Ball backs Katz in 99th AD as Borkowski ad hits English-only ‘hypocrisy’
It should come as little surprise to anyone following the Republican Assembly primary race between Jim Borkowksi and Steve Katz that incumbent Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, has officially endorsed Katz.
A press conference slated for this morning in Brewster was canceled last-minute, but the announcement was sent out soon after. Ball and Katz frequently appear and speak together at public events. Ball has his own primary battle with Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy in the race for state Senate in the 40th District.
“Steve’s greatest quality is that he is not a politician,” said Ball. “He is pro-second amendment, anti-illegal immigration, anti-tax and solidly pro-life. I’ve gotten to know Steve and his beautiful family and know that he has the ability and willingness to shake up Albany, the way it desperately needs. We don’t need more backslappers and blowhards in the state capitol. We need real men and women with solid convictions who are willing to stand for something other than re-election. Steve Katz is that man.”
Ball and Katz were joined by senior citizens and tax watchdogs on the steps of Yorktown Town Hall Tuesday, calling for property tax reforms that include the local option to freeze seniors’ school taxes, a circuit breaker to tie property taxes to homeowners’ ability to pay and a cap on property tax rates. Ball also called on legislators to vote on reforms before November.
Meanwhile, on the same day he criticized Katz for his stance on making English the official state language while catering to Spanish-speaking customers at his veterinary practice, Borkowski launched this campaign spot. Katz has said the criticism shows Borkowski does not understand business and equates all Spanish speakers with illegal aliens.
UPDATE — Katz responds to the above ad, saying his “strong anti-illegal alien stand is clear.”
“I support a statewide crackdown on illegals, I support heightened deportation, I support a full repeal of our country’s anchor baby clause and unlike my pro-illegal alien opponent, I will introduce a law similar to Arizona’s once elected,” he says in a statement. “As for the ad, I am a veterinarian, not a widget salesman. If I were a widget salesman I would proudly have an “English only” phone system. But when people call on me, they may have an animal that is dying, mangled or dangerous and whether the person calling speaks Chinese or Portuguese, I need to be able to care for that animal.”
The Republian primary is Tuesday. The 99th Assembly District stretches from Yorktown to Pawling.
Photo: Katz speaks at Ball’s press event on property tax reform in Yorktown Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010. (Photo courtesy Ball campaign.)
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That ad is dead-on! You really can’t say one thing and then do another.
He says he supports English as the official language of New York State? But then he runs a Spanish-speaking business? It doesn’t make sense. Either you really support reform measures to make English the official language or you don’t.
Making English the official language would eliminate bilingual forms at the DMV and other government offices, forcing those who don’t speak English to do so! By advertising in Spanish, Katz is contributing to the problem he claims he wants to fix.
Hypocrisy is right!
here is the question..why would greg ball who must have
known that Katz was talking out of both sides of his
mouth endorse Katz and sacrifice his own credibiliyt
if I were mary beth murphy i would run that right up
the flagpole
Here we go again.
BORKOWSKI IS JUST SO DEAD ON WITH EVERYTHING!! AND STEVE KATZ (OR WHOEVER THE OPPONENT HAPPENS TO BE) IS DEAD OFF!! WE DESPERATELY NEED JIM BORKOWSKI BECAUSE BORKOWSKI DOES NOT SPEAK OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH!! SO WHAT THAT FOR 10 YEARS HE OFFERED FREE TRANSLATION TO SPANISH SERVICES ON DEMAND IN HIS COURTROOM, AND NEVER UTTERED A WORD IN COMPLAINT!! STEVE KATZ IS JUST SO, SO, SO, SO WRONG ON EVERYTHING, AND BORKOWWSKI IS JUST SO RIGHT AND PERFECT ON EVERY SINGLE POINT, EVEN POINTS HE DOESN’T KNOW YET!! STEVE KATZ IS THE DEVIL AND JIM BORKOWSKI IS THE BEST, BEST, BEST WE HAVE TO OFFER!! NO MATTER WHAT POSITION IT IS, WHETHER TOWN JUDGE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COUNTY JUDGE, SHERIFF, STATE SENATE, OR ASSEMBLYMAN, JIM BORKOWSKI IS THE BEST!!
DOESN’T MATTER THAT WE’VE GONE FROM NOMINATING BORKOWSKI FOR SAINTHOOD TO DEMONIZING KATZ, NO MATTER, BORKOWSKI ISOUR SALVATION!!!!!!!
its not about who you desperately need..its about who
is honest and who is not..you clearly have a personal
bias against borkowki..that is your problem and typing
in caps isn’t going to convince anyone that you are right
the point is that Katz should have kept his mouth shut
on english only …and not looked like a hypocrit…
but he couldn’t resist and for that he will pay dearly
next week..since this ad is all over the tube…
what a bad move by katz and an even worse calculation
by ball
I keep seeing this commercial on TV along with the other Borkowski one. I heard a rumor that Borkowski did a $70,000 TV buy. Where is he getting the money for this? He doesn’t show it on his financial disclosures!!
Perhaps we should talk about who is fund who’s campaign.
Does Borkowski have a rich uncle?
Katz transfers money to Ball. Ball endorses. Need I say more?
It sounds like Katz is under the Ball Spell. If Katz has a good vet business in Westchester, he probably has some extra dollars to burn and Ball will make good use of that….
Abra ka Dabra….Come with me, give your money to me for free.
borkowski did not make a 70,000 buy..or anything close
to it…your suggestion that he did is to mask the fact
that katz is subsidizing ball and is trying to buy
the election..it won’t work
Ball found another sucker in Katz. He’s already drained Mike Rights, so he’s moved on. Wow! Just look at Katz’s filings.
Ball will drop Katz as soon as the checkbook runs out. Wonder if he would have gotten the Dick Morris endorsement if he hadn’t paid him $5,000 to speak. Maybe Murphy should have given Morris $5,001 and gotten the endorsement.
Katz says he will speak to anyone in any language but I don’t seem him advertising in Chinese or Portugeuse.
Hypocrit plain and simple.
any one who financially benefits from advertising in spanish
has no business calling for english only as the official language…if you believe in english only you should conduct
your own business affairs in english only as well..otherwise
you are either betraying your own beliefs making you a hypocrite or exploiting anti immigration fears making you
a creep
Borkowski was the worst Judge in Putnam County…As the illegals came through his kangaroo court it was known as “Turn Them Loose Jim” ... Not one illegal saw jail time…He’s a phoney… He did nothing and will do nothing except keep Southeast Corrupt…
Borkowski was a partner in the Stephens Law firm…Stephens is the corrupt Southeast Town Attorney…They need Borkowski in Albany to keep the jobs and money within the circle of only their friends…Leibell endorses Borkowski…Connect the dots…
THE Money = Leibell= Borkowski+Murphy+Griffen+Gross+Dougherty+Schmidtt
and we pay and the laugh at it for years…enough is enough
borkowski was a great town prosecutor and town justice
and everyone knows it
And Borkowski almost dethroned a sitting incumbant sheriff
someone must think highly of him..but on tuesday you
will all learn that most voters know Katz is a fraud..
and a tax avoider
IDK, but according to the JN, between both Greg Ball and
Murphy, they have spent $290,000 just in campaign funds.
Can anyone even imagine what they will spend in Albany?
If they could’nt fix all the problems in Somers and in
there own district, then how are they going to fix Albany?
Greg does alot of talking and Murphy does alot of spending.
Has anyone even seen they’re past records on taxes and on
spending?
Last: What have these candidates done for the people over
the past 4 years in office? The answer is very simple, and
that is NOTHING but raise taxes and increase spending.
Saw Borkowski tonight…the man looks evil..I would not trust him…he seems the type to steal from an old lady..looks like a sneaky sales man
dave. your opinion about how someone looks to you is
irrelevant and chidish…if that’s how you make electoral
decisions maybe you should sit this election out…
Dave – sounds like you saw G Ball
THAT’S RIGHT, JEFFREY HAS SAID IT ALL!!! BORKOWSKI WAS A GREAT PROSECUTOR AND A GREAT JUDGE AND HE WAS GREAT AT EVERYTHING ELSE HE DID TOO!! SO THERE!! YOU HEARD IT FROM JEFFREY FIRST, WHO HAS ALWAYS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE COMPLETELY UNCONNECTED TO BORKOWSKI!! BORKOWSKI WAS A GREAT PROSECUTOR (TELL US ONE CASE HE PROSECUTED) AND HE WAS A GREAT JUDGE TOO (TELL US WHAT HE DID THAT WAS SO GREAT). BUT NO NEED!! BORKOWSKI WAS AND STILL IS….GREAT GREAT GREAT!! WHEN JEFFREY TELLS YOU TO SIT IT OUT BECAUSE YOUR STANDARDS ARE NOT UP TO HIS, THEN YOU BEST SIT OUT THE ELECTION. BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST BEEN TOLD THAT BORKOWSKI WAS A GREAT PROSECUTOR, AND A GREAT JUDGE, AND IS RUNNING GREAT ADS TOO!!! THAT’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!!
Jeffrey…you’re obviously connected to the Bork camp in some major way, if not the Bork himself the way you write about him. Just so you’re aware, I’ve heard plenty of people make the same comment, that they took one look at Borkowski and they don’t trust him. Yet you find problems with a person’s instincts because they’re not sitting behind a computer saying BORKOWSKI IS GREAT GREAT GREAT!!!
and i have heard plenty of people say they took one
look at Katz and schieved….but why don’t you answer
one question..why did Katz fail to pay his income
taxes for two years in the 1990’s and force the state
of new york to spend the money to obtain a tax warrant
against him..how responsible is that…maybe you should
stop shilling for Katz and take a good look at the kind
of guy he really is..that makes two character flaws doesnt
it claiming he wants english as the official language while
advertising in spanish in the bronx…and failing to
pay some income taxes to the point of having a tax warrant
issue…as lucy used to say to desi…YOU GOT SOME SPLAININ
TO DO!
i just read through every single one of these posts, and if Jeffrey knows James Borkowski as well as he claims to know him, then he must know that Jim Borkowski is currently under State and federal investigation for having committed PERJURY in Supreme Court one year ago in his desperate bid to defeat Sheriff Don Smith. Borkowski felt he could committ PERJURY so brazenly because several big-boys were on his side helping him to oust our great sheriff, just like several good old boys are currently on his side now. So how could anything possibly go wrong? What Borkowski didn’t realize was that these same big-boys would throw him under the bus and abandon him in his time of need when the truth came out, as they have now done. They are clearly in the mode of protecting themselves, and Borkowski? Well he’s on his own. I’ve been shown the papers and the documents and the affidavits and everything else that’s floating around. I wish I would have seen these documents and known about this 6 weeks ago. Borkowski committed PERJURY in Supreme Court, along with numerous other crimes, like subornation of PERJURY. Borkowski went to court with the INTENTION of committing PERJURY, that much is clear. The excuses he’s going to give are laughable so he better think of just keeping his mouth shut. The point here is that even if he were to pull this one out against Mr. Katz Jim Borkowski will not make it to November. Charges will come long before that. There isn’t going to be any way out of this.
why is it always that right before an election opponents
make claims about what is going to happen to this candidate
or that candidate…do you really think that jim borkowski
committed perjury…and that was done over a year ago
according to you in the last sheriff’s race but yet nothing
has happened in that year at all…but what is documented
and what did happen to dr katz is that a new york state
tax warrant was issued against him for nonpayment of
income taxes back in 1999….what responsible taxpayer
doesn’t solve that problem before a warrant issues even
if you think you don’t owe the tax..who lets it go that
far..whats the matter no respect for the rules on dr
katz part..that’s not exactly what voters are looking
for…and what does the amount of tv bought have to do
with anything…you trying to make the son of someone
an issue…remember my friend…the son is not a public
figure..that means you are not protected and can’t run
your mouth at will.maybe you can on the tribune
but this is not that sight…you must really be quite
a lowlife to attempt to mix a family member into a
political race.maybe one more indication why the ball
katz team is radioactive
No matter what channel I put on I see Borkowski’s mug. He didn’t just buy 8k. Show us the money! After all, Judge, it is the law we’re talking about.
hey that means that the tv buy was effective…someone
is on the ball…and by the way how much do you think it
costs to advertise on cable in a limited area…8k is
a pretty big buy wouldn’t you say but keep watching
clearly it annoys you…and by the by how much money did
Katz spend on mailers one a week for how many months
he mailed and mailed..and what did his polling say…
no one knew him..so much for the mail…and i loved the
spot up here in mahopac about Katz and the pitchfork bailing hey..there is no hey in the bronx..and there
is no hay where he lives…the only hey…is hey dr Katz
why are you running a spot in spanish if you believe that
enlgish should be the official language of new york state
Sorry Jeff, but this information has been available for several months, but the transcripts didn’t become available till recently. We now have it and wish we would’ve had it weeks ago. We now have everything. You have to understand that there are some very powerful forces in Putnam County who have done EVERYTHING they can, EVERYTHING, LEGAL and ILLEGAL, MORAL and IMMORAL, ETHICAL and UNETHICAL, to make sure this story and these facts do not come out. Not so much to protect Borkowski but to protect themselves. They were also involved in this effort to destroy one person and to oust the incumbent, our great Sheriff Don Smith, all to make sure Jim Borkowski won the sheriff race. They had always believed this would never come out, that their dirty little perjury secret was safe, that the facts of Borkowski’s misconduct and other’s misconduct would forever stay buried. People in authority, whose job it is to help and to make sure things like this don’t ever happen, have a personal stake in this, a VERY personal stake. When all told, the story of Jim Borkowski in last year’s sheriff race, his attorney friend that was secretly helping him, and the complicity of others, will tell a story of public corruption, deceit, professional misconduct, obstruction of justice, official misconduct, civil rights violations, filing false instruments, election fraud, perjury, perjury, and even more perjury.
It shows what happens when desperate men do desperate things, with the assistance of corrupt public officials. And Borkowski was DESPERATE. There is no doubt, and there will be no doubt, that when this matter goes full scale, regardless of election time or not, regardless who wins this race, there will be criminal charges waiting on the other end. That is a guarantee. Disbarments will also be in order at the very minimum, of this there are assurances. A man like this shouldn’t be practicing law and have his word blindly trusted by judges after the nonsense he and his secret attorney pulled in Supreme Court. Jim Borkowski (and others) pushed, and pushed, and pushed, and pushed. They pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled. I don’t know what they thought they’d accomplish, but I do know they never, ever believed this story would ever get told, much less investigated. They figured, with the help of a very powerful public official, they could LIE AND DECEIVE their way to getting what they want, no matter how illegal. Then when that failed, and it was realized it was all LIES AND DECEIPT, they then thought they could THREATEN their way to silence and conformance and obedience. That failed also. They never thought Borkowski’s misconduct and schemes (along with OTHERS) would ever see the light of day, much less be investigated. Well, the sun is shining brightly, the criminal investigation is well underway, and criminal charges are on the horizon. After all, this is what these guys wanted, right? Well, now they got exactly what they wanted.
Mike, mike, mike..
Oh Puh-LEASE, it wasnt a $7500 buy.
Everyone knows that the Leibell Senate Committee
sent $10,000 to theDutchess Republican Committee
on 8/23, the same day that Committee sent $10,000 to
the Hastings Group, the same day that Borkowski
sent $7500 to Hastings Group.
You’re not slick evading campaign finance laws,
people notice these things.
The Dutchess County Republican Committee doesn’t do
anything since Nov 09 and then suddenly springs to life
to get money from a Putnam County candidate, and donate the
exact same amount to a Westchester Consulting, in the same day.
Or do you expect us to believe that bought for Trish O’C or Jim Maisano,
because they told me they aren’t using you for GC nor have they done a single ad…
One thing that maybe Vinny didn’t tell you, if he even knew, the
Assembly and Senate passed campaign finance reform this year,
that type of transfer is now prohibited. The Westchester Democratic County Committee
has already taken a couple of candidates to state supreme court
and won fines this year. The old ways are the old ways, must find another, and you should be more careful…
the campaigns that pay consultants have the obligation
to file…that’s there obligation not the consultants
you appearto know lots about who gets what check from
whom..but as long as its filed as a contribution from
another political committee its fine…that is what
the transfers in and out part of the form is for..
why is it that a dutchess county political committee
can’t contribute to the campaign of an assemblyman
running partly in dutchess..what is your reasoning
there..the person receiving the money ie the agency
only knows the one check he is getting ..anything else
is the responsibility of the candidates and their
respective committees…
to the poster who has all the inside information about
whatever it is you are talking about..I will wait to
see what developes..every time there is an election
someone makes an allegation against a candidate that
he has done something wrong in the past ..of course
all of this supposedly took place in court according
to you over a year ago..before the last primary right…
so where has law enforcement been for a year…wouldn;t
they be interested in getting this information before
the public if it is true in order to make sure the
public knows about it in time for a vote…clearly
that hasn’t happened..so when and if it does it does
and if it doesn’t it will be like every other political
rumor that has come down the pike before election about
who is and who is not going to be indicted..frankly
this is a putnam county soap opera which is seriously
compromising the ability of republicans to take back
the senate…
and if everyone knows that leibell transfered whatever
he supposedly transfered then what makes you think there
is anything wrong with it..generally when you want to
break the law you don’t tell the whole world you deliver
the money in a brown paper bag…but when you file it
with the board of elections you are making is transparent
and it would seem incongruous that you would filel an
expenditure knowing that you weren’t allowed to make it..
political committees give money to candidates all the
time..why is this different
clearly you have no answers…you talk about transcripts
being available..you are kidding right..in a legal proceding
they are available within 72 hours from the stenographer..
this is over a year…you wish you had them two weeks ago
thats because you are bluffing..no major newspaper or
media outlet will have anything to do with your last minute
allegations…and in fact they were made by a political
leader in the heat of a contested primary over a year ago
but for some of you personal vendetta is your only way
to energize..try playing some golf…its a lot better on
your soul than trying to paint all who you despise as
criminals..you can’t discuss issues you only harbor
malice…that’s why politics sucks
You can write your personal opinion until the cows come home. And you can avoid talking about criminal misconduct and keep talking about politics. It won’t change the fact that Jim Borkowski is in very serious legal trouble related to last years sheriff race, and he knows it. There’s so many criminal issues, you can basically pick & choose. He claims to be this honest and ethical candidate, with “a duty to act”. This same “duty to act” applies against him as well. Jim Borkowski and his campaign manager had hundreds of fraudulently witnessed REPUBLICAN signatures from last years sheriff race, from the REPUBLICAN LINE, a line that he was awarded and was running on. These fraudulently witnessed signatures, numbering in the hundreds, enabled him to be on the Republican line fraudulently. Then there’s the issue of fraudulent signatures themselves. He’s got somewhere near almost 40 signatures where the signature of the person who supposedly signed his petition clearly DOES NOT MATCH the real signature. Then there’s the PERJURY he committed in Supreme Court. Both in a written motion, and in his own words, words that UNDENIABLY came right out of his own mouth. Jim Borkowski and his secret gutterball attorney, secretly working for and assisting Borkowski, both went to court, both with the intention of committing PERJURY in front of a SUPREME COURT JUDGE. They then went to court and in fact COMMITTED PERJURY several times. CLEAR AND WITHOUT ROOM FOR DENIAL. PERJURY that they planned out well ahead of time.
So say what you will, politically motivated blah blah blah, cry cry cry. If this was politically motivated use your brain….don’t you think Katz would’ve brought it forward long BEFORE yesterday? I have no idea what’s gonna happen Tuesday, but I do know there are going to be criminal charges for these crimes. So Borkowski (and possibly one or two others) needs to prepare himself for that. And losses of law licenses, too. As well there should be. You shouldn’t be allowed to misuse your law license the way these guys did in such a blatant and criminal way. The interesting part of the story is that Borkowski and some others, the ones who had tried to protect him but will now throw him under the bus, they never thought for one minute that this story would come out, that their misconduct would never become public, that what they did would always remain their own little dirty private secret. Borkowski BADLY underestimated the power of the truth. But the big boys protecting Borkowski have been of no use to the good citizens of Putnam County. Instead of living up to their oaths of office, they used coercion and demanded obedience. That didn’t work. Then they resorted to threats, threats, and more threats, threats that were simply laughed at. Borkowski and his boys never thought this day would come, but this day is now upon him. And THEM. But don’t be angry, Jim. With all the criminal misconduct that you and your boys engaged in, I’m sure you’ll agree that there was A DUTY TO ACT.
you are dreaming
Where have I seen long rambling posts before emphasized by ALL CAPS? Could it be a bitter long-lost Sheriff candidate?
Uhhhhhh…..NO. No dreams here kiddo. I don’t think so Jim. You’re not going to slick-lawyer your way out of this one. You have to answer some questions or shut your mouth. But your days of hurting others without recourse have now come to an end just like your perpetual political career. You committed several felony counts of PERJURY in Supreme Court. You LIED under oath, Jim. You committed several counts of SUBORNATION OF PERJURY. You committed election fraud through and through. And the best you can do is to continue to go after this guy?? What don’t you understand you imbecile? The story is now out. YOUR story. Get it? The dirty little secret is no longer a secret. Get it? Answer the questions or shut your mouth. What did you think? This would go away? This is a joke? You must be an idiot, setting up a court appearance based on fraud, then you lie repeatedly under oath. Next thing you’ll claim is your name isn’t Borkowski, it’s the OTHER Borkowski that committed perjury. Sorry Jim…..criminal charges are unavoidable now. And I think you know that. Go crying to your friends, won’t do you a bit of good. They’ve already thrown you under the bus.
Enuff said…
ACORN’s Party Backs Putnam Candidates
After losing GOP primary, Borkowski presses forward on Working Families line
by Michael Brendan Dougherty
The Working Families party is one of the newest and fastest growing “third parties” in New York State. Formed in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions and organizations such as the highly controversial Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the party focused immediately on issues like raising the minimum wage in New York State, often winning small but significant victories.
The party has a growing presence in traditionally Republican Putnam, and with a ballot line secured in New York State until 2011, the party has been able to flex its muscle in Democratic primaries in many parts of the state.
The most prominent Republican on the 2009 Working Families line is Sheriff candidate Jim Borkowski. Many had speculated that after narrowly losing the Republican primary to incumbent Don Smith, Borkowski would shut down his campaign, but for now, he is pressing forward on the Working Families ballot line.
Borkowski has indicated that he will attend two upcoming Sheriff candidate debates, in front of the Concerned Residents of Carmel and Mahopac and the Chamber of Commerce on October 13 and 20 respectively.
“I don’t agree with their association with ACORN.” said Borkowski, “But I accepted the Working Families Party endorsement because they stand up for unions and for its strong environmental positions.”
The Working Families party came into being as the once powerful Liberal Party collapsed in a heap in the late 1990s. “People saw the Liberal Party had been corrupted. It was a patronage machine, and they were leaving it,” said Patrick Welch, chairman of the Westchester and Putnam Working Families Party.
But today the Working Families party has also been beset by allegations of corruption. In March, the New York Post began inquiring into the practices of Data and Field Services, which sells sophisticated voter lists, and, as the Post noted, received “most of its income from the unionfinanced WFP.” The Post noted that in August, Mike McGuire, the party’s treasurer, left his post. That month, the New York Times published an editorial alleging that Data and Field Services, was providing the voter list at under market rates to favored candidates. Such an action would be considered a campaign contribution under federal law. In Brooklyn City Councilman Bill de Blasio received a list for $5,000 that many competing campaigns said would cost $25,000- $40,000 on the open market.
Working Families is also under fire for its deep ties to ACORN, the community organization that has come under fire recently for financial and moral scandals, and that played a role in the founding of the party. Last month, even the U.S. Census Bureau ended its official relationship with ACORN, which had been slated to participate in official data gathering for the decennial head count. Welch says that ACORN remains an affiliate and points out that “The Archdiocese of New York, until last year gave ACORN $1 million for their efforts helping the poor.” The Archdiocese has subsequently stopped giving money to ACORN.
But Welch remains an unapologetic defender of ACORN, “What ACORN did wrong was they registered too many poor people to vote. That is why the Republicans went after them with everything they had. It’s persecution as far as I‘m concerned, because they were helpful in electing President Obama.”
The Working Families party takes its direction from its affiliate members, which include unions throughout the state as well as national unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Welch says that the Green Party is considered “our brothers and sisters” by the WFP, but noted that the WFP is more intensely focused on economic justice issues rather than the environment.
“Many times a conservative working person will vote on a social issue,” Welch said, “but they vote against themselves when it comes to an economic issue, a living wage, the right to strike, the right to good health care.” Welch says that to a conservative he would say, “We respectfully disagree on social issues, but we feel the important issue is economic security and economic justice.”
In recent years, The Working Families Party has agitated successfully for a “living wage” law for home-care workers in Westchester. Home-care workers now receive $13 an hour, or $12 an hour if they also receive medical benefits. Opponents counter that, among other things, high minimum wages force businesses, especially small ones, to hire fewer people or even shed current positions.
The party sometimes runs its own candidates—Patricia Eddington of Long Island represents the WFP in the state assembly—but more often, the party cross-endorses Democrats. Welch points out, though, that the party will occasionally find reason to endorse Republicans. The party endorsed county executive Nick Spano in Westchester at one time, and more recently they endorsed Southeast Judge Jim Borkowski for the office of Putnam Sheriff. Borkowski lost the Republican primary to Sheriff Don Smith, and it is still unknown whether he will appear on the ballot on the Working Families line. Candidates seeking a WFP endorsement must fill out a 45-page questionnaire before appearing before a committee and any member of the party who wishes to be present for an interview.
Asked what he wanted people unfamiliar with the young party to know, Welch said, “We’d like to let working people know, 1 percent of the population controls 60 percent of the wealth. When I’m talking about working people, I’m talking about 99 percent of the population. We don’t have hidden agendas. We want people to look to us as a “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.” We want to assure them that when Republicans get our endorsement, they went through a very strict interview and questionnaire process.”
Featured This Week:
Working Families Party and its Candidates
Putnam Valley
Candidates Forum
WORKING FAmILIES On The Ballot
Sheriff
Jim Borkowski
What Borkowski forgot to mention was that he used the WORKING FAMILIES PARTY endorsement as leverage to try to extort the Undersheriff position from Don Smith. Grand Larceny by Extortion. Borkowski lied numerous times UNDER OATH in front of a judge both in his motions and words out of his own mouth. PERJURY. Borkowski sat back and said nothing while his secret lawyer lied. Suborning PERJURY. Borkowski committed all these crimes and he knows it. He needs to fess up.
‘Nuff said.
abolish all cross endorsements..minor parties have far too
much influence..politicians are forced to take as many
lines as they can because the lines give them between2-5
percent of the vote…the conservative party has totally
ruined the new york state republican party..the westchester
independence party chairman is currently under the employ
of the state senate democrats to the tune of 55,000 a year
these minor parties prevent a discussion of issues by
democrats and republicans and in fact compromise the
two party system that we rely on for stability ..new york
is only on of six states that permit cross endorsements
its time to put an end to it…run whomever you like on
your own ballot line but stop trying engaging in political
extortion because you can deliver a separate line to
any candidate…
I jsut saw that Katz failed to pay income taxes in 1999
that he owed for 2 years..and new york had to issue a
TAX WARRANT…..how does ball support someone like that
I am voting for murphy now…what kind of nonsense is
going on
And I just saw that attorney Jim Borkowski of Southeast, along with secret lawyer also from Southeast, committed perjury in Supreme Court on September 14, 2009, at 4:10 PM. Not only did Borkowski and his secret attorney commit perjury and subornation of perjury, BOTH SERIOUS FELONIES, both these attorneys planned out this PERJURY days in advance. Jim Borkowski, being the slick slippery loser that he is, thought he was smarter than everybody else. He had to be an idiot if he thought something this egregious and blatant would never become public. Probably came from the fact that Borkowski was being assisted by a couple of big boys in Putnam County who were protecting him. I wonder what the judge in this matter thinks of Borkowski now? Now that the judge knows that Borkowski committed perjury and subornation of perjury, and that the entire court appearance itself was based on nothing but fraud and deceipt and lies. A man like Jim Borkowski has no business being a lawyer much less an Assemblyman or anything else. Borkowski is a criminal of the worst kind.
And another tidbit…..do you know what the statement was by one of the folks investigating this whole mess?
Just regarding Borkowski’s Republican petitions, where he and his campaign manager submitted an astounding number of falsely witnessed signatures totalling in the hundreds and hundreds (remember….this was for the Republican line, a line that Borkowski was awarded and a line he was given and was running on, a line that actually meant something). Forget about the perjury for a moment and just concentrate on the falsely witnessed signatures. Do you know what I’m told an investigator said?
“Borkowski’s campaign manager should have been charged with the felony, and Borkowski probably should have been charged with the misdemeanor (as opposed to the felony)”.
And let’s just say they are “very disappointed” in our Putnam County District Attorney (a topic for another day and for someone else’s fight).
Regarding a previous post about Borkowski having the endorsement of the Working Families Party, it is true that Borkowski only had that line to use it as leverage to try to extort a senior position from our Sheriff Don Smith.
After Jim Borkowski accepted the fact that he lost the Sheriff race, that his cock-eyed plan to face Don Smith one-on-one and that his perjury-riddled court appearance did no good, Borkowski had a meeting with top GOP in Putnam. Borkowski, emboldened by all the crimes he committed in the Sheriff race and knowing he had complete immunity from prosecution for anything he did no matter criminal, went to the GOP and told them that he was going to stay in the Sheriff race, RUNNING AS THE WORKING FAMILIES PARTY CANDIDATE, REPEAT: RUNNING AS THE WORKING FAMILIES PARTY CANDIDATE, and he would split the GOP vote with Smith, allowing the ddemocrat to sneak in. Borkowski was asked what he had in mind. Borkowski, ever the team player, said he’d drop out of the race and support Don Smith. In return he wanted to be Undersheriff.
Anyone else in this County would’ve been charged with attempted grand larceny by extortion. This is a true story which Borkowski cannot deny.
The beauty of this story is that it’s completely true. I have completely reviewed the entire investigation of this mess, and several people should be indicted. It’s currently under State and FBI investigation along with a couple of the integrity committees that police lawyers and judges. The State Police come out smelling like decomposed cows.
there is no such investigation pending and no one
will be indicted..you have taken a grievance filed
by a politician and conjured into a federal investigation
you are the only one who thinks he has information when
in fact the only thing you have is inside political baseball
accusations from the camps of greg ball and steven katz
who are desperately concerned they will not win their
respective primaries…its interesting that none of this
has been in the mainstream press.and no law enforcement
agency will say one word about it because its all bull
ANDREW DESTEFANO, A CONVICTED CRIMINAL, IS POSTING ON THESE BLOGS IN AN EFFORT TO SMEAR A GOOD MAN. AND HE’S DOING SO WITH THE CONSENT AND URGING OF GREG BALL AND STEVE KATZ.
BALL ACTUALLY ASKED THE PUTNAM COUNTY D.A. TO ALLOW THIS CONVICTED CRIMINAL DESTEFANO TO WORK IN HIS STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICE IN ORDER TO SERVE OUT HIS COMMUNITY SERVICE.
THE D.A.’S OFFICE SAID ‘NO’ AND SO DID THE JUDGE. CONVICTED CRIMINAL DESTEFANO NOW VOLUNTEERS FOR BALL’S CAMPAIGN ALONG WITH DRUNK DRIVER MICHAEL RIGHTS AND ALLEGED MT. VERNON PUBLIC PROPERTY THIEF JOEY CAPASSO.
NICE CREW.
I don’t think Andy is smart enough to use a legal term like subornation, nor would he sycpophantically refer to the Sheriff as “Our Sheriff” since they intenseley dislike eachother. That leaves one person, Judge Wannabe.
there is a cabal in putnam of politicians who have
been defrocked as frauds and worse..they are desperate
to make it apppear that jim borkowksi is some how tainted
which is he not..this is nothing more than vendetta
politics and on tuesday night it will come to an end
Jim Borkowski couldn’t be MORE tainted. Who’s kidding who here? The story’s out there. The facts are out there. It’s all over the place let me tell you, spreading like it should. The truth spreads a heck of a lot faster than lies. I just thought you’d like to know because I’m sure you’re wondering to yourself who knows about this perjury and signature mess. And it’s spreading because it’s true, and there’s no defense for the truth. Borkowski should’ve quit a long time ago maligning people, and maybe this whole thing would’ve gone away. But it’s just not in Jim’s character, is it. He doesn’t know when to quit. It’s not a good day for Jim if he doesn’t get to criticize someone, or hurt someone, or attack someone’s family, or make sure someone’s reputation is maligned. A very hurtful, hateful person. Borkowski’s whole persona is HATRED. These elections, and the way he’s conducted himself in these elections, clearly proves that. At this point, forget about the election. Jim’s biggest worry should be criminal charges.
Keep blaming Andy Destefano for all your troubles, Jim. That’s your second mistake. Your ignorance. “CONVICTED CRIMINAL, DAMMIT!!!”, says Jim Borkowski! That’s ‘ol Jimmy for ‘ya, screaming his head off, slamming down on the keyboard in all caps. Jim, how many keyboards do you go through in a week? “CONVICTED CRIMINAL DAMMITT!!” says Jim. You should know, Jim! Right? Is it true that you and “his” attorney were working together, conniving together, scheming together, lying together, committing perjury together? Suborning perjury together? Committing election fraud together? I guess that would make him YOUR attorney wouldn’t it? What? You forgot to tell your supporters about that?
“There is no such investigation on Jim Borkowski”, says Jim Borkowski.
You’re right, Jim, there’s no such investigation…..by Putnam authorities. You forgot to mention the State and the FBI.
Jeff: I just read your last declaration ”...and Tuesday night it will come to an end”. You think this ends Tuesday? You think this has ANYTHING to do with “Tuesday”? You think if Jim can make it to “Tuesday”, he’ll be in the clear? Keep dreaming, kid. This story and these facts have nothing to do with “Tuesday”, and come Wednesday morning, win or lose, Jim Borkowski will still be in serious legal trouble. No matter how many names he calls, he still committed perjury.
Andrew, you should be spending time with your family instead of blogging anonymously.
Jim Borkowski is a soon-to-be convicted criminal, a liar, a perjurer, and a degenerate who desperately seeks the power of any available political office.
Jim, call me Andrew, call me convicted criminal, call me what you will. If I was Andrew you could bet sure as spit I’d have hit the airwaves with this months ago had I known about it. Why he didn’t we’ll never know. But then again, Andrew RELOCATED TO NEW YORK COUNTY. Isn’t that correct Jim Borkowski? Isn’t that what you stated under oath? Isn’t that why you and YOUR secret attorney arranged a fraudulent court appearance on September 14, 2009? Isn’t that what YOUR secret attorney claimed under oath? Were you that lacking in confidence that you had to COMMIT PERJURY in supreme Court? You had to get another lawyer to COMMIT PERJURY in supreme court? You had to suborn perjury? You had to commit election fraud to achieve your desperate goals of being somebody important in life?
Now, why don’t you start answering some questions? Did you conspire with YOUR secret attorney, who was pretending to represent ANDREW DESTAFANO, to get ANDREW DESTEFANO to commit certain acts that were not legal, all under threats from some big boys in Putnam County? Care to give your version of events? Do you and YOUR secret lawyer care to give a JOINT RESPONSE, just like you and YOUR secret lawyer did in a recent Courier article? Oh did you think that would stay a secret too Jim? How romantic, you and YOUR lawyer.
Jim Borkowski needs to explain why he committed perjury in Supreme Court on September 14, 2009, with HIS lawyer present. He needs to explain exactly what happened (but one word of advice….stay away from the excuse you tried to give to the judge because not one person in the 99th AD believes it, and we’ve shown hundreds of people).
Mr. Borkowski has proven the old adage that attorney that represents himself has a fool for a client. Borkowski represented himself when he committed felony perjury.
That dog wont hunt..you are suggesting that you have knowledge that a secret attorney did something.no such
thing..all court appearances are on the record..and as
far a a federal investigation is concerned..there is no
jurisdiction for that..the feds do not get involved in
state election issues period..its the job of the DA…
notice how jim borkowski adamantly refuses to discuss his behavior and his conduct. The topic is Jim Borkowski going to court and committing perjury, and he still hasn’t discussed it.
“Just the facts” is only half right….I asked the same questions, when the perjury and subornation of perjury and election fraud involve subverting a political election, and civil rights are possibly violated in the process, and officials with a sworn duty to act intentionally fail to act, such as in the deep south in the 1960’s, then the FBI will step in, as they’ve done in this case. Especially when they’re already conducting a political corruption investigation in your county. It’s all part of the press release which I’m sure you’ve read. Don’t you think we vetted this this stuff till blue in the face?
You are not even close…there is no possible way this
is a civil rights violation..if you maintain that perjury
was committed then its a local criminal matter period..
this is not the deep south…no one is precluding anyone
from voting…this is not political corruption this
is an intraparty squabble..the FBI is not interested
the AG is not interested..the allegations are being made
in the context of a poltical fight…now you can say
whatever you want and you are entitled to your own opinion
but you are not entitled to your own facts
There is indeed an attorney general and FBI investigation steamrolling through Putnam County right now. You’ll be hearing about it soon.
you need to stop making insinuations about who the
targets of these investigations are not fair to those
who are not involved..try holding your powder until
such time as charges are announced if that time ever comes