Thursday, December 27, 2012

Darrel Aubertine shares his thoughts...


 June 2009,then Senator Darrel Aubertine ~ refuses to stand  for the Pledge of Allegiance  


   In 2006,  Darrel Aubertine wrote letter to the Cape Vincent town board saying that since he'd missed a recent public hearing, he wanted to share his thoughts on whether two wind conflicted members of the board  need to abstain from voting on the location of wind turbines in Cape Vincent. Aubertine went on to say it was his belief that the board members in question should not abstain because "as elected representatives, we are responsible to make decisions for the benefit of our constituents and community."
  
 The vote in question would have a direct affect on the number of turbines allowed in Acciona’s proposed turbine array plan. Additionally, when Aubertine wrote this letter he had at least 2 wind contracts with Acciona .  


THE LETTER...

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

At the time there were three with leases. Wood, Mason, Mason.

Anonymous said...

"...as elected representatives, we are responsible to make decisions for the benefit of our constituents and community."

Good advice for the current town council in their defense of our town in its Article 10 fight with the State and BP. Nice to know Darrell is behind them all the way.

Anonymous said...

"At the time there were three with leases. Wood, Mason, Mason."

Not so. The second Mason arrived Jan. 1, 2007, six months after Aubertine's letter. There were only two town council members with contracts in 2006.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for clearing that up.

Thank you for writing the history of CV wind conflict.

Anonymous said...

Ask yourself....

Would a man who turns his back on his flag also turn his back on his community?

Anonymous said...

Anon. 7:30 You're right about the town council, but don't forget all the conflicts on the planning board and zoning board of appeals, at the time.

a truly dark period in Cape Vincent's history.

Anonymous said...

Amazing that Aubertine didn't get trounced for this reason alone. Shows you how much people are concerned with conflicts of interest. Geez. Good bye.

Anonymous said...

My apologies to Mr. Renzi. I trusted Darrel at the time: This from Junkie.

Renzi: Aubertine Mum on New Secret Wind Deal Even as A.G. Calls for More Transparency
Documents raise new questions of how "forthright" Aubertine
has been on wind conflicts

WATERTOWN, N.Y., Oct. 31 — One day after State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced strict new ethics rules to ensure honesty and transparency in elected officials' wind power deals, new documents are raising troubling questions about how "forthright" Darrel Aubertine has been on his own secret wind power conflicts.

Aubertine recently filed documents with the Jefferson County Clerk that reveal the existence of a new lease to build wind turbines on three parcels he owns in Cape Vincent. The documents omit any other information about the leases, such as the number and value of wind turbines to be built.

The documents, filed on Sept. 22, differ from a 2005 County Clerk filing that lists different locations for the wind turbines, adding to the confusion and conflicting accounts of exactly how much Aubertine stands to gain from the development of a wind farm in Cape Vincent.

"There is so much conflicting information about how much Darrel Aubertine's wind contracts could be worth, how many turbines he could host on his land, and what role he has played in getting wind companies to build on his land, that voters have real doubts about which story to believe," said John Morgia, campaign manager for Dave Renzi for Senate.

At different times, Aubertine has said he could have as many as 10, or as few as one, turbine built on his land, and that his contracts could be worth $100,000, or as little as $5,000 a year. In August, developers released maps showing four turbines on land owned by Aubertine. The new documents filed with the County Clerk show three parcels that are affected.

"Ten, four, one, three; $100,000 or $5000 – Darrel Aubertine can clear up all this confusion by answering some simple questions, and releasing the details of his secret deals with the wind companies, but he has repeatedly refused to do so," Morgia said.

Aubertine has been at the center of a swirling controversy over his wind contracts since it was revealed that he wrote a letter to the local Town Board in an effort to persuade them to support the wind project, even as he could gain financially from their actions.

Aubertine's position flew in the face of Jefferson County Ethics Board opinions that warned local officials to avoid involvement in wind issues where they have an active financial interest.

On Thursday, Attorney General Cuomo issued a new "Code of Ethics" for wind companies requiring more transparency, and requiring public disclosure of wind contracts involving public officials.

Cuomo's Code also prohibits gifts from wind companies, and bars hiring relatives of public officials. Cuomo said he expects every wind company in the state to eventually comply with the new Ethics Code and publicly release the information.

In a news story today, Aubertine said he supports the Attorney General's new Ethics Code, but still he has refused to disclose details of his contracts and, recently, even retracted his own earlier statements about their value.

"Darrel Aubertine says 'trust me,' but his story keeps changing. We expected different from Darrel Aubertine, but it's increasingly clear that Albany has changed Darrel," said Morgia.

A copy of Aubertine's newly revealed wind documents is attached.

Anonymous said...

Was Aubertine family on the ZBA at the time?

Anonymous said...

anon.11:31 Aubertine family on ZBA? Yes. brother in law John Wiley

Anonymous said...

I think John Wiley married the sister that Darrel Aubertine hired in direct violation of ethics. Last Nov. Darrel and his wife tried to get their son on the TB.

Anonymous said...

Aubertines son who lost the election to Ms. Oswald has not attended one town meeting since. The voters made the right choice.

Anonymous said...

I'm as antiwind as they come, but I would bet my neighbors windmill lease that's not Darrell.

Anonymous said...

I'm as antiwind as they come, but I would bet my neighbors windmill lease that's not Darrell.

Huh?

Anonymous said...

8:46 I want to make a comment but I am not sure if BullShit is one word or two.

Anonymous said...

The guy circled in the picture doesn't look like darrel aubertine. Maybe it's the way the shot was taken, but I have had three different people look at this pic. None of us think it's him.

Just saying... he can be blamed for a lot over the conflicts of interest with the windmill projects, but that's not him.

Anonymous said...

Alrighty then..the pic without the circle looks like Darrel. I stand corrected.