‘Please reject the hyperbole'

To the editor: While I don't agree with many of Peter Martin's positions, bravo to him for beginning to deflate the self-righteous egos of the self-proclaimed saviors of Monroe. The truth is that SaveMonroe is not what it used to be. The original organization was non-partisan - a group of reasonable individuals intent on bringing community issues to the Town Board's attention for the sole purpose of effecting positive change. Today's SaveMonroe is a small, angry club that grandstands at meetings with such outrageous disrespect and unprofessionalism that they have single-handedly caused the present Town Board to turn a deaf ear to most who come before them. Their counterproductive hostility has all but eliminated any hope the Monroe community had to be heard by this town board. In a recent letter to the editor, they claimed that "attacks and rhetoric have no place in elections" yet that is what today's SaveMonroe is all about. At a recent town board meeting, Save Monroe grandstanded and attacked us by referring to Democrats as the "Jackass Party." They further mocked the Working Families Party. They have been spreading lies on the commuter train about our candidate for town supervisor, Alicia Vaccaro, by unfairly characterizing her as a weak woman when anyone who has worked with her knows that this anti-feminist rhetoric is far from the truth. Today's SaveMonroe plays on our fears and our frustrations to the point that they have compounded the problem without offering a real solution. Take a look at the solution offered by today's SaveMonroe. They offer us Bob Purdy - a former Republican who openly admitted to the Democratic Committee that he recently became a Democrat just to hijack the nominating process. He is no more a Democrat than Rush Limbaugh. He has neither the temperament nor the credentials to lead Monroe as town supervisor. His main focus in running for office is retribution. He proposes to send our town council members off to jail, without even considering the enormous expense of such a witch-hunt and the numerous other more positive ways we can use this money to improve our town. Monroe has been saddled for years with a one-party government. Democracy has suffered as a result. Today's SaveMonroe knows little about true democracy. If elected they will continue their hostile and counterproductive antics, listening only to those with whom they agree and damning the rest of us. The Monroe Democratic Party has endeavored to find the most qualified and capable candidates dedicated to open and representative government. This is the only way to have a viable system of checks and balances - the basis for a fair and responsive democracy. Our candidates have real solutions to the problems facing Monroe. For more information on our platform and ideas for the future, please visit our Web site at MonroeNYDems.com. Please reject the hyperbole. Support your endorsed Democrat, Alicia Vaccaro, for town supervisor in the primary on Sept. 13 and vote for Vaccaro, John Rios and Audra Schwartz for Monroe Town Board and Dan Burke, David Dixler and Noel Spencer for County Legislature in the General Election on Nov. 8th. Sincerely, Mike Kleinman Former member of SaveMonroe Chair of the 2005 Democratic Campaign