If you are a DEMOCRAT or UNAFFILIATED/INDEPENDENT voter in NY STATE SENATE DISTRICT 42(in Ulster County, that’s Rosendale, New Paltz, Gardiner, Shawangunk, Wawarsing, and Denning), please vote for Jen Metzger for State Senate!
ATTN: NEW PALTZ, PLATTEKILL & WAWARSING voters: Your polling site may have changed!
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Know Your Rights!
In New York State, it is illegal to ask for an ID at the polls!
The only exception is if you are voting at your polling location for the first time and the Board of Elections was previously unable to verify your identity with the DMV or Social Security Office. This typically only happens if you did not provide a drivers license or social security number when you registered to vote. If this happened, you should have received notice from the Board of Elections prior to election day. You can verify your identity with any of the following: a valid photo ID, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or some other form of government document that shows both your name and address.
If you experience any issues voting today, or feel you are being discriminated against at the polls, please call the Attorney General’s voter hotline at 800-771-7755 or the Nixon campaign hotline at 646-688-4124. You can also email the AG at civil.rights@ag.ny.gov. Locally you can contact the Ulster Board of Elections at 845-334-5470. Please also notify Ulster People if your problem is not resolved by emailing connect@ulsterpeople.org.
Did you know that independent voters not registered in a political party can vote for Jen Metzger in the primary?
If you are an unaffiliated, independent voter in State Senate District 42*, who does not belong to any political party, you can also VOTE for Jen on September 13th!
Independent voters can write in “Jen Metzger” on the line on the Reform party ballot. More details here.
* In Ulster County, District 42 includes the towns of Rosendale, New Paltz, Gardiner, Shawangunk, Wawarsing, and Denning.
Ulster People is proud to endorse the following candidates for State and County office, who, if elected, will shift the balance of power and make real change possible:
A thriving and inclusive local economy that supports ALL our residents.
Protection of the rights and well-being of the most vulnerable among us.
A healthy, sustainable environment for now and generations to come.
In competitive primary races, Ulster People is endorsing the following candidates:
In the CD-19 race, Ulster People is inspired by the number of candidates who embrace the people-friendly policies of our platform. Given the many strengths of the candidates and our shared commitment to defeating John Faso in the general election, we have decided not to endorse any individual candidate at this time. We look forward to working hard after the primary for a candidate who shares our values. In the meantime, we will focus our efforts on supporting our endorsed candidates at the county and state levels.
About Our Endorsement Process
Any candidate who wished to seek the group’s endorsement, regardless of party, was asked to complete a questionnaire which was reviewed by Ulster People’s endorsement committee. If the responses showed a strong alignment between the candidate’s views and actions and Ulster People’s platform, candidates were invited to interview with the endorsement committee, after which, the committee voted to recommend endorsement (or not). The voting members of Ulster People made the final endorsement decisions.
So now that we’ve endorsed them, let’s help get them elected!
You may also volunteer or donate to the candidates directly through their websites (linked above).
We also encourage you to like each candidate’s Facebook page (also linked above) and like, comment, and share their posts!
Make calls, knock on doors,
drive canvassers, deliver snacks…
Here’s how to plug in to the GOTV operations of UP-endorsed candidates with contested races.
Join a candidate’s GOTV efforts
Laura Hartmann: District 4 — Town of Ulster & Town of Kingston
Like so many others, Laura was inspired to get active post- November 2016, learning the political landscape from the ground up and bringing authenticity and passion to the rebuilding of our democracy.
TO VOLUNTEER FOR LAURA, contact Mike Kelly at 518-929-3546 orby email.
Jennifer Schwartz-Berky: District 7 — City of Kingston, incumbent
As a legislator, Jennifer has worked for job-creation, affordable medical care, and social and racial equity. She is deeply committed to her constituents, who include residents of public housing, the elderly, and immigrants.
TO VOLUNTEER FOR JENNIFER,send her an email and put “GOTV” in the subject line.
Glenn Geher: District 12 – Town of Plattekill
A professor at SUNY-New Paltz and founding member of Move Forward New York, Glenn will work for family friendly solutions to immigration issues and sustainable economic development in Plattekill and all of Ulster County.
Andrew Zink: District 14 – Town of Shawangunk & Town of Wawarsing
Andrew represents the new generation of emerging political activists. He combines a commitment to economic development in southern Ulster County with a passion to protect the health and beauty of our mountainous region. He is also the only candidate in Ulster County to be endorsed by Our Revolution.
TO VOLUNTEER FOR ANDREW, contact his canvassing team byemail.
Julius Collins: District 15 – Town of Wawarsing & City of Ellenville
Julius serves as a pastor in Ellenville, runs a soup kitchen, chairs the board of the local hospital, and has long been an effective advocate for the most marginalized and vulnerable in his community. Although Julius’ has an opponent, his numbers are looking great after his decisive win in the primary. In the last few weeks he’s been out there helping Andrew Zink, running in the nearby district. UP volunteers can do the same!
Doug Adams: District 18 – Town of Hurley & Town of Marbletown
As a member of the Marbletown Town Board since 2009 and a strong advocate for the environment, Doug was a leader in banning hydraulic fracking in Marbletown.
Kathy Nolan: District 22 – Towns of Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive & Shandaken
Kathy is a physician, public health activist, and staunch advocate for grassroots citizens. As a strong and articulate environmentalist, she was a leader in the Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline.
People are waking up to national politics — how about local?
Every month, our 23 Ulster County legislators make decisions that matter: about justice, our environment, our economy, and how we treat the most vulnerable among us.
This November, all 23 legislative seats are up for election. This is our moment to make real change at the local level. Now is the time to learn about your legislator, research their voting record, and make sure they represent your values. If you feel your legislator doesn’t represent you, perhaps you would consider running yourself – or maybe you know of a friend or neighbor who would make a great candidate?
A Quick Look at the Job of an Ulster County Legislator
Every two years, on odd-numbered years, we elect 23 “legislators” to serve as our representatives in the Ulster County Legislature— the legislative, appropriating and policy-determining body of our county. Our legislators make a lot of decisions that impact our daily lives— maybe it’s a job for YOU!
Who can be a county legislator?
Any registered voter can run for the office of county legislator, as long as she or he lives in the district they seek to represent and don’t hold any other elective public office.
What does a county legislator do, in a nutshell?
Enacts, amends, or rescinds local laws and resolutions.
Sets our county government’s administrative policies.
Approves the county budget and authorizes spending of our county tax dollars.
Decides the compensation and benefits of county employees.
Approves county contracts.
Responds to constituent concerns.
What does the job look like, day-to-day?
Legislators attend a LOT of meetings. In addition to the monthly legislative session, they typically serve on at least two standing committees, some advisory committees, and they caucus with fellow legislators in advance of regular sessions.
Legislators read and study documents. Many documents. Hundreds of documents.
Legislators debate and discuss things with allies, opponents, and everyone in between.
Legislators spend time out in public, hearing from constituents, talking to the press, joining in community activities.
What’s the pay and what are the hours?
Legislators make $14,000 per year plus the option of health insurance coverage. They also have the opportunity to build up savings through contributing to the NYS retirement system. Legislators work mostly on weekdays and weeknights (and occasionally weekends) and the number of hours worked each week varies widely from legislator to legislator for a variety of reasons.
How do you get the job?
You CAMPAIGN for it, and that’s practically another job in itself—the job of candidate. Successful candidates, in addition to having the skills to be a legislator: (1) have the time and enthusiasm to knock on doors and make phone calls just about every day; (2) have a good personal network and are able to put together a team to help reach out to voters; (3) have a clear message about who they are and why they are running; (4) can secure endorsements of political parties and organizations, and (5) can raise enough money to win (an estimated average of $10,000 for a county legislator race).
Ulster People for Justice & Democracy is platform-based political organization, unaffiliated with any party, that evolved out of the grassroots group Ulster County Volunteers for Bernie (aka Ulster4Bernie).
As Ulster4Bernie, we coordinated the petitioning effort in CD-19 to get Senator Bernie Sanders on the NYS Primary ballot and secured more signatures than any other Congressional District in New York (February, 2016) and sent two delegates for Bernie to the 2016 Democratic National Convention (July, 2016). We then elected one of those delegates to represent the 103rd Assembly District on the New York State Democratic Committee (September, 2016).
Now as Ulster People for Justice & Democracy, we aspire to bring the energy, enthusiasm and practical experience honed on the Bernie campaign to answer Bernie’s call to “start engaging at the local and state level in an unprecedented way.”
Our Endorsement Process
Local candidates for public office seeking to receive the endorsement of Ulster People should fill out our Local Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire. Our screening committee will contact you following receipt of the questionnaire. The committee will make a recommendation based on platform support and viability as a candidate. Final endorsement decisions are determined by a vote of our voting membership.