his commitment date had come? That question is on the mind of many people. Ball should clear the air and answer that simply question. “Why the early departure from his commitment to our Country?”
Inquiry minds want to know?
I would think Greg Ball may want to reimburse the United States Military Academy for some of that money they invested in him and he left them high and dry by departing early. I think Greg Ball has taken advantage of our tax dollars by not fulfilling his commitment to the people of the United States.
So much for John Degnan’s pledge for a “positive campaign on the issues.” Its nothing but baseless attack after attack. And the Ball people are no better. Everyone just chill out, you’re the reason Conservatives are tuning out the Republican party and staying home this November.
The conservatives tuned out because they realized Greg Ball is nuts and he has threatened to kick the A## of their Chairman in Putnam County. Ball is a low life who forces his opponent to stoop down to his level or else they end up on the short end of the stick with people believing Ball’s lies. Ball creates an atmosphere of hate, racism and fabrication, Ball loves the fact they these created stories keep the voters from focusing on the real issues.
Amazing how much ink a low level Republican Assemblyman in a Democratic Assembly manages to inspire. An outsider might say that there is method buried in the madness. The fact that he invites so much controversy is probably his ace in the hole and his detractors keep it going.
I agree, Ed. You nailed it.
Interesting that this fringe assemblyman who is a self proclaimed C and is running as an R because he can’t get elected any other way.
Do people really wonder why the R’s don’t like him? Give me a break! He came out of the gate as a C.
Here in New York we have this gun crazy NRA nut (Ball) trying to influence policy in Albany? The rest of the crap is just a charade. This egomanaic will do ANYTHING to get his name in the paper even if he had the opposite position yesterday or tomorrow. There is no substance, no ethics, no honor, no character. One wonders what he did to get thrown out of the Air Force? Sexual harassment? Child porn? Conduct unbecoming? Don’t ask, don’t tell? Flat feet? Mental defect? No bladder control?
The real problem is the military dumped this reject on the citizens! Lord help us all.
In 2006, Ball went in front of the Democrats and officially interviewed for their endorsement. Greg Ball told the Democrats that, if he were to be honored with their endorsement, he would accept it and add the “D” next to his name. He was rejected by the Democrats, who saw him for what he truly is. I guess Will Stephens wa behind this as well.
Ball only recently became a Republican. He was a registered BLANK up until he ran for Assembly.
Would Congresswoman Sue Kelly have signed his nomination for the Air Force Academy if she would have known he was going to do what he did? Think about it….. Did Uncle Sam get his money’s worth out of Ball? Or did Ball do what Ball does best: play the system to his own selfish advantage?
Silversmith: I believe it was Cher who said: “And the Beat Goes On.”
Degnan ran for Mayor of Brewster last year on the Democratic line. I guess he will do the same thing this year when he runs for Assembly.
Just curious why Putnam is supporting a guy who wanted to build an illegal immigrant hiring site…and bring in the Guatamalan Consulate to give them ID’s.
How about coming to America like our ancestors did…LEGALLY! I guess we can look forward to all sorts of harassing phone calls and obnoxious mailings from Degnan.
Parties mean nothing in Brewster/Southeast, there is no idealogical differences, its all about favors and contracts and rubbing elbows. The quote on quote Putnam Conservative party is nothing more than a patronage machine, they have previously endorsed people cross endorsed by the liberal party, its kindof a running joke up here.
A correction: Degnan ran as a Democrat & Conservative for the Town of Southeast Supervisor in 2007, and a Democrat & Republican for Mayor of Brewster, against John Cesar (Independence & Conservative, but previously Republican, Democratic, and every other party out there). He has stated he is a lifelong Republican.
Thanks for the clarification…it will be interesting to see this race unfold.
Democratic battles take shape in Assembly districts
By Patricia Doxsey, Kingston Daily Freeman
05/29/2008
POUGHKEEPSIE – Election Day may still be several months away, but for Dutchess County Democrats, who will select candidates for two state Assembly districts through primary elections in September, the campaign season is under way.
Democrats set the stage for a primary in the 103rd Assembly District by declining to make an endorsement in the race during last week’s Democratic Convention, while the candidate defeated for the party line in the Assembly’s 102nd District has vowed to take his campaign to the voters.
Staatsburg resident Jonathan Smith was tapped by the party for the 102nd District seat, now held by Assemblyman Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie. But Poughkeepsie resident Gary Levine said in a press release issued following the party convention that he is not giving up the fight.
“The outcome of the convention is non-binding, and the members of Team Levine are energized and gearing up for a primary,” he wrote.
The 102nd District encompasses the Dutchess County towns of Clinton, Hyde Park, Poughkeepsie, Wappinger and Fishkill.
In the 103rd District, three candidates will vie for the right to run on the Democratic line against first-term Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, R-Red Hook.
Laurette Giardino of East Fishkill, Joseph Huff of Union Vale and Dana Tompkins of the town of Washington went before the convention seeking an endorsement, but each left without the coveted nod.
“In this case, we essentially forced a primary,” said county Democratic Chairwoman Jane Smith. “We have three candidates. It remains to be seen whether they will all continue in the race.”
Smith said the committee’s decision to withhold its endorsement was not a reflection on any of the three candidates, but more a decision to allow the voters to choose from among them.
The 103rd District encompasses nine Columbia County towns as well as the city of Hudson and the Dutchess County towns of Red Hook, Milan, Pine Plains, Stanford, North East, Amenia, Washington, Pleasant Valley, Union Vale, Dover, Beekman and East Fishkill.
The party also chose not to back John Degnan, a registered Republican seeking Democratic support to challenge incumbent Gregg Ball, R-Carmel, in the 99th Assembly District.
The 99th Assembly District encompasses towns in Westchester and Putnam counties as well as the Dutchess County town of Pawling. Ultimately, the candidate for the Democratic line in that race will be decided by a vote of the heads of those county’s parties.
Backed by Dutchess County Democrats were:
Ball wanted the democrat line last time he ran and he was denied it. Ball is a phony. As far as campaigning goes, you must fight fire with fire. Degnan is a fighter and he will not be pushed around by ball, that is Balls motto, “Lie, push, fabricate and then lie some more and you will have your opponent on the ropes” Ball likes to throw jabs, but he is not good at taking a few hits. Ball will take a few hits this campaign season, this will not be a rerun of the 2006 election where he played the bully. Ball has a record (no accomplishments) and he will have to amswer for his first two years in office. No more free rides.
JB,
You are correct. Ball has a glass jaw when it comes to attacking people. He throws roundhouses, but he gets hit easily.
Ball needs to come off this “Putnam GOP has petty differences” garbage. There were no differences. In fact, it was almost unanimous. Remove the proxies, and it was Degnan 97-, Ball 7.
The Putnam GOP will carry the election, mark my words. The people in Putnam hate him more than Westchester likes him. That hatred will carry Degnan. Many people will be voting AGAINST Ball. Nobody will vote AGAINST Degnan. And people hate Ball because of his complete lack of accomplishment, his failed military record (then lying repeatedly about it), and his 24 hour per day campaigning.
Would Congresswoman Sue Kelly had signed Greg Ball nomination for the Air Force Academy if she had known she was going to do what he did?
Repub at Heart,
Either you’re part of the rapidly dwindling Greg Ball camp, or you believe everything Ball tells you.
1) there was no illegal immigrant hiring site, either proposed or planned. End of discussion.
2) Greg Ball in 2006 interviewed for the Democratic endorsement for Assembly. He did this before Degnan did. End of discussion.
3) harrassing phone calls and mailings from DEGNAN? Are you kidding us or what? That statement is just plain ignorant.
Your rapidly dwindling camp hs to relize that what worked in 2006 will fail in 2008. Everyone already knows that Ball does this to keep his opponent off balance, constantly defending himself. But it’s over now.
Check this out: THEY ARE IN POSSESSION OF BALL’S MILITARY RECORDS.
Sweating yet?
If Southeast didn’t vote Degnan in for Supervisor, why would they want him in the Assembly?
Unfortunately Lorraine Mitts split that vote, enabling Rights to win with less than 30% of the vote. You read that right: LESS THAN THIRTY PERCENT. If the circumstance was reversed, Ball would scream that Mitts was part of an evil plot to destroy Ball because, as we all know, Ball personally and singlehandedly stopped Governor Spitzer from issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens and Ball stopped the workstation in Brewster. But, sane people are not paranoid.
Clearly you drink from the Ball cool-aid. All this back and forth prevents anyone from speaking about issues, and of course Ball’s record in the Assembly. Just so you know….everyone is aware at this stall tactic, and it will fail. I said it before and I’ll say it now: WHAT WORKED IN 2006 WILL FAIL IN 2008. People see Ball talking on TV making claims, and they laugh. Two years ago they sat back and listened. People are tired of listening.
We were promised Route 22 widened. NOTHING.
We were promised lower taxes. NOTHING.
We were promised a cleaned-up Brewster. NOTHING.
Ball did keep one promise, though. He did promise to unite the Republican Party. He did that, and more. He united the Democrats and Conservatives too. United AGAINST Ball.
If Ball didn’t “really” want the Putnam GOP nod, then why did he go into the room and beg for it? Or is this yet another example of Greg Ball being INSINCERE?
Repub at Heart (or is it BLANK at heart?), they have Greg Ball’s MILITARY RECORDS in their possession. How do you feel about that?
Bye Bye Scannapieco,
I may yet be convinced to vote for John Degnan, but you have made a few inaccurate statements. I think if you’re going to go around complaining about Ball lying about his record, and Ball mudslinging, you should not engage in the same behavior.
With regard to the military records, I think I’ve seen that hashed out on these blogs here before. Ball released his DD-214 before and he was honorably separated. He is apparently still in the IRR now as a Captain—so what has changed sine 2006? Also, you keep alluding to the point that “Ball has done nothing, Ball has done nothing”, but honestly, you and I know that he has had two bills pass the Assembly, and the text of his veterans tuition was included in the state budget. He is actually the only freshman minority Assemblyman to have a bill pass. Does this mean I think he’s delivered on his promises for Rte 22, lower taxes, and cleaning up Brewster? So I am still open to alternatives.
You said there was no illegal immigrant hiring site, proposed or planned. But that is simply not true. In the Brewster Master Plan, from Columbia, there is a proposal. Then in 2006, Mayor Degnan submitted the Master Plan and entered it into the official record. The board then looked at three sepereate hiring sites between 2006 and 2007. All of it is still on the internet in the village board minutes.
That is a serious issue. You can’t just wish it away. I am eager to hear Mr. Degnan’s explanation so I can make up my mind, although I am not a registered Republican so it will not make much difference until the General election.
Of the “Putnam 97”, 75 voted for Will Stephens in ‘06. The rest are new. 52 donated money to him since 2000.
But no, Putnam’s united. LOL
As Mike Right’s good friend Lynne has pointed out over at the forums numerous times, Lorainne helped John save face by staying in the race. John would have been crushed in a one on one matchup with Rights or Mitts. Remember, he came in LAST during the primary, by quite a bit.
1. Brewster searches anew for shelter
May 30, 2006 •• 699 words ••
Panel to find laborers hiring site after 2 locations run into trouble Marcela Rojas The Journal News BREWSTER – Plans to get day laborers off Main Street have stalled again after officials rejected a second location for a proposed hiring shelter. Team Brewster, a coalition of elected officials and civic leaders working to revitalize the village, had considered building the free-standing cedar structure on the Village Hall parking lot. That was after the New York City Department of …
Node Three: Laborer Employment Center
The immigrant laborer community is a vital aspect of the overall workforce diversity and a source of economic vitality in the Village. This vitality can be harnessed and enhanced through investments in the laborer community. The principal way to achieve this goal is to create an employment center at a central and accessible location in the Village. An assessment of alternate sites within the Village borders should be considered.
* The location of the employment center should consider traffic accessibility.
* Consideration of access to the Community Affairs Office in the location of a center would allow for greater efficiency in the delivery of its services and thereby mitigate some of the current challenges faced by these villagers.
Programs and activities specifically recommended for the Laborer Employment Center are detailed in the Community Development Main Street Section below.
In 2006, we met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, since the Federal Government is the only branch of government empowered to enforce immigration laws. The Special Agent in charge assured us that they would only pursue illegals who commit serious crime. Clearly, the federal government is not ready to help in dealing with the inherent social and economic pressures facing small communities like Brewster. Nonetheless, we have been proactive, studying how other municipalities have tried to cope with the impact of failed immigration policy.
We have met with other public officials, non profit and social service organizations to explore the options for enhancing our existing outreach and social services to the transient and needy in our community. The Village already hosts a number of these social support systems, and has proposed partnering with the Town to take this issue in new directions. For example, we will investigate using vacant property for a hiring center, and leveraging private funds to support it.
*Build a hiring center with taxpayer dollars
*After 3 failed attempts at a Hiring Center with public money, do it with private funds
*Ask ICE to prosecute aliens only when they commit a serious crime
*Put all of this online, and in your “State of the Village” address and “Village Master Plan”
*Deny any of it ever happened when you run for higher office
RE:
Some FACTS.
1) Greg Ball did not at any time release his military records. Never. If he did, it would have been past around like wildfire. And that form that he did release conveniently had the serial number missing, making it a fraud.
2)Ball voted AGAINST that Veterans Bill you are talking about. Does anyone know what “VOTED AGAINST” means? Does “VOTED AGAINST” mean “SUPPORT”? He voted against it, then when it past anyway he took credit for it.
3) You know that Ball has had nothing pass except the passage of time. No bills. Just because you happen to add your name onto someone’s bill doesn’t mean you did an ounce of work. He shouldn’t be taking credit for someone else’s work, which is what he apparently specializes in.
4) “HONORABLE DISCHARGE” can mean a lot of things. He basically probably wasn’t kicked out. That’s all. Is this the high standards that this man sets for himself? Just don’t get kiced out and you’ll be fine?
5) Greg Ball in the IRR? Another joke. Understand something. This isn’t Westchester County. Putnam is a County of Veterans. It is a real foolish move to try to pull the wool over people’s eyes in Putnam. How is it that a perfectly healthy 30 year old Air Force Academy graduate was permitted to leave the Air Force when so many others are being called back? There is such a shortage that they call up IRR people all the time involuntarily back to active duty. How is it that Greg Ball has fallen through the cracks?
6) Greg Ball says that he personally stopped a hiring site. THERE IS NO HIRING SITE. THERE NEVER WAS A HIRING SITE. JUST BECAUSE IT GOT SPOKEN ABOUT DOESN’T MEAN IT EXISTS. SORT OF LIKE THAT COMPANY EXCEED DEVELOPMENT…..IT DOESN’T EXIST. BALL STOPPED NOTHING EXCEPT USING COMMON SENSE. There is no hiring site to stop. Yet, Ball will go on to say that he stopped the hiring site. His lies get old.
You’re “eager to hear Degnan’s explanations”? Are you kidding us? EXPLANATIONS ABOUT WHAT? he has nothing to explain. Nice try, once again, Ball Kool-aid drinker. Make the opponent the issue. Nice try.
Ball is the incumbent. He has to explain the following:
1) why was Rights’ campaign material found on his Assembly computer?
2) why does Ball campaign 24/7/365 instead of working for his constituents?
3) why are people all over the County commneting about how when you call Ball’s office you have to leave a message and nobody gets back to you?
4) why did Ball leave the Air Force three years early?
5) why was Ball planning his campaign in his sophmore year at the Air Force Academy? If he apparently knew he wanted nothing to do with the military, then why didn’t he do the honorable thing and leave so that someone with honor could take his place?
6) how in the world, HOW IN THE WORLD, did Greg Ball get that useless, do-nothing Protocol Officer job? Who arranged that one? And WHY? WHY? WHY?
7) WHY WASN’T BALL SENT OVERSEAS?
8) WHY WASN’T BALL SENT OVERSEAS?
9) WHY WASN’T BALL SENT OVERSEAS?
10)WHY WASN’T BALL SENT OVERSEAS?
ZZZZZZZ,
If the Putnam GOP endorsement is such a joke, then why did Ball go into the Putnam GOP Convention begging for the endorsement? Answer that one, please.
After he lost 97-7 (OUCH!!LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL), Ball says, “I didn’t want it anyway”. Is this another example of proving once and for all that Greg Ball is insincere? Or is this simply a case of Ball putting his foot in his mouth? Take your pick…...
Why wasn’t Greg Ball sent overseas?
Did Greg Ball BEG not to be sent to Iraq? If he did, would that change your opinion of Putnam’s most famous Air Force Academy graduate? OUCH.
They have Greg Ball’s military records in their possession.
It’s over guys. It’s over.
Why wasn’t Greg Ball sent overseas?
Answer forthcoming….....
On February 13th Capitol Confidential, political blog at the Albany Times Union, ran a post by Elizabeth Benjamin under the heading Ball Drops the Ball. Catchy. The WBP commented on the story and followed up by acquiring the list of the 500 delinquent filers from the New York state Board of Elections.
After a review of the list it is the opinion of the WBP that the Albany Times Union and Capitol Confidential, either accidentally or knowingly, reported inaccurate and false information.
In her most recent article regarding the issue, Ms. Benjamin acknowledges that she has not even seen the list of delinquent committees. Why then, Ms. Benjamin, would you file a story regarding a report you have not seen, and where then did you attain this information? Were the parties involved in giving you this story Dem party leaders with an axe to grind following Ball’s outburst at the comptroller vote?
A review of the list of delinquent filers, attained on February 14th, shows no listing for Assemblyman Ball or his committee, New Yorkers on the Ball. This supports Ball’s statements that he did not knowingly usurp the law and that the BoE was aware of his filing situation. It also makes the Capitol Confidential post a complete fabrication.
However, the Albany Times Union had help in misconstruing the facts. The post also drew attention to the “fact” that of the 500 delinquents, Ball was the only state level legislator. They even had a statement from BoE spokesman Lee Daghlian that “he was aware of no other state-level elected officials whose names are on that list.”
Mr. Daghlian did not review the list very closely either, or he has a giant D next to his name and he’s helping Shelly’s goons who started spreading this in the first place.
The list actually does contain a number of state level legislators. For example, Carmen Arroyo, state Assembly representative for the Bronx. Why was she conveniently overlooked by Mr. Daghlian and the Albany Times Union in multiple posts? I am sure it is because the Times Union and Ms. Benjamin do not check facts before they report something and has nothing to do with Arroyo being a Democrat.
The Times Union also conveniently omits some other groups who missed the filing deadline: Town of Carmel Democratic Committee (Carmel is represented by Assemblyman Ball), Citizens for Fiscal Integrity, Healthy New York PAC and the New York Democracy Project.
The list is too large to post in entirety here, if anyone would like a copy please leave a comment with your email address and I will forward you an electronic copy. This includes you Ms. Benjamin.
UPDATE: (2/19/07 – 7:17am) 44 minutes after we logged this post, Capitol Confidential posted this
As reported here yesterday, Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Carmel, avoided a judgment by filing his report (albeit about one month overdue). As it turns out, he would have been in good company if he hadn’t ultimately complied with the law.
Contrary to my initial report, which was based on information from the BoE before the list was released, there are quite a few state-level delinquents – although all of them are Democrats. They include:
-Sabini for Senate (Sen. John Sabini, D-Queens, 13th SD).
-Friends of Efrain Gonzalez Jr. (D-Bronx, 33rd SD).
-Ruth Thompson for Senate (Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, D-Bronx, 36th SD).
-Committee to Re-Elect William F. Boyland Jr. (D-Brooklyn, 55th AD).
-Friends of Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan, 75th AD).
-Friends of Peter Rivera (D-Bronx, 76th AD).
-Friends of Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx, 79th AD).
-Carmen E. Arroyo for Assembly/Friends of Carmen E. Arroyo (D-Bronx, 84th AD).
-Friends of Crystal Peoples (D-Buffalo, 141st AD).
-Friends of Luis M. Diaz (D-Bronx, 86th AD).
===
Will John Degnan stand up to Shelly Silver? Not a chance.
One of the biggest points that is missing here is Greg Ball has not had one piece of legislation passed and signed into law that he was the key sponsor of. That is accurate, NONE, Ball will say he passed laws and he got organizations pork money but both statements are disingenuous. Ball may vote “yes” on another Assembly members legislation, but Greg Ball is still batting 000% on his own sponsored legislation. As far as bringing home checks (pork money) to the district, Ball is again pulling the wool over our eyes. How can you vote “NO” on the budget and then bring home pork money and claim you brought home the bacon? If you vote “NO” for the budget, you vote “NO” for everything in it.
When Greg votes “NO” on the budget, he votes against money for the veterans, senior citizens, children, people in need and every non-for-profit group in the state, he also votes against the star program and funding for the environment.. Greg knows the budget is going to pass so he conveniently votes “NO”, to say I voted against the budget. Voting “NO” is OK if that is how you truly feel, but don’t run around the 99th Assembly District and take credit for the good things in the budget and go from place to place talking up all the good in the budget as if you had something to do with it. When people bring up issues in the budget that are bad, Greg Ball will say, “That is why I voted against it”.
Mr. Ball is a phony and a fraud.
All this information written on this blog but no one has answered the question as to why Ball left the military early. This is very important to many of us voters and we would like this cleared up. All these comments yet no answers. We did hear that Ball is not in the reserves or doing any military activity since he left. Sure is unusual…to go to Veterans Day Parade an see all the vets PROUD to wear their hat or old uniform attire for the ceremony and Ball comes in his suit and a smile and no uniform reference to his military time. Is he not permitted to wear it???
ANSWERS PLEASE???
Just under 200 paid guests at Traveler’s Rest in Yorktown last night, home of the annual Yorktown GOP John Hand dinner. That nets the Assemblyman $20,000 for his reelection.
Who knew Curtis was such a draw? I always preferred John Gambling.
AND Curtis announced he might be running for Congress to Vito Fosella’s seat.
OK Ball released his DD-214 indicating that he received an Honorable Discharge. Apparently that is not good enough for some, what was the reason Ball left early,
the DD-214 does not explain that. I know a military person who also got an Honorable Discharge, but the reasons for him leaving were not Honorable in my books or many of yours. He was charged with a crime and negotiated for an Honorable Discharge. I am not implying anything about Greg Ball, but what I am saying is just because someone receives an Honorable Discharge, doesn’t necessarily mean it really was Honorable. Negotiated Honorable, Forced Honorable and Truly Honorable are different terms of separation of services.
jb – Still the question, WHY did Ball leave the military early????? was it any of the reasons stated in your post?
Voters want to know and if someone has that info, they should let voters know in the 99th so we can make an informed vote.
We want truly honorable not forced and want to know why Ball left.
Anyone know why he left early?
Ball could end all this by just giving an honest answer about why half of his military committment was unfulfilled. He has given many different versions of what happened, and each new excuse makes less sense than the previous one.
*why did Ball get out two and a half years early?
Obviously nobody wants to go anywhere near that last question. I don’t blame them, believe me.
There might be a legitimate question or two in there, although the people posing the military question continue to insult veterans (calling protocol officers useless, I’m sure there are quite a few who would disagree).
When I was in Iraq, there weren’t that many Air Force people around (especially Protocol Officers). Perhaps thats why.
There are few jobs in the Air Force more challenging and demanding on a day-to-day basis than protocol. You worry a myriad of details. Murphy’s laws take on added meaning: Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. You measure success by the absence of comment from your commander, and things go downhill from there. Why in the world would anyone want this job?
That’s one perspective. Another is that there are few jobs in the service more rewarding and satisfying than protocol. What other job gives you the opportunity to see the fruits of your labors on a regular basis, as you work a project or visit from start to finish? A five-year tour in plans seldom offers you the chance to work a project from the ground floor up, to plan, organize, develop and execute it through completion. And yet the protocol officer does this regularly. It’s a golden opportunity to shine in the presence of senior officers, and to make acquaintances that could see you through an entire career.
But it’s not a job for the faint-hearted or thin-skinned individual. Nor is it a position for the lone wolves, who believe they can do it all themselves, and are egotistical to a fault. A successful protocol officer relies on teamwork, motivation, hard work, honed skills, and just a little luck. The experience you gain in protocol will stand you in good stead the rest of your Air Force career. Here’s what we think it takes to grow into a great protocol officer, and a few hints to help you along your wa
There are many people who have much to lose if Assemblyman Greg Ball is re-elected. Most people will agree with that. What most people probably won’t agree with is that Kieran Lalor, the Republican nominee for Congress in the 19th district, perhaps stands to lose the most. Allow me to explain.
Mr. Lalor is a young and ambitious guy, a war hero and the future of the Republican Party. While I hope that Lalor goes at John Hall with both barrels (and I know he will) I still have serious doubts about whether or not 2008 is the year that voters will send “Rock & Roll Hall” back to Woodstock… It’s late in the game, the GOP could have rallied behind Lalor alot earlier (like maybe when he first announced) but instead they dragged their feet and cost Mr. Lalor a lot of valuable opportunities to raise money and his profile in general. That’s a lot of ground to cover in such a short period of time. I think Lalor will lost, not by much, but also in the process run a spirited campaign, raise his name i.d. and come back earlier, stronger and better prepared in 2010 to take out Hall. (Newt Gingrich had to run time and again before finally winning his House seat).
The only problem with this scenario is if lunatic, self-serving, ego maniacal Greg Ball wins re-election this year and looks at 2010 as “his year” thereby making it near impossible that Lalor ever goes to Congress.
My scenario may be pie in the sky but it’s at least worth thinking about, especially by the the Lalor campaign.
good points. ball is definitely out for ball and no one else. lalor would be smart to take that on advisement.
on to another point. what with all the nonsense about the westchester gop not allowing john degnan a shot at the nomination?
let’s say degnan were to be nominated, who would have voted for him? i bet someone in that room would have since he was nominated by 2 people.
The Westchester GOP had a precarious position. That same night, Degnan submitted his name to the Dutchess Democratic Party’s nominating convention, how would it have looked for them to nominate him on the same day? I don’t know. Secondly, out of 25 committee members from Yorktown, 25 from Somers, and 25 from North Salem, all he needed were two to show up to support him. Couldn’t get that, so…
It was a, “Powers that be situation,” everyone in the room new that the Dictator Doug Colety did not want John Degnan nominated. Consequently, no one other then the two out of the five people in the room from the 99th Assembly District had the courage to go against the wishes of Dictator Colety. Had the nomination of Degnan been placed on the floor and the vote was by secret ballot, Degnan would have probably won. These same powers that be also made sure to encourage the committee members to stay home for this important vote. It is much easier to control 5 people then 75 people, Colety’s leadership should be called into question questionable for the manner in which he handled this situation.
Unlike Putnam County where most of the delegates came out and voted, Westchester County Republicans did a disservice to its party by discouraging their members from being present at the Republican Convention.
How can 5 people speak for a county with over 1 million residents?
Dictator Colety? You have to be kidding me!
Doug is one of the most transparent people in all of politics.
I’m no supporter of Greg Ball, but the Degnan camp screwed up fair & square. By pointing fingers and leveling baseless accusations they serve only to look like sore losers.
All this nonsense about corruption, dictatorships, etc. is all loser talk.
Mr. Degnan needs to learn from this mistake and move on.
I don’t believe Degnan is a sore loser. He acknowledged they screwed up today in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Its some of his over zealous supporters that make him look bad and tarnish his pledge for a positive campaign. It will cost him in the end if he can’t reign in his volunteers.
“I take (Ball’s Westchester endorsement) as a learning experience and I take it as an opportunity to redouble my efforts to make sure Westchester County is acknowledged and pursued with the same vigor as I have in Putnam County,” Degnan said.
Lalor has nothing to lose from GB. In fact, he owes Ball a favor. Ball’s boy DioGuardi got into the race and tanked George Oros, handing Lalor the nod.
DioGuardi was one of the 300 or so paying attendees at GB’s “Sinatra Soiree” the other day. An ingenious plan by Lalor and Ball to sabotage Oros, the only one with a chance of beating John Hall.
Greg Ball got destroyed at the Putnam GOP last week. Why? Because those that live with him know him well.
HOW A GUY LIKE THAT COULD LAND A PROTOCOL OFFICER JOB IN A TIME OF WAR IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT MYSTERIES.
If Ball doesn’t answer and address his military questions head on AND TRUTHFULLY, he’s done. Finished.
If he comes out with the real story behind his poor military record, he’ll lose the election.
He’s in a no-win situation.
I doubt Greg Ball is even smart enough to hatch a plan like that. But if it is true, it’s because Ball thinks Lalor is the weakest possible candidate. Greg Ball is only out for Greg Ball. One would be a real fool to believe anything else.
If Ball wins re-election and Lalor does not beat Hall this year, Greg Ball will be the first person to stop Lalor from running again. We’ll see how thankful Lalor will be then.
Bottom line, Ball is a treacherous guy no matter who you are. Folks would be wise to steer clear of him.
TELL US. WHAT are the issues behind Ball and the military and saying it could finish Ball. How will it finish him if voters do not know what it is?????
Enlighten us please as many of us do not like Ball, but these constant rumors need answers so others out ther will realize the true Ball military issues.
Answers Please.
Next thing you know they’ll be on Lalor for serving for seven years and with only E-4 and an AAM to show for it and calling that into question. Disgusting.
I highly doubt that Yorktown, North Salem and Somers all have the same number of district leaders.
I thought the following was noteworthy, given some of what has been roused in recent days about the military record of Republican and Conservative U.S. Senate nominee John Spencer.
I haven’t been up to Putnam County in a long time but the following story about Greg Ball hits close to home. Ball has been campaigning for a year now, going door to door, reaching out to people and building a good rapport with the news media.
The truth, though Assemblyman Willis Stephens might not appreciate being reminded, is that Ball has caught the incumbent sleeping. Rather than put forth a re-election campaign of his own, Stephens seems almost unwilling to acknowledge his challenger.
It’s a big mistake.
Rather than just campaign on the issues, Willis Stephens has allowed his staff to make this personal—and too ugly for words.
My impression is that a staff member of Assemblyman Willis Stephens office called me with the intent of denigrating Mr. Ball’s military record. He started the conversation with the pitbull presumption that I was Ball’s political associate, that I was working with his campaign and that I was biased.
That I was left with that negative impression is an understatement. It’s not up for debate. O’Toole lost me at the first sentence and it’s his own fault. I happen to like Jack O’Toole. In Yonkers, Jack had been known as a well-intended activist who spent over ten years fighting the judicial tyranny of Federal Judge Leonard Sand’s consent decree that mandated the construction of more public housing in that city.
He’s a hero to a lot of people but he is a political brawler, so let’s not be fooled here.
That I might have mistaken the letters “dd” for dishonorable discharge is a valid enough point. Point taken. However, O’Toole said “dd” and he certainly didn’t want to say honorable in connection with Greg Ball. Of course, that’s the impression Jack O’Toole left with him—and that’s the impression Jack O’Toole is capable of leaving with people.
I came away from the conversation with the impression that O’Toole was hell-bent on discrediting Ball. That’s the business he’s in. He’s following orders. If O’Toole was working for Ball, he would be his most fierce defender. That’s Jack O’Toole and it’s not entirely bad sometimes. He’s a great guy to have with you in a political foxhole, if you’re in trouble.
Stephens is in trouble.
But that’s no reason to discredit a young candidate.
O’Toole owes Greg Ball an apology. The bottom line is that Jack O’Toole expressed a desire to see a document starting with the letters “dd” that he claimed had not been forthcoming from Greg Ball. That’s not true. It’s on Ball’s website.
Another point: Ball was not dishonorably discharged.
It sounded to me as if Jack O’Toole wanted me to believe that Greg Ball was dishonorably discharged. If I was mistaken about what O’Toole meant, I stand corrected, but I’m not mistaken about what he said.
The inference by O’Toole was unmistakenly an attempt to infer that Ball was hiding something, as if there was some detail in the documentation that would cast a negative light on his employer’s political opponent.
In the business we’re in, Jack, they call what you did “spin” and hardball politics.
We both know each other well enough to understand what transpired here, so don’t lower yourself any further by attacking this messenger.
I’m just a messenger, a blogger, and not affiliated with Greg Ball’s Assembly race as a volunteer or political consultant.
I still wish the young man well. It’s a great campaign, by all measures.
Who wouldn’t admire the smart and diligent work that Greg Ball and his campaign staff have maintained for the past year?
He has put forth a good model in the 99th for other candidates to emulate and I’m still waiting with others for Willis Stephens to start his own campaign.
I believe Mr. O’Toole tried to open such a conversation to cast aspersions on Ball’s military record, though ironically the documention is easily accessible on the candidate’s website, and now Mr. O’Toole has sought to cast aspersions on me to discredit the message.
This should be much ado about nothing—but the campaign of Willis Stephens has somehow missed the point.
This letter should drive the point home.
Dear Fellow Republican!
I was honored to serve as Greg Ball’s mentor while he was in the U.S. Air Force. When Greg was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at the United States Air Force Academy, I was honored to pin on his rank and commission him as a young officer. As Greg excelled through the ranks and was promoted to Captain, I was honored to watch Greg perform as an outstanding young officer.
These recent attacks by the Stephens Campaign have riled and disgusted me to the core. Assemblyman Stephens made national news last summer by calling his constituents “pontificating idiots”, and this summer he is making another political mistake by using a whisper campaign to hurt Greg’s credibility. Greg is an All-American leader, and he is running a door-to-door, grassroots campaign that the community should be proud of. Greg’s opponent never served in the military, and he is trying to turn his own political weakness into Greg’s by spreading salacious and false rumors against Greg.
Greg Ball graduated from the Air Force Academy, served in the White House Drug Policy Office, lived on Capitol Hill, and served in the 11th Wing in our Nation’s capital working directly for four star generals in the Pentagon and throughout the National Capitol Region. Few Lieutenants are chosen for such a demanding position. Greg’s military record is stellar and beyond reproach. Indeed, to prove this fact, Greg was selected for promotion to Captain and remains a Captain in the U.S. Ready Reserve.
In summary, unlike the current Assemblyman Greg Ball served his country with distinction. Furthermore, he is now ready to serve YOU in the State Assembly. However, politics being what it is, dirty, the opposition is going to do everything they can to keep this hardworking Air Force Captain from overthrowing the corrupt political machine and reigning in commonsense in Albany – even if it means resorting to dirty politics. Please, don’t reward the politics of personal destruction. Get to know Greg, as I have gotten to know Greg, and you will become as proud of him as I am. He will never let you down.
Colonel Joseph P. Green, USAF (Ret.)
Greg Ball is Stephen King’s Greg Stillson come to life…a small town pol with a plan to use fear and manipulation to get ahead. Big Time. Can’t you see Congressman Ball on FOX News – can’t you see him running for the U.S. Senate? He can, and he’ll do anything to make that happen.
Unless you stop him right now. Not next time. Not next month. Right now. RIGHT NOW.
Could the people who have Ball’s military record stop making insinuations and just TELL us why he was let out early?
I mean, maybe there’s a real scandal there, or maybe he just got out on some b.s. excuse. That’s less important to me than what he has and has not done in his life and in his Assembly term.
No matter what were the reasons for his discharge, it seems kind of shady to me that someone who was in the military during a real war was stashed safely away in a position far from danger. If someone is afraid of getting shot, then joining the military is a really poor career choice. There are so many veterans now coming home maimed or in boxes that hearing about someone brag about their service when they were stashed in some cushy, safe military job is itself a disgrace.
I have not read of one single bill that Ball introduced that got passed. Did I miss the news of one? Putting yourself on as co-sponsor is not introducing YOUR bill.
But again, WHY did Ball leave the military early? Was he scheduled to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and started getting panic attacks?
Greg Ball,’98C
From Charity Polo Matches to lunch with Chief White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, the Washington D.C. area is abuzz with Valley Forge alumni engaged in exciting activity. There are approximately 1,000 alumni in the D.C. area, and one young alumnus, Greg Ball, ’98C, Chairman of the George Washington Regiment, is pulling them all together. Even while meeting the needs of local alumni, Greg serves as an active duty Air Force Officer. Furthermore, a graduate student at Georgetown University, Greg was recently appointed a Fellow in the Center for the Study of the Presidency, and is also the President of Citizens United for Clean and Ethical Government, a non-partisan political action committee dedicated to erasing corruption and conflicts of interest in New York State politics. In 1996, Greg was awarded a Falcon Foundation Scholarship, and after a brief talk with his Congresswoman (Sue Kelly), he chose to head to Valley Forge Military College. “That was the single most important decision in my life,” says Greg. “A former Marine on the Congresswoman’s staff explained that VFMA&C had a 98 percent success rate in getting young men into the Air Force Academy and the other service academies,” Greg explains.
According to Greg, Valley Forge did much more than open the doors for an Academy appointment. “I was a middle class kid from a small town much like any other in America. The appreciation for diversity and love of challenging environments which I developed at VF made me the person I am today. I realized life was not just about titles, but service.”At U.S.A.F.A, Greg served as an intern in the White House Drug Policy Office and graduated with the highest major’s GPA in Political Science. In 2001, Greg requested a one-year tour in Philadelphia where he worked as a Minority Admissions Officer, assisting young men and women in their quest to pursue higher education. While in Philadelphia, Greg became quite active with Valley Forge and donated countless hours assisting with various projects. Greg even began playing Polo down in the pavilion with the cadets, and spent many hours speaking with cadets on a one-on-one level, serving as a mentor. After being elected to the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, Greg received orders to head to Washington, D.C. and promised to revitalize the alumni regiment down there. Less than one year later, the results are impressive. Greg suggests, “Finding time to do what you love is never a problem. Time and time again, I run into alumni who never cease in their praise of the school. But praise must take the form of deeds to have impact.” The alumni of the George Washington Regiment have certainly taken this concept to heart!
Greg Ball needs to stop posting on the blogs and get to work for the people of the 99th district. He’s getting really pathetic these days (read: worried).
Have the military records been pulled? Time will tell. If Ball has anything at all that he’s hiding he certainly should come clean now or face great embarrassment later.
He likes to throw the mud all the time, making up lies. Well, it’s coming back to him this year and he probably won’t like it. Too bad.
We heard that Ball went to Valley Forge because his HS grades were not good enough for the Air Force Academy, so Ball did another year post high school to bring grades up.
Working on Graduate work???? Haha. Ball is to busy campaigning to do any work on a graduate degree, but is sounds nice to say his is. When is the last time he attended Georgetown Univ?????
Ball planned on politics when he went into the AirForce and probably figured it was an outstanding reference to use when entering intoo politics. That was a smart move. But the fact our country is at war and Ball is not helping as he should, is kind of sad. A free college education and he should give back by being there to help his fellow service men, not stirring up constant controversy to gain attention here in the 99th. But of course controversy gives him attention and he probably figures he gains from that.
We need a new 99th representative and Ball should return to the military and help the USA with all his energy.
Ball’s been going to Grad School for 6 years now. And he’s no closer to completing his Master’s than 6 years ago. Translation: Ball uses that as a nice pug on his resume, just like he figured “AIR FORCE ACADEMY” was a nice plug on his resume. So he figured he’d go through the Air Force Academy, do nothing while there, get out early on some BS, then start his political career.
To those seeking the info on Ball’s Military record, please be patient. I know it will be released to garner maximum effectiveness, at the right time. To release it now would be a waste. Trust me, homework has been done. And Greg Ball is not the guy you think he is, or claims to be.
You’re 100% correct. Will Stephens was asleep and didn’t take Ball seriously. But Stephens is out. Ball is now up at the plate. He is going to run on his absolutely pathetic record, and he’ll have to contend with his poor military record.
How a guy can receive so much from the military and give back so little makes me want to vomit. It realy does. Air Force Captain. Give me a break.
More context, your writings are factually wrong. That PAC he started wasn’t “non-partisan”, and it wasn’t for “ethical growth”. It was designed to get people to buy tickets to an event thinking that they were contributing to a charity for minority kids while they were really contributing money to Greg Ball personally. One guy who bought a $50 ticket actually said when interviewed by a reporter: “I thought the money was going to help inner city kids learn to play polo. That’s how it was represented. I’ll be pretty pissed off if it turns out that money was going toward someone’s political campaign”. Yet, that’s exactly where it went, EVERY DIME OF IT. THE ENTIRE PROCEEDS WERE DUMPED INTO BALL’S BANK ACCOUNT. And yet when Matt Neuringer blogs on here he never likes to talk about it. Ball claims he told people the proceeds were for him. Do you know how? On the back of the ticket, it directs you to a website, if you go to the website it has a special link, if he g to the special link it says “a portion” of the proceeds go to a PAC. TALK ABOUT DECEPTION. And you continue to claim Ball is the second coming of Christ?
Everything Greg Ball does is calculated to enhance Greg Ball’s career. He sits in a room and thinks through how he can destroy people and how he can lie to people. He has sai time and again that people are stupid and can easily be lied to and manipulated.
And Ball proves it every time someone comes on here posting in support of him.
JUST OUT FOR YOU NORTHERN COUNTY PEOPLE…OROS IS NOT
GOING TO PRIMARY LALOR
Too bad, Mike, that was a primary I was looking forward to.
now you can concentrate on the Ball Primary…that should be
fun too
Doug Colety is in my prayers. Who needs these problems? Doug is too nice of a guy. God Speed, Doug!
zzzz- now that you mention it (“Next thing you know they’ll be on Lalor for serving for seven years and with only E-4 and an AAM to show for it and calling that into question.”) I have always wondered how Lalor could put in 7 years and only make Corporal. I will admit that I’m not up on the ways on the Marine Corps Reserve, so I really don’t know if that’s a normal thing. I have a friend whose son enlisted in the Army around 1999, and is a Captain now, so it seems that either Lalor was behind the curve, or maybe the Corps does things more differently/slowly.
Promotions are based on a points system, there is no technical evaluation. To make E-5, I had to get to 300 points, and 350 for E-6.
You get 200 points for a bachelor’s degree, up to 150 from the commander, up to 150 from the board, up to 50 for PT, up to 50 for for weapons qual, up to 100 for awards, and up to 100 for military education.
After my first tour in Iraq, with my degree, and full commander’s points, I was already maxed out and advanced automatically. He went to law school, so he should have enough, he probably couldn’t pass the PT test.
How can you possibly question anything Lalor did, and not question a thing about Ball’s pathetic military record. Lalor put Law School on hold to go fight. Ball did everything he could to avoid going overseas. The election was more important to him than serving his Country in a time of war.
This man scammed the United States Air Force out of a scholarship, did nothing while in the Air Force, then got out years early. YEARS.
Be thankful that every one of his classmates didn’t do what Ball did. Could you imagine for a second if the graduating class of 2001 all received the same job as Greg Ball, were never stationed in the field just like Greg Ball wasn’t, then all got out years early. Imagine every one of his classmates did the same exact thing and had the same exact record as Greg Ball.
Still think there was nothing wrong with what Greg Ball did while in the Air Force?
Putting it to rest,
That no Colonel Joseph P Green USAF has been found to ever exist?
“The thunderous applause after Greg’s endorsement is representative of his overwhelming support through out Westchester.”
YOU PEOPLE IN WESTCHESTER NEED TO WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHAT A PHONY LIAR BALL IS. THE PEOPLE OF PUTNAM WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE HATE AND DAMAGE THAT HE SPREADS ( AND HIS RECORD OF NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS) KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.
PAY ATTENTION! GO TO THETRUTGABOUTGREGBALL.COM AND LEARN!!!!
“The thunderous applause after Greg’s endorsement is representative of his overwhelming support through out Westchester.”
YOU PEOPLE IN WESTCHESTER NEED TO WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHAT A PHONY LIAR BALL IS. THE PEOPLE OF PUTNAM WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE HATE AND DAMAGE THAT HE SPREADS ( AND HIS RECORD OF NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS) KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.
PAY ATTENTION! GO TO: THETRUTHABOUTGREGBALL.COM AND LEARN!!!!
WWW.THETRUTHABOUTGREGBALL.COM
WOW, WHAT AN EYE OPENER!
THIS GUY REALLY KNOWS HOW TO TWIST THE TRUTH!!!
I just read the truth about greg ball website..it is
not very convincing but merely mimics the anti ball
postion..there is nothing in it that would convince
anyone to not vote for greg other than those already
committed to not supporting him..In fact it makes the
very big mistake of actually quoting the republican
minority leader James Tedesco as complimenting
greg and therefore undermines any argument made on the
site that greg is not a good republican or has
good relationships with the leadership..bad site
bad poltical strategy
Consultant, you must live in Westchester county or you’d know the real deal…
I have lived in westchester for the past 58 years…
Greg is supported by the westchester republican party
I understand that there are some differences of opinion on
greg..but if the leader of the minority comes down to support him..in person..you really can’t quibble with his
republican credentials….Tedesco knows his voting record
better than anyone and since republicans are in the minority
if greg were anathema to the party ..they would cast him
adrift..rather than embrace him..which leads me to believe
he is a winner
mike, i agree with you on the anti-ball web site. very amateurish and it really doesn’t make much sense. not much there except rumor and innuendo. and i am not a ball supporter by any means.
i do disagree with you on why tedisco came down to support ball. the republicans have been losing seats in the assembly every single year and if a republican seat (the 99th) were to fall to the dems i suppose that would be substantial reason for someone like brian kolb or anyone else up there in albany to draw a bullseye on tedisco’s back and push for a new leader. that’s why tedisco worked so hard, post-primary, to get ball elected in 2006.
simply put, the 99th is a seat that should always remain in the republican column, but with a guy like greg ball in the seat it makes it very difficult for that to remain.
will stephens should never have been put through a primary and this seat would never, ever be in danger of going to the dems.
The truth about Greg Ball site would be much more useful if they clear up some of the glaring errors.
The most obvious is, they write that “all achievement medals are awarded by the Chief of Staff”, which any soldier knows is incorrect, AAMs come from battalion commanders (Lieutenant Colonel), not full Generals (four star) like Greg Ball’s award.
The second is criticizing Ball for calling the legislature dysfunctional. It actually makes it sound like the anti-Ball people feel the legislature is functional… Its common knowledge that its dysfunctional, I can’t understand why thats there listed as a criticism.
I think you need to read a little further. The criticism wasn’t really just about him calling them dysfunctional, it’s more about the irony of him being less effective than anybody already there. Personally, I think it’s funny how proud he is of his little grandstand. So much so, that a year later he pretended that it just happened by changing the date on his mailer. When you’ve accomplished nothing in a year, you might as well reuse the only headline you’ve ever received. I guess that’s just another typo like the incorrect pictures. Let’s assume that neither of these were done intentionally. How can you want somebody to represent you that can’t get a date or a photo right?
Seach the LoHud blogs for:
So Last Year
Apology demanded of Assemblyman Ball
I am sure greg has his detractors..but it is a republican
district and incumbants rarely loose..
Maybe it was a republican district but the 99th Assembly district covers not only Northern Westchester but part of Putnam co and Southern Dutchess. Times are a changing and many people are upset with our country’s current economic problems and blaming republican leaderships.
Many of the old steadfast republicans may vote for others.
Also, Ball no longer has the ‘anti’ willis stephens voters to vote for him. So, there may be a loss of votes in some towns. Ball has not garnered the support for being proactive with RESULTS. He speaks the talk, but has not walked the walk with results.
Consultant,
I agree overall it’s a Republican district. Let’s even assume for a second that Ball wins the primary.
If you look at the last 99th race, when Greg didn’t have his non-record to run on, Ken Harper won Westchester as a Democrat. So it would be more than safe to say that John Degnan will win in Westchester as he’s a stronger candidate and he’ll have Democrat support as well as anti-Ball Republican support.
Ball will absolutely lose Southeast as they’re most familiar with him and lack of accomplishments. For no other reason they’ll vote against him for helping to get their current Supervisor elected.
He’s lost support in Carmel for various reasons and he no longer has his “R-Carmel” to help him.
He just managed to upset Yorktown by taking advantage of their parade, so I’m sure he’ll lose more votes than he gained with that stunt.
Pawling has not shown any great love for Ball even though he hails from there. I’ve always found this interesting.
North Salem has good grass-roots support for Degnan.
So, even if he manages to pull off the primary with his horrible campaign practices, he’ll get killed in the general election.
There’s a lot of wishful thinking in there, and I hope its right, but there hasn’t even been a campaign kickoff. Its a way too late to be be challenging a formidable incumbent.
Bottom line is, if John loses the primary, he is finished. There will not be that many Democrats voting as last time because A) its not an open seat), B) Degnan keeps claiming to be a Republican (and running in a Republican primary doesn’t help), and C) Republicans have an overwhelming advantage, this district is a gerrymander.
Now, if Town by Town’s assertions are correct, then maybe Degnan wins the primary and we get a new representative, but the “lets assume Ball wins the primary” reasoning means the race is over.
NAH. We need to resurrect Will Stephens.
That will dispel any rumors that John Degnan is Stephens’ proxy.
It will provide John Degnan a Lorraine Mitts for the general election—even if Degnan finished 3d in the primary, the Republicans would split (a la 2006) but he would do better then Harper and win.
Will, if you’re out there, collect the 500 signatures, do us all a favor and tank Greg Ball.
Just remember that Greg only got 46.17% of the vote in the last general election. John Degnan will attract many more votes from various parties than Ken Harper did. Greg Ball will attract much less votes than he did last time, as he now his record of non-accomplishments to run on. He’s no longer the new kid filled with promises.
Uh, Greg Ball got 50.8% of the vote, and more votes then Spitzer, Leibell, Cuomo, et. al in the district, not sure where that 46.17% figure comes from.
It won’t be easy for John Degnan, should we should stop pretending like Greg Ball is finished—Ball has raised more then any other incumbent Republican from more donors.
If Degnan has a strong filing on July 15th, I think voters will start to take him more seriously. But with an empty website, no money for mailers/ads (and you can’t rely on the local press to provide free press for you), and some crass remarks on record (Thats according to mother, a registered Democrat), I can’t confidently say that he will be our next assemblyman just yet, as much as I hope he will be.
20,956 out of 45,389 = 46.17%
Ah, thats counting 4,000 blank votes, I see now.
Also of note, we could say Ball has the Independence/Conservative lines this time, so he’ll be getting an extra 4,000 votes.
Degnan has a lot to overcome but it may be doable. Ball won Dutchess 2:1, but thats only a very small portion of the district. He seems to have run even with Westchester with Harper, and beat him by 4,000 votes in Putnam County (and Degnan should eat into that), but without those third party lines its probably a lost cause. Mike Edelman is right when he says 3d parties hold way to much sway.
I hope he fights the good fight.
Until Degnan gives voters a credible reason to not support Ball, they will pay no attention to his campaign. Voters need to decide that they’re not supporting the incumbent and then they need to look for the alternative choice (Degnan). Failing to do that in order will result in a loss for Degnan no matter how much money or support he has.