Seasonal Voters Should Vote in the Place They Love??? - A Little Reality

The Cape Vincent JLL blog administered by Rick Wiley is once again pounding on seasonal residents registering to vote locally rather than at their other residences.

http://jeffersonleaningleft.blogspot.com/

I have no problem with this basic message.  I am legally registered to vote in Jefferson County, NY although my other residence is in AZ.

However, as he does many times, Mr. Wiley makes some big leaps of logic hoping his readers will follow. 

So here is a little voting reality.

Just because you vote locally and may possibly elect a town board majority sensitive to your seasonal concerns, including the big issue of  industrial wind siting, it does not guarantee it will kill wind energy development in your town.

The siting of large scale wind energy is in the hands of NYS through the Art. 10 siting process.  It is NO LONGER in the hands of local town boards.  Mr. Wiley would like you to believe that if your board is against wind development and engages in the Art. 10 process, and you submit input to the Art. 10 process this will be taken into account by the Art. 10 board and you will likely defeat any local wind energy proposal.

There is no actual fact to support that.

Fact is that Art. 10 was developed to fast track wind development since local board got savy to industrial wind and where throwing up local zoning roadblocks that inhibited the State agenda to site wind energy.

Politically, Art. 10 would not even exist if developers thought it would be a significant roadblock to their development proposals such as Wiley is trying to make you believe. Has Wiley forgotten the power of industry lobbyists and bought off legislators?

Wiley is trying to make a direct connection between your vote and defeating wind development, which may not in fact be the case, because of the "middle man" which is Art 10 siting board that has the power to actually preempt your wind energy zoning.

Art. 10  stands between your vote for local candidates who may be anti wind and against siting wind development in your community.

Wiley even states that no wind farm has been sited where a board was against it and that includes state siting...Really???  Well I would like him to provide the details on that statement about state siting, but I'm sure he won't. If that is true there may have been other factors involved.

Of course you notice he lists all the wind farms that are currently proposed around NYS.  That would be after a year or so ago informing us with confidence and his usual leap of logic that "wind was dead"   I guess he has suddenly had a change of heart????

Mr. Wiley also likes to foster the impression that the Art. 10 worked in CV against BP because we had a  board voted in by seasonal voters and was "opposed to wind."  Fact is that is not reality. First, the board was not actually anti wind and then we got real lucky and  BP simply abandon their Art. 10 process and their CV project for primarily economic reasons.

We have no clue how the process would have played out and if Art. 10 would have preempted our zoning laws for BP's project. 

And the fact is BP made a complete travesty of the Art. 10 process because they knew they could get away with it.  The town board complained repeatedly with no real relief from the NYPSC.

In addition I think there is a high probability the person who writes the letter on Wiley's blog and has a voter check list for you is not qualified to vote in CV and may not live their.

By all means, if you meet the legal requirements, register to voter locally, but do it with your eyes open since the Art. 10 process that removed our home rule rights, and Wiley supports, is a much bigger problem.

If you are lucky enough to elect a town board friendly to seasonal voter concerns and opposed to wind energy, then use your voting power to get them to fully oppose Art. 10, not appease that process by writing wind laws that invite wind developers to target your town.

Wiley needs to be more honest about the realities of seasonal voting, and not support the Art. 10 process that has the power to negate your voting power by preempting local home rule powers.

Wiley is trying to have it both ways.  He wants you to register and vote locally, but supports the insidious Art. 10 process that makes your vote irrelevant when it come to one of the biggest zoning issues ever facing our communities.

And lastly, let's look at one actually fact about seasonal voting that Wiley won't touch with a ten foot pole!!!  A lot of seasonal voters voted in CV to put Wiley's favorite  Republican .Hirschey govt in power.  Then recently Hirschey appointed THE MOST controversial pro wind person as deputy supervisor, Marty Mason.  Then in a stunning reversal a few weeks later he drops Mason and appoints Councilman Byrne as deputy.

And Hirschey had previously appointed Dick Macsherry who wasn't even elected by the CV voters.  Who in fact was rejected by CV voters in the 2009 CV elections when he ran cozy with pro wind candidates!!!

Not sure this recent move with Mason  was in the best interest of the community already left with raw scabs from the past CV wind battle!!!

Too bad Wiley refuses to take comments on his blog.  You might want to ask how these bone head moves encourage seasonal residents to vote locally!!!