Scott G. Aubertine Website : Home
GOING BACK ON MY WORD.......OR AM I ?
Ever since posting my article about “We the people”, I have not had a good nights sleep. There is no doubt that the results of a referendum vote of “We the people” should, and hopefully always will be, binding.
A survey, like the one we did for the wind issue, offered more than a referendum vote in that we allowed not only registered voters, but taxpayers to participate as well. The survey results were very clear. Four hundred thirty seven (437) respondents from Chaumont, Three Mile Bay and the surrounding agricultural areas were in favor of wind development. One thousand one hundred fifty two (1,152) from Pt. Salubrious, Three Mile Point and Pt. Peninsula were against wind development. One thing is apparent from this survey. Mostly “seasonal” residents responded one way, and the “year round” residents responded the other way.
The “seasonal” versus “year rounder” war continues. It is sad, but true. It has always been sad, but true. And, as more and more farmers were forced to sell their land, more and more seasonal residents came. But where do they come from? I have been on the fire roads, I have seen the license plates. They are from Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida. I have had to search deep within myself. I have had to be honest with myself. I have to be honest with you. Are those license plates the plates of town of Lyme residents? My answer to myself was “No”. Those people live in Rochester, Syracuse, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc. They pay taxes, yes, but they are not residents of the town of Lyme. They are part time residents, weekend warriors and occasional visitors to the cottage that has been in the family for years. I have had to ask myself, “who do I represent”? Do I represent the people in the town of Lyme, or do I represent the residents of the town of Lyme? Do I represent the “seasonal” or the “year rounder”? Do I represent the taxpayers, or the voters who put me in office? The voters are the “year rounders”. I suspect that may change after the “seasonals” read this. And that’s fine if a “seasonal” wants to change their voter registration and risk losing their exemptions “back home”.
I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I doubt if I disappointed you anyway because you didn’t trust me to begin with. That’s fine too. I have to be honest with myself and with you.
This survey clearly shows the divide between the “seasonal” and the “year rounder”. I am a “year rounder”, over the last thirty to forty years I have made friends with “year rounders”, I live among the “year rounders” year round. They are my friends and long time acquaintances. They are the residents of the town of Lyme…year round. My first priority is to represent those residents of the town of Lyme. I do not want to walk into the post office, or the diner or the local stores and shops and not have an old long time friend speak to me because of this issue. I would rather lose the election, than lose friends.
This is my story, and this time, I’m sticking to it. I am going to follow the advice of the town attorney. I am going to follow the wishes of the year round people of the town of Lyme. I will NOT vote to ban wind turbines. I will NOT vote to adopt a law so restrictive it effectively keeps wind development out of the town of Lyme. The “year round voters” have spoken.
My apologies to the "year rounders" who have since retired and go south for the winter. This is not about you. And, I suspect you still vote here anyway because this is "your home". My apologies also to the "year rounders" who live on the Points. This is not about you either.
I guess this is just an honest expression of my feelings about "the seasonals". Sorry I feel that way. It's probably not right, but that's how I feel. Now I can get some sleep!
18 comments:
Yawn
Holy Crap! I'm shocked at this guys attitude. He is taking a public policy position so that he's friends will speak to him when he goes to the diner or to the post office. Holy Crap!
First, I'd double check his figures. I don't recall the votes being broken down between seasonals and year rounders. Regardless, Scott Aubertine as Supervisor just made the class wars and divided community that much more divided. He should have stuck with his original proclamation that he'd support the majority view. This backsliding stinks.
The answer to his questions are simple - you represent you entire community and not just one group who you happen to identify more with. If you were the supervisor for a racially diverse community, would you be asking stupid questions about what group you should represent? Hell no! Not unless you were a bigot and racist. Elected officials are suppose to represent all their citizens, not just their friends.
If Scott Aubertine really believes what he thinks about supporting the minority of Lyme who are his friends, then he should be preparing refund checks for all the seasonal residents he has been stiffing every year with the Lyme tax bill.
This stinks!
A minority represents his entire standpoint. Funny how "seasonal" landowners pay more than their fair share in school taxes while the town still manages to waste so much in "legal fees" and theft. Right. let's hear it for the representation of both year rounders and seasonals. As much as one scumbag can stand on such a weak argument, an intelligent person can stand on facts. They want these projects, they just don't care how it affects anyone else.
Scott Aubertine wrote a very honest and personal account of his feelings and position on the wind issue in Lyme. Not so much on the actual wind issues, but more on the social divide in his community.
I thought his position was true to his personal convictions, but he arrived at the wrong conclusion. At the end of his post he should have said for these reasons I am resigning my position as town supervisor. This being the only solution to his dilemma. If he can't represent all of the people in Lyme, then he should resign.
Isn't Scott Aubertine up for re-election in Nov.?
Scott Aubertine isn't too good with figures.
He said, "The survey results were very clear. Four hundred thirty seven (437) respondents from Chaumont, Three Mile Bay and the surrounding agricultural areas were in favor of wind development."
When it comes to numbers Scott, you are a dummy! Let me show you why I think you are a dummy.
You suggest that all of the 437 people from the year round area supported wind, but look at the data in your table. For each of the areas you quoted I calculated the 'yes' and 'no's for each area and then added them up.
For the 437 respondents in Chaumont, Three-Mile Bay and the surrounding agricultural areas 184 (42%) said NO! So, more than 40% of Scott's friends, who he didn't want to offend with a ban on wind, will be offended by his support of wind.
I think Scott Aubertine should go back to the drawing board and do some more ciphering, or better yet, call Dr. Carr and ask him to help with the calculations.
Not only is Scott Aubertine throwing all the seasonal residents of Lyme under the bus, but also tossed 42% of the year rounders too. What a guy!
Maybe taxpayers should only pay taxes for the time they live in their towns. Some are only here on weekends and some are here for the summer months. Just what is fair?
Who draws this line anyway? We are all residents not "full time or seasonal". Shame on Scott and the voter for wind who try to divide our towns. This practice is out of the wind play book.
Windbags. Like scumbags just filled with hot air. In the beginning they were soliciting people dressed in overalls and new boots. That tactic never changes. "I'm just one of you. Struggling to survive." That's why they needed Article 10, and the Att'y Geneal's office to look the other way, use ACCIONA money to pay Town officials, and use Town's Lawyers for their own personal consultants, at a very heft price tag. This is so cheesy even Heluva Good couldn't sell this one it stinks so bad.
I am a year rounder in Cape Vincent, although not a local. If it were not for seasonal residents and tourists dollars many stores that serve us "year round" residents would be nonexistent. Many businesses make up for lost winter revenue in the summer. I have noticed price increases on many items I purchase during the summer. Their tax dollars also support schools and keep our taxes down. Some of the attitudes I hear expressed against "seasonals" are the same attitudes I have experienced as a non local and former military individual. I feel rather sickened when I see a local praise the military when it benefits them, yet hear the nasty comments they make about them. There seems to be a pervasive attitude in northern NY by many that because they have lived here all their life, only "they" are entitled. It is so engrained here that even if a family member marries someone that is from the military or another state, the family member is treated like a traitor. Truly a sad state of affairs.
"It's probably not right, but that's how I feel."
So -- Mr. Aubertine says he is comfortable with this gut level resentment toward others. He admits it is "not right" and offers no legal, constitutional, or moral basis for supporting his views. He admits it is nothing more than good old fahioned "us against them" resentment.
Good for you, Mr Aubertine. I'm glad you can sleep better now -- but what a disgrace you are.
5:38 AM I grew up in that area when guns were as common in the household as they are in the military. That was when dairy farms actually produced milk instead of living on "subsidies" or "wind farms". That would have been a hoot. Ironically, we had excellent schools and educational TV out of Canada. Another ironic is the fact that politicians are trying to drive an international corporation down the throats of locals and seasonal people. Seasonal people have always been around. Writers, actresses and actors, teachers, etc. They were welcome. Who wasn;t welcome are the very people who want wind power now. The guns I mentioned kept these scumbags out. We called the "revenuers" for a reason. We may be rednecks, but then you have to know what a redneck really is. The scumbags in Cape Vincent who are in bed with ACCIONA and BP aren;t rednecks. Although they do stereotype themselves as ignorant buffoons. Myself? I am a Vietnam Veteran and was in Military Intelligence. So in all, I'd say I paid my dues to speak my mind. The only people not welcome are those in bed with these corporations and the corporations.
The Scott Aubertine type of thinking and mentality is slowy coming to an end. We can no longer afford those with limited understanding and education in positions of power in our small communities. The forces like Big Wind have found us and there will likely be more to follow in their attempt to rape the envionment. We need to all become involved in the political process and do our best to elect people who have traveled, can think outside the diner, and have some understanding of what we have here.
8:42,
You are exactly right.
We can no longer leave governance up to small bands of oligarchs who can't see the forest for the trees...and who, for whatever reason, seem to take a weird pleasure in dividing the town into their camp of friends vs. all others.
The stakes are too high now to tolerate that kind of crony local government.
Vote on November 8! In the end, it is not Scott Aubertine's reality that matters, but the real reality.
Well good.
Now we all know exactly where we stand, don't we.
That is probably one of the quickest ways for Scott to turn the "non-resident", non-voting taxpayers, into VOTING "resident" taxpayers.
Good job.
We should have a look at his bank account. Another BOUGHT AND PAID FOR supervisor. Is he related to Marty Mason
It won't end with wind. It started with the water. How's the fishing by the way?
What rock has this caveman been living under? Has he not paid attention to the Cape Vincent voters. I am voting for Alan Jones. Yes Scott, I am a life long resident, as is ALL my family. We OPPOSE industrial wind in Lyme.
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