Thursday, February 13, 2014
Bloomingburg mayor, newcomer in running
Mayor Mark Berentsen, the target of legal action to remove him from office for alleged conflict of interest over approvals of the 396-home Hasidic development, is running for re-election. His opponent will be political newcomer Frank Gerardi, a seven-year Bloomingburg resident and retired school grounds worker in Long Island.
Gerardi is running as a candidate of the Rural Heritage Party, which counts new Mamakating Supervisor Bill Herrmann as a member. In an example of the tangled, contentious politics of this small slice of eastern Sullivan County, Herrmann just defeated another controversial politician, Harold Baird, who's running with Berentsen for Village Trustee on the Bloomingburg Strong line. The other trustee candidate is incumbent Charlie Griswold.
Gerardi is running with trustee candidates Katherine Roemer and James Johnson.
Tuesday was the deadline to file papers for the March 18 village elections.
Tuesday was the deadline to file papers for the March 18 village elections.
Berentsen did not return calls for comment. But opponents of the development — who back Gerardi — in December filed papers in state Supreme Court accusing Berentsen of violating municipal law by signing off on an agreement that would specifically give land he bought from developer Shalom Lamm access to the sewer and water system being built by Lamm. The system would serve the 396-home development and the village.
Berentsen has said, "I strongly disagree with the allegations. My focus has been and will continue to be for the residents of the Village of Bloomingburg."
That development — and its approvals — are sure to be an issue in the election. It's almost certain that it will draw more than the 24 voters in the last election, when Berentsen ran unopposed.
Berentsen has also come under fire for what development opponents say are violations of the spirit, if not letter, of the Open Meetings Law. Bloomingburg has only held one regularly scheduled Village Board meeting since August. Thursday night's meeting has already been canceled.
Gerardi says he's "100 percent against the way the development was approved."
"We want the village to stay rural and the people want change," he said.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140213/NEWS/402130325/-1/NEWS
Gerardi is running as a candidate of the Rural Heritage Party, which counts new Mamakating Supervisor Bill Herrmann as a member. In an example of the tangled, contentious politics of this small slice of eastern Sullivan County, Herrmann just defeated another controversial politician, Harold Baird, who's running with Berentsen for Village Trustee on the Bloomingburg Strong line. The other trustee candidate is incumbent Charlie Griswold.
Gerardi is running with trustee candidates Katherine Roemer and James Johnson.
Tuesday was the deadline to file papers for the March 18 village elections.
Tuesday was the deadline to file papers for the March 18 village elections.
Berentsen did not return calls for comment. But opponents of the development — who back Gerardi — in December filed papers in state Supreme Court accusing Berentsen of violating municipal law by signing off on an agreement that would specifically give land he bought from developer Shalom Lamm access to the sewer and water system being built by Lamm. The system would serve the 396-home development and the village.
Berentsen has said, "I strongly disagree with the allegations. My focus has been and will continue to be for the residents of the Village of Bloomingburg."
That development — and its approvals — are sure to be an issue in the election. It's almost certain that it will draw more than the 24 voters in the last election, when Berentsen ran unopposed.
Berentsen has also come under fire for what development opponents say are violations of the spirit, if not letter, of the Open Meetings Law. Bloomingburg has only held one regularly scheduled Village Board meeting since August. Thursday night's meeting has already been canceled.
Gerardi says he's "100 percent against the way the development was approved."
"We want the village to stay rural and the people want change," he said.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140213/NEWS/402130325/-1/NEWS
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