What does this mean? Well, he’s been getting kicked a lot for the attempt at giving himself a raise in a year he’s proposing a 7.9 percent property tax increase to support his $667.8 million budget plan. His pay hike pitch was rather fair game, and Civil Service Employees Association took the ball and ran with it. The union is without a contract, and if a double-digit pay raise request by the county exec isn’t a bargaining chip, then what is? True, the county exec’s raises haven’t kept apace with other county employees, but whose fault is that? A little bit every so often so vs. one big leap would certainly seem more palatable. What would have been reasonable? Might have the 2 percent that was first offered to the CSEA as an “interim” raise while contracts were negotiated been a more acceptable starting request for the county executive, county attorney, et al?

This quote from Vanderhoef’s press release sent this morning contains a hint as to what’s going to happen with that 2 percent once offered to CSEA: “We cannot ask our taxpayers to bear this burden. The conditions in which our County finds itself require sacrifices on behalf of everyone. Today, we make that sacrifice by rescinding our requests for a salary increase, and hope to lead by example in encouraging our fellow public servants to do the same.â€? (Bold added by me for emphasis).

This morning, I was reading the news article on MRSA panic as my son was leaving for school. It’s his first day of practice for wrestling. So, I asked when he would be done, trying to figure out the logistics of the day, and asked about his after-school plans. He then said that the coach had told the team members to shower and change (and throw the dirty clothes in the wash) when the kids get home from practice. There are a lot of skin diseases out there, he says. I’ve seen what the article states: schools are reacting to the concerns about MRSA with stepped-up hygiene awareness.

I want to sincerely say, thanks, Coach.

I’ve been swept up in the wonderful blog, Return to Vietnam, posted by TJN staff writer Nicole Neroulias, who accompanied her dad, a retired Army Col. Andonios Neroulias, and a contingent from Rockland County’s Vietnam Veterans of America and Rotary Club members on a three-week tour of Vietnam.

The trip was sponsored by the Spring Valley Rotary Club.

The stories that Nicole has written have been interesting and moving. But, reading her blog, I’ve just been fascinated by her story, and/or her observations of her dad’s story, as she shares his return, and watches the experiences unfold. No doubt this was a great opportunity for her to stand with him in what was certainly a major life experience. She goes above all expectations in her storytelling, as she watches her dad’s reactions, and weaves her own thoughts, his memories and news-style commentary. Her work, especially with a subject so close, is absolutely outstanding. I hope all Rocklanders, and all LoHudders, view her blog.

After doing a little research on organ donation, and reading this article, about a living donor liver transplant, I started doing a little personal research. How? I opened my wallet and filled out the back of driver’s license to become an organ and tissue donor. It was fast and easy (though kind of hard to find a pen that would adhere to the lamination substance.) I needed two witnesses, so staff writer Randi Weiner and assistant metro editor Robert Brum cheerfully obliged—after all, you need a happy light demeanor to counterbalance certain topics.

Find out more at the New York Organ Donor Network.

Last night’s Rockland Business Association dinner at the Pearl River Hilton was a great opportunity to network, chat and even gossip a little. What about? Politics, of course, specifically the results from this month’s local elections. Interesting stuff.

Someone asked me how we did (meaning the Editorial Board) as far as how many of our endorsed candidates ended up winning. Believe it or not, we do tally this, though I’m not sure what it means. Does it mean we know the community if we endorse candidates that win? Not really. The endorsement selection shouldn’t (and doesn’t) take into account who we believe will win, but rather who we believe should win.

For the record, we were 20 to 13 — 20 of the endorsements went on to win election and 13 didn’t. You decide if that’s relevant. I don’t think it is, but it’s still kind of interesting.

I’ve received a few “letters to the editor” from politicians who want to “thank the voters” after Tuesday’s election.

While the Rockland Editorial Page publishes “thank you” letters on Saturdays (a holdover we quite like here), we are very circumspect about publishing politicians’ letters in general. The guidelines pretty much limit elected officials to responding to direct criticisms. We figure they have more access to the news pages than regular citizens, so on the Editorial Page, we save the ink for others. These, of course, are guidelines, not rules, because there’s always an exception.

So, to all those who were victorious Tuesday and are unhappy that I’ve sent back your “thank you” letter with a “thanks but no thanks,” here’s an idea on how to thank the voters:
Follow through on campaign pledges. Think about constituents’ interests and needs when making decisions. Work hard for the residents you represent. That’s a much better thank-you than a letter.

Wow. Interesting Election Night. From what we can see so far:
New District Attorney, new Haverstraw village mayor, new Orangetown town board members* and Joe Meyers finally gets his District 12 Legislature seat. There will be a few new faces on the Legislature, including Frank Sparaco and Michael Diederich* and, to hardly anyone’s surprise, Alden Wolfe is back.

• Note that the results are all unofficial and there could be recounts, etc.
  Want to see the numbers? Go the the county Board of Elections Web site.

This is my own little election wrap:

• Where do these candidates buy their election material? Exaggerations R Us? I cannot even begin to outline the misrepresentations, misinterpretations, overstatements, ignored facts and personal attacks I’ve seen coming from different candidates for different offices. Really, it’s disappointing. And, I doubt that such smears will be very effective. I wouldn’t be surprised that for every voter who believes a manipulated quote or a re-cast of a news report, there’s another who is disgusted by the shenanigans and votes the other way. So, it’s a wash.


• OK, we can’t publish every single letter we get. Believe me, I try to get as many in, and online. Sorry, sorry, sorry to all those who didn’t get letters in. For next time, I offer these tips: Send election-related material early. Don’t wait until late Friday before elections, or, the day before. Stuff is booked. Space is taken. Make sure your letter fits the rules: send your contact info, keep the letter to 250 words, avoid language that adds little to the conversation, like “moron,â€? etc. My rule of thumb: If you’d get in trouble saying it a middle school, don’t say it in the paper. And also, don’t forget that you can write letters after-the-fact, to encourage a candidate who was elected to pay attention to an issue, to urge a candidate who lost to continue working on an issue.


• Here’s the gist of a great letter I received today (so it won’t run until after the election) from a mom of three young children. She had taken the kids out to a doughnut (spelled donut) shop for a snack. A campaign worker for a local candidate saw her struggling to grab tiny hands and hold little babies as she got out of the car. The woman helped her balance her stuff as she talked about her candidate. On the way out, a candidate (for another race) was standing on the other side of the glass door, as she emerged juggling the aforementioned little ones, plus all their leftovers. No help with the door; no help to the car. But, of course, there was the “vote for meâ€? statement. Ha! Guess who got her vote!


• Oh, and one more thing. There was a comment somewhere by a supporter of a hotly contested race about the “effeminizationâ€? of politics. Double Ha! Like that’s a bad thing? See above.