Dems: Only answer to really save Monroe

To the editor: We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters who worked tirelessly during our campaign. While we are disappointed with the results, we are proud of the renewed strength and vigor that the Democratic Party in Monroe has gained over the past year. We urge you to look closely at the election results. On the one hand, Leonard, Martin and Weeks were returned to office due to the support of Abe Weider’s Kiryas Joel Republican block-vote. On the other extreme, the SaveMonroe candidates received their votes from the town outside KJ. The Democrats were the middle ground - receiving approximately half of their support from within KJ and half from voters outside KJ. That is the right place to be if you’re to represent the entire town (including all of its villages). And unless KJ becomes its own city or town, this is the reality that we must all face and accept. Our town board must be representative of not one group or the other, but represent all equally. We have been accused of compromising our principles to garner votes. We have been accused of deal-making. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike our opponents on both sides, we did not resort to divisive rhetoric, or irrational and false accusations, or the unrealistic attempt to cater to one interest group at the expense of the rest of the town. No wonder we attracted support from all areas in the town. Our support from the KJ Alliance was received only a week before Election Day. During our limited discussions with Alliance leaders, no deals were made and there were no discussions about annexation, the pipeline or current projects before the Planning Board. In fact, the only thing that the Alliance wanted to discuss was whether, if elected, we would treat the residents of KJ fairly and in the same manner as all other residents of the town - something that the Alliance has not been able to count on from the present administration and certainly can not count on from SaveMonroe. Under these circumstances, we were the only candidates that the Alliance could endorse. Based solely on an assurance of fairness and equality, the Democrats broke the Weider block-vote for the first time in Monroe history - an enormous accomplishment that got us closer to unseating the incumbents than ever before. In this way, the Democratic slate of Vaccaro, Rios and Schwartz have made a huge difference in the real world of Monroe. By contrast, both the present administration and SaveMonroe joined together and used hate and anger as chief bargaining points, destroying any chance for the Democrats, as moderates, to remove the long entrenched old-boy network and to bring together rational and fair-minded people who want to preserve and protect the best of Monroe. We thank all those who supported us. We urge all residents of Monroe to support the Monroe Democratic party by attending our monthly meetings, the last Wednesday of every month, in the John DeAngelis Meeting Room and visiting our Web site at MonroeNYDems.com. We will continue our efforts to effect real change by working within and with the present administration to do so. Please join us in continuing to build a better party and a better Monroe. Sincerely, Alicia Vaccaro Audra L. Schwartz Jon Rios Monroe