free web stats

BurlingtonPol.com

.

about this Blog* disclaimer* Home
about me * email * feed * Site Stats

Haik Bedrosian
Khor Virap, 301 A.D.
City of Burlington Home Page
YouTube Google Dictionary blogger Wikipedia Yahoo! IMDB
Get Ordained as a Dudeist Priest Get Ordained as a Dudeist Priest

The Church of the Latter-Day Dude


Radio Deli Blog

Friends

Sean's Horse Farm and Family Blog
by Sean Pecor

Maximum Wisdom
by Maxwell X. Schnurer

Strange Blue Planet
by Ari K

Don't Bite Blue
by "Cassandra Jupiter"

Henry's Diner Hot Coffee. Eggs and Toast.
Origanum Natural Foods 227 Main Street


Java Love



Lois The Hot Dog Lady
Secret Sandwich
Take two thick slices of Noonie's day old bread, smear Honey Cup honey mustard liberally over both. Cover both slices with green leaf lettuce. Then on one slice only lay smoked turkey on the lettuce, a tomato slice on the turkey and sprinkle it with shredded carrot. Then on the lay a slice of provolone cheese over the carrot then a green pepper ring on top of the cheese. Sprikle with sprouts. Cover with the other slice, lettuce side down. The letuce should be stuck to the bread with honey mustard so it doesn't fall off when you turn it upside down to cover the sandwich. Slice sandwich in half with a knife. Wrap in tightly in plastic wrap. Use too much wrap. Tape on label. Tadaaa! Weighs one pound. Costs Four Bucks.

Blasts from the Past!

Peter Brownell

Awodey Blast!

Clinton Blast!

Kurt Wright

Compton Blast!

Paul Lafayette

Hinda Miller and Joanna Cole

Kathy Bonilla

Charity Tensel 2003 Blast!

Whatever things

Church Street Energy System

WOMM-LP 105.9 FM Burlington

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

-Emma Lazarus, 1883




Dick Bove 1941




WCAX 1936

***Your link 4-ever***
9-11-01

The 9/11 Non-conspiracist Gazetteer
by Marc Awodey

Vermonters for a Real 9/11 Investigation
by Frank Haddleton

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Ethan Allen Tower

"During the 1992 campaign, Bill Clinton sometimes spoke of a 'twofer' (two for the price of one) presidency, implying that Hillary would play an important role in his administration."
(www.britannica.com)
Henry's Diner

Old News
Oakledge Park
Battery Park
Leddy Park
Disclaimer

Election Achives


Election Day was Tuesday March 3, 2009
All 2009 Burlington Candidates
2009 Mayoral Race

Bob Kiss (P)
*The Bob Kiss Interview
Andy Montroll (D)
*The Andy Montoll Interview
James Simpson (G)
*The James Simpson Interview
Dan Smith (I)
*The Dan Smith Interview
Kurt Wright (R)
*The Kurt Wright Interview

2009 City Council Races

Ward 1
Sharon Foley Bushor (I)
Jerri Kohl (G)
Ward 2
Gregory Knopps (G)
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (P)
Nicole Pelletier (D)
Ward 3
David Cain (D)
Marrisa S. Caldwell (P)
Steve Ekberg (G)
Ward 4
Eleanor Briggs Kenworthy (R)
Nancy C. Kaplan (D)
Ward 5
Lisa Ann Oberbrunner (G)
Joan Shannon (D)
Ward 6
Mary Kehoe (D)
Kim Mason (G)
Ward 7
Ellie Blais (I)
Vincent Dober Sr. (R)
Eli Lesser-Goldsmith (D)

ELECTION DAY WAS

TUESDAY MARCH 6, 2007!

DID YOU VOTE?

Channel 17's Debate Schedule!!!***
Channel 17's Streaming Video!!!
(Zoning Coverage Up Wednesday 2/7/7)


***2007 Burlington Candidates ***

2007 City Council Races

Ward One
Sharon Bushor (I)
Ward One
Ed Adrian (D)
Ed Adrian (D) Blog
Dick Bove(I)
Megan Munson-Warnken (P)
Ward Two
Jane Knodell (P)
David Rogers (I) Blog
Ward Three
Tim Ashe(P)
Loyal Ploof (I)
Ward Four
Kurt Wright (R)
Jim Holway (D) (Private Site)
Jim Holway (D) (Party Site)
Ward Five
René Kaczka-Valliere (G)
Joan Shannon(D)
Basil Vansuch(I)
Ward Six
Andy Montroll (D)
Tom Licata (I)
Ward Seven
Ellie Blais(I)
Linda Deliduka (D
Craig Gutchell(R)

ELECTION DAY WAS

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2006!

DID YOU VOTE?

Senate Race

Bernie Sanders (I)

Steve Moyer (I)

Greg Parke (R)

Richard Tarrant (R)

Tarrant's Fake Fake Blog (R)

Tarrant's Real Fake Blog (R)

Larry Drown (D)

US House Race

Dennis Morrisseau (R)

Peter Welch (D)

Martha Rainville (R)

Governor Race

Jim Douglas (R)

Scudder Parker (D)

Lieutenant Governor Race

Brian Dubie (R)

Marvin Malek(P)

John Patrick Tracy (D)

Matt Dunne (D)

Chittenden County State's Attorney

TJ Donovan (D)

Ted Kenny (D)

Rob Backus (D)

Chittenden County Senate Race

Dennis Delaney (R)

ELECTION DAY WAS

TUESDAY MARCH 7, 2006!

DID YOU VOTE?


Our city's home page

2006 Burlington Candidates

2006 Burlington Ballot Questions

Mayoral candidate funding documents(From BFP 03.01.06)

2006 Mayoral Race

Bob Kiss(P)

Kiss's 7 Days Profile (Old Link)

Kiss's 7 Days Profile (New Link)

BFP on Kiss 01.28.06

BFP on Kiss 03.01.06

Kevin Curley (R)

Curley's 7 Days Profile (Old Link)

Curley's 7 Days Profile (New Link)

BFP on Curley 02.28.06

Loyal Ploof (G) (From BFP 01.21.06)

Hinda Miller (D)

Miller's 7 Days Profile (Old Link)

Miller's 7 Days Profile (New Link)

BFP on Miller 03.02.06

Louie The Cowman (I)

City Council Races

Tom Licata (I) Ward 6

Jeremy Ryan (L) Ward 7

Ellie Blais (I) Ward 7

Paul Decelles (R) Ward 7

Joanna Cole (D) Ward 7

Russ Ellis (D) Ward 4

Kevin King (R) Ward 4

BFP on Ward 3 Race 02.21.06

School Board Races

Amy Werbel ( ) Ward 5

Inspector of Election Races

Owen Mulligan (I) Ward 5

Ballot Questions

Question 9 (Yes)

Ward Seven Run-off Election

Tuesday March 21 at Hunt School

Ellie Blais (I) Ward 7

Paul Decelles (R) Ward 7

Link Graveyard

Kiss for Mayor


Blog for Burlington
Dean for America
Leftstream
Prog Blog (Blogger Blog)
Tarrant06.com
Vermont Paleocon
Vermonters First
Zuckerman for Congress

Junktique's New Site

Junktique's Old Site

Jessica Sklar

Lake Champlain Regional
Chamber of Commerce
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem, consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.
Whatever things
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem, consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.
Phoebe Magazine and Spielpalast Cabaret
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Just links.

Phoebe Magazine

Spielpalast Cabaret
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 8:22 PM   0 comments
The Big Lebowski
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The first time I ever saw Taxi Driver was on a rainy night in Budapest. The first time I ever saw Goodfellas was on a cool fall evening in Philadelphia.

The first time I ever saw The Big Lebowski was on a warm spring day in Austin Texas.

It's easy to watch The Big Lebowski. The movie doesn't pressure you. Going bowling with Walter and Donny is exactly like being at the O.P. Nobody's in a position to judge you. Plus there are a lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what have yous that make it fun. Walter is deeply emotional because of his trauma in the Vietnam war. Donny dies. Flea and Tara Reid are in classic form. And of course, there's The Dude.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 10:08 PM   3 comments
Dean Runs Circles around Russert
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Dean Runs Circles around Russert.

I just watched Howard Dean on Meet the Press. The headline is he wants the superdelegates to vote by June. He did a good job. Russert couldn't bait him into a debate about hypotheticals. "Dean did well," I told Poopsie "He's smarter than Tim Russert."

"Isn't everybody smarter than Tim Russert?" She asked.

"Sadly, no." I replied.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 9:28 AM   1 comments
When were "the days?" (Second Re-run)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I ran this post twice already. When I feel nostalgic and have nothing to say I run this post. Today I am visiting Dr. Gilbert Suitor to get my eyes checked. My mother took me to see Dr. Suitor when I was, like, eight. Man, Suitor must be getting up there. Not as old as his partner at the Cherry Street office, Dr. Rist, but still old. Anybody ever go to Suitor and Rist's office next to Pennycluse? Ancient. The place is straight out of Shelburne Museum. Another place I used to go with my mom.

Oh- I just thought of another blurb for the "about me" page. Once I did a stage-dive at a Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert at Johnson State College. Early 90s I think. As I flew toward the crowd somebody punched me in the eye really hard and gave me a huge shiner. Impossible to tell who.

OK Archie Bunker. Enjoy this syndicated re-run about the All in the Family theme song. Bah.

****
Click Picture to Hear Song.
I'll write about the second mayoral debate later.

Even though I only have "broadcast level" cable, TV Land Network 'bleeds' into my cable service somehow and I get to watch it fuzzy for free. (Fox "News" also comes in, but perfectly clear- an obvious Adelphia conspiracy.) "All in the Family" is one of my favorite shows on TV Land. The IMDB Plot Outline: "A working class bigot constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day."

On one episode I saw recently, a Jewish militant was killed by a car bomb while Archie, Gloria and Mike watched in horror. I'm not kidding. It's amazing to see what passed for comedy in the seventies. Well, not that scene specifically, but you know what I mean. Sitcoms were more hard-hitting then, than the news is today.

Anyway. I started ruminating about the theme song "Those were the Days" written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams for the show which ran from 1971-1979. Everyone who knows the show is familiar with the song's performance by Carroll O'Connor and Maureen Stapleton at the opening of each episode. But have you ever really thought about the lyrics? When exactly were "the days" they're singing about?

My analysis of the lyrics:

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played!(1)
Songs that made the Hit Parade. (2)
Guys like us, we had it made. (3)
Those were the days! (4)

And you knew where you were then.
Girls were girls and men were men. (5)
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again. (6)

Didn't need no welfare state. (7)
Everybody pulled his weight. (8)
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. (9)
Those were the days! (10)

(1) Big Band Musician Glenn Miller lived 1904-1944.
(2) The "Hit Parade" was a radio show from 1935-50. Sort of a precursor to "American Bandstand."
(3) The first in a series of 'male-normative' phrases with sexist overtones.
(4) When were the days? So far they must have been between 1935-1944 to include Glenn Miller & "Hit Parade."
(5) The second sexist phrase, this time juxtaposing male maturity with female infantilization.
(6) Hoover's presidency (1929-1934) saw the Depression begin. He lived 1879-1964.
(7) That's a double-negative. It means they DID need a "welfare state."
(8) Third sexist phrase. Use of the pronoun "his" implies that the speaker believes "everybody" doesn't include women.
(9) Cadillac LaSalle (named for French explorer) An American car produced from 1927 to late 1950s.
(10) When were the days? Apparently they didn't exist. Hoover was out office before the "Hit Parade" was ever on the radio. What is this crap? Didn't anybody bother to tell Norman Lear?

Click here to here the song again.

posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 8:30 AM   6 comments
Jury Duty
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Yesterday was the third and final jury draw I had to attend at Chittenden District Court. Once again I was in a pool of potental jurors, and once again I was asked to go back to the gallery and not be a juror. That's good. I didn't really want to be picked.

As I was leaving, I saw that guy Ted Kenny. He lost to TJ in the primary for State's Attorney and is now working as a defense lawyer. He told me he reads this blog. Hey Ted. Nice to meet you.

What else is going on today? Big primary in Pennsylvania. Nice state. Philly has a nice train station and there's a big football stadium at Penn State in State College. I've seen them both in my little life.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 10:28 AM   1 comments
Amy Goodman in Burlington May 3
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Amy Goodman is coming to Borders Books on Church Street May 3!
Click picture or here for details.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 8:10 AM   3 comments
Marble Steps Here
Friday, April 18, 2008
Picking up on Senator Webb's comment from the last post...The last, best place to put the marble staircase from Battery Park to The Waterfront is here:

Zigag design. Lots of plateaus with benches to rest and look at the lake. Lots of landscaping, trees, flowers and art. Maybe the city could liscence a gelato cart for one of the plateaus.

Does the city own that land? I think we do. Anybody know? Everybody on board with putting a gorgeous marble staircase between Battery Park and Waterfront? We set that as a goal, get design proposals, pick one, then start building it. If the city can only afford say, ten steps per year- that's cool. They're marble. As long as we stick the plan, the city could have the steps in as few as 100 years. But I think people would donate privately to see this project made real. I'd personally donate $10.

There's a way for government to lead without taxation. It can show the way, and give people a choice. (That's a choice whether to donate to the steps or not, not whether or not the land gets used for the steps.)
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 10:07 AM   7 comments
About Me II
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I haven't had anything to say for about a week. Weather too nice. But I just updated and republished my "about me" page. My daughter was born and my mother died since I published it originally in November of 2006.

So the post you're reading is basically a re-run with a couple of amendments.

I added this amendment in honor of nice weather.

*I want to build a marble staircase from Batterry Park down to the waterfront. Tricked out with plateaus, benches, landscaping... what a place to watch the sunset. Instant tourist attraction.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 11:23 AM   2 comments
Radiator Streaming Live!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Just turn on your speakers and go to TheRadiator.org!
(And don't forget to listen to my show Saturdays from 10-11am.)

L2R: Lee Anderson, Sean Larock, Jim Lockridge & Ryan Krushenick in the studio.

(Photo: Matthew Thorsen. )

posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 12:40 PM   1 comments
City Council Agenda 04.14.08
Here's an MS Word .doc of Monday's City Council Agenda. Some Highlights:

8. PUBLIC HEARING: Burlington Comprehensive Development Ordinance: ZA-08-01 re:Institutional Zoning Districts

8.01. COMMUNICATION: Public Hearing Notice, re: Burlington Comprehensive
Development Ordinance: ZA-08-01 re: Institutional Zoning Districts

9. RESOLUTION: Training of City Election Officials (Councilors Wright, Knodell,
Decelles, Gutchell, Paul, Bushor, Ashe & Davis)

10. RESOLUTION: Transparency and Accountability in the Conduct of Elections in Burlington (Councilors Adrian, Berezniak and Shannon)

11. RESOLUTION: Election Charter Change Issues (Councilors Shannon & Montroll)

12. COMMUNICATION: Jonathan P.A. Leopold, Jr., CAO and Kenneth A. Schatz, Esq., City Attorney, re: Election Issues

Labels:

posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 1:39 AM   0 comments
O'Sullivan's Appeal Denied
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Confusion in Ward 7 Vote Count V

On Monday Judge Dennis Pearson denied an appeal filed by Jean O'Sullivan asking him to reconsider his decision not to order a new Ward 7 city council election. A PDF of the ruling is here.

Some highlights:
"...Only recently promoted to the position of Assistant City Clerk, he [Ben Pacy] was suddenly faced with a situation for which he had been inadequitely and wholly unprepared..."

"...The court also percieves the City's continued reluctance to admit once-and-for-all that a violation (indeed, three seperate violations) of 17 V.S.A. § 2590(c) did occur, and the the City Charter provides no safe harbor..."

"...There is still no evidence that Mr. Pacy did not in fact return all ballots, and other materials to the box each time after he broke the seal and opened it, and thus no evidence that the actual election result for the Ward 7 council race , as recounted by the city council on 3/10/08, was affected..."
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 12:25 AM   1 comments
James Douglas Scores Knockout
Monday, April 07, 2008
Click picture for details.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 9:36 PM   2 comments
Amateur Hour at City Hall II
Amateur Hour at City Hall II: Confusion in Ward 7 Vote Count IV

Andy Potter has the story for Channel 3. Sam Hemmingway has it for the Free Press.

The Free Press's website isn't great, by the way. It's visually hectic and poorly organized. They make you answer a survey and they only keep their stories up for about a week. Then you have to pay for them. They didn't even have a non-scientific poll disclaimer on their dumb online poll, until I suggested it. On the other hand, they do have Ed Shamy. But I digress.

Getting back to my coverage of the hearing last Wednesday... The ladies at the courthouse couldn't copy the complaint for me because it was upstairs at the hearing. I guess they only had one copy. I couldn't take pictures without asking the judge for permission, so forget that.

I said hello to Paul Decelles and asked him for a quote. He said he was "disappointed" and said O'Sullivan's case was "purely partisan."

*****

All rise for Judge Dennis Pearson. You may be seated.

The Plaintiff: Jean O'Sullivan and attorney Jake Perkinson

The Defendants: Jonathon Leopold, Assistant City Attorney Eugene Bergman, City Attorney Ken Schatz.

Seated in the courtroom: Ben Pacy, Roxanne Leopold, Andy Potter, Sam Hemmingway, Channel 3's videographer, the Free Press's photographer, Paul Decelles, me, Kurt Wright, Barbara Perry, David Berezniak, David Zuckerman, and a few people I didn't recognize.

The first thing Judge Pearson did was take Leopold's name off the case. The case would be against the city in general, not Leopold specifically. Then he denied the city's motion to dismiss the case. Then Ken Schatz asked to have the case continued for further discovery, but he didn't have a decent answer to "what further discovery would you do?" when asked by the judge. The judge said "the complaint as a whole states a viable claim" that there was a 'defect in the election that questions its validity' so the hearing proceeded.

Editor's Note- The following is not word for word quotation, unless it happens to be in quotes. The Q&A may not be in perfect chronological order either, but they are close. These questions and answers are mostly paraphrased, but they give you the gist of what I heard. [My commentary will be bold.]

Perkinson called Leopold to the stand.

Leopold hobbled over with crutches and was sworn in. Leopold explained that he is the city's chief administrative officer (CAO) which means he is the Clerk-Treasurer. As the Treasurer, he is the CAO (yeah right? that's circular logic) and as Clerk, he "has general responsibilities for city functions, including overseeing the elections." He said there are about 35 people working under him in the Clerk-Treasurer's office, eight of whom worked on elections in some way.

Perkinson: Who managed the staff directly?

Leopold: Ben Pacy.

Perkinson: You are not responsible for what Pacy does?

Leopold: Basically no, because I was out of the office. Pacy only asked me a couple of questions leading up to the election of March 4 and I didn't discuss it with him again until two days after.

[This was a very disappointing answer. Leopold said he was not responsible for the actions of his subordinate. That is incorrect and dishonorable.]

Perkinson: Are you aware of the legal requirement to attend an election workshop?

Leopold: No, but Ben Pacy was in contact with the Secretary of State's office.

Perkinson: Do you know anyone in the Clerk's office who has had any election training?

Leopold: We used to have Jo LaMarche, but she quit in December.

[Jo LaMarche was the true City Clerk and she was shafted for years by Clavelle (in favor of Brendan "13K extra for life" Keleher) and now unfortunately by the Kiss administration. To think this Ben Pacy character was above her in the pecking order! That's an outrage! Burlingtonians should be outraged by that. Is it any wonder she quit?]

Perkinson: Do you think it was appropriate for Pacy to break the seals?

Leopold: Assistant city attorney Bergman said it was legal. The Secretary of State's office was unclear on that point.

[Dude... Yes or No please. What do you think? Because if you think it was OK, you're nuts. And he didn't even know Pacy broke the seal until the following Saturday?]

Perkinson: Is it your belief that no party should hold a majority on the city council?

Leopold: Yes. It makes my job easier if no party holds a majority.

[It would be harder to do the bidding of a Progressive mayor if the Progressive's had a majority?]

Perkinson: Did you tell Barbara Perry you were supporting her opponent because you didn't want to see Ed Adrian gain any more influence on the city council?

Leopold: No, I wouldn't have said such a thing.

Perkinson: Did you meet with any sitting city councilors to discuss strategy leading up to this last election?

Leopold: I met with Kurt Wright and Jane Knodell, along with David Zuckerman, Karen Paul and her husband to talk about how to support Karen's campaign.

Perkinson: When was this?

Leopold: I don't remember. I was recovering from my motorcycle accident and out of sorts because of medication. Maybe it was a Saturday. And except for Kurt Wright, we all met again the following Saturday to discuss the election.

[Great. You're whacked out on drugs because you tried to jump 40 barrels on your motorcycle and broke your leg, and you have an amateur with no training running the election. Later Leopold admitted he tried to put Pacy out in front on the recount too, before pressure forced him to do it himself. ]

Perkinson: Did anyone at these meetings question the propriety of the person in charge of counting the ballots working on a campaign?

Leopold: No.

The witness is dismissed. Ben Pacy is called to the stand and sworn in.

Perkinson: Are the votes supposed to be counted at the polling place?

Pacy: "In a perfect world."

[So what about IRV? If the votes have to be counted at the polling place, then IRV is against the city charter because the mayoral votes are now gathered at city hall and counted. And they're counted by Terry Boricious. I can't say I'm all that comfortable with that, either.]

Perkinson: "Is it your understanding that it is the duty of the clerk to ensure ballot boxes aren't tampered with?"

Pacy: We put the boxes in a safe place. In the Clerk's office in City Hall.

Perkinson: What authority allowed you to break the seals?

Pacy: I had a time crunch. I only had 48 hours to certify the election.

[You dummy! A time crunch doesn't give you any authority to break into the ballot box! Did you seriously not understand the question?]

Judge Pearson: What was the discrepancy that made you take action?

Pacy: There were approximately 70 hand counts. The tabulator counted 971-958 but there was all this hand written stuff on the tabulation sheet...36, 20, 3, 4... so the number represented to the folks at the polling station was 1010-982. The guy from LHS thought ward 7 was weird too. That's a high number of handcounts. I called the ward clerk Diane and asked how many handcount ballots there were and she said six or seven. I broke the seal on the box that said B, C, and D ballots. "I was a little nervous about it" so I asked Sue Trainer from the Clerk's office to join me.

[The numbers were all a jumble. I never really have been able to follow what happened since the time Kurt Wright told me about all this weirdness in the grocery store. But for Pacy to say "I was a little nervous about it" shows very clearly that he knew it was wrong to tamper with the ballots. Like it's not obvious. But what may be obvious to most people, might not be obvious to Pacy, if his testimony is any guide. Still this statement is a clear admission of a guilty conscience.]

Perkinson: How was the tabulation sheet transmitted to you from the polling place?

Pacy: Somebody in the Clerk's office handed it to me.

[No, you dope! Was it FAXed, emailed, delivered by currier, or what? "Somebody handed it to me." Give me a break! He didn't even know who!]

Perkinson: Did you ever compare the vote totals to the entrance checklist?

Pacy: No.

Judge Pearson: Do you have anything that shows the total number of votes cast?

Pacy: No.

Perkinson: When you broke the ballot box open, were there other people in the room?

Pacy: There were like fifteen people all over the place.

Perkinson: When did you learn you would take the lead role in running this election?

Pacy: I was appointed in November to oversee the Clerks's office. I didn't know I'd be running the election until Jo LaMarche quit in December.

Perkinson: Did Jonathan Leopold give you any direction or training on how to come up to speed on how to run an election?

Pacy: No, but I was in contact with the Secretary of State's office getting pointers on how to run the election. "I got the impression the Secretary of State's office was a little concerned."

[Did he just say that? That's pretty damning.]

Perkinson: So you were responsible for your own training?

[Has anybody seen Stripes? Where Bill Murry, Harold Ramis and John Candy have to train themselves? "Boom Chuga-Luga-Luga! Boom Chuga-Luga-Luga! Boom Chuga-Luga-Luga! Boom!" It's funny in a Bill Murry movie. Not so much in a Burlington election.]

*****

That's all I could stay for. I only expected the thing to run an hour and I had been there two. Poopsie needed me to run an errand and my parking meter had expired. And yes, I got a $10 parking ticket, but I hope this post is worth more than that to the city. I missed Barbara Perry's testimony and that of whomever else, unfortunately. But since it took almost a week to write up my notes, I guess I should be satisfied with the part of the hearing I witnessed.

A couple of things. One- Bob Kiss: You can't just let this slide. You need to fire Pacy or Leopold, or both. If not fire, then demote, suspend or punish somehow. You have to do something. Somebody on your team tampered with the ballots. Do something about it, or you risk losing the endorsement of this blog. Ben Pacy seems like a nice guy who made a mistake. He wasn't trying to change the election, but he made a serious mistake. He is in a position he is not qualified to handle. Through his entire testimony I never had the feeling that he "got it." Pacy was defiant and annoyed. Never contrite. Leopold was defiant and aloof. Never contrite. The person in charge of running the election needs to understand the sanctity of the ballot box. Pacy doesn't, therefore he isn't qualified. He's got the wrong job. Maybe move him back to Parks.

Two- This whole "Clerk-Treasurer-CAO" thing is baloney. It's a worse idea than merging Police and Fire. The functions are different. Leopold is the Treasurer, just as he was in the 80s. The "CAO-" Chief Administrative Officer is the Mayor, really. We still need a City Clerk, and we will never get one better than Jo LaMarche was, even though she never got the title. To think Ben Pacy was her boss is an outrage. And I am sorry, Mr. Kiss. Even you were not in the courtroom last Wednesday- it's your administration and the buck stops with you.

Labels:

posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 12:05 AM   15 comments
Amateur Hour at City Hall
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
I'm just back from Chittenden Superior Court where the hearing of the matter of the confused ward 7 vote count of March 4 is underway. I was there for the first two hours and heard the testimony of Jonathan Leopold and his assistant Ben Pacy. I'll flesh out what I heard later, but for now I'll say testimony reveals Jonathon Leopold as aloof and Ben Pacy as in way, way over his head in his ability to fill Jo LaMarche's shoes when it comes to running the city's elections.

The ward seven city council race may not be overturned, but Ben Pacy should be fired. He broke the law when he broke the seal on the ballot box.

More to follow...

Labels:

posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 3:34 PM   1 comments
Shay Totten to Replace Peter Freyne
Sources close to BurlingtonPol say Shay Totten will be taking over for outgoing veteran political columnist Peter Freyne at Seven Days newspaper. He will be a guest columnist for Freyne's widely read Inside Track column on April 9 and take over officially May 7. Totten who used to run the Vermont Guardian and now works for Chelsea Green Publishing, will be looking to rename Inside Track but hasn't yet settled on a new tag.
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 9:25 AM   2 comments
Vote for Front Porch Forum
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Below are excerpts from an email by Michael Wood-Lewis...

"Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County, VT. More than 8,000 local households subscribe and use it to share news with their clearly identified nearby neighbors. Already 30% of Burlington participates and as much as 90% of some areas."

"...This online community-building service is in the running to win a $35,000 grant that will provide much-needed seed capital. Front Porch Forum already made the Top 20 out of nearly 5,000 entrants; now they need your help to make the Final Four and secure the funding."

Go to http://casefoundation.org/myvote to vote today! And please help spread the word..."
posted by Haik Bedrosian @ 8:53 AM   25 comments
Arlena Blog


Vermont Cannabis News

Bluebird of Fairyness

Church of the Subgenius


Your Local Politics Oasis
Scrounge for a fix...

Blazing Indiscretions
by James Vos

Blurt
by Seven Days

Briggs's Blog
by John Briggs

iBurlington.com(Wards 4 & 7)
by Brian Brown

The Vermont Daily Briefing (VDB)
by Philip Baruth

Ward 5 NPA News
by Basil Vansuch

North End Neighborhood Planning Assembly (Wards 4 & 7)
by Lea Terhune

Hot Coffee, Eggs & Toast
Burlington
Blogs and Websites

802 Online
by Cathy Resmer

All Things Hold Together
by Charity Tensel

Aimee Picchi: Notes on writing, journalism and Vermont.
by Aimee Picchi

As Seen In VT
by Katie Fedigan-Linton

Ash LaRose Photography (Website)
by Ash LaRose

Ash LaRose Photography (Blog)
by Ash LaRose

April's Blog (Musings)
by April Cornell

Big Heavy World
by Jim Lockridge

Bipolar Earth
by Hypervigilant

Blabulous
by Owen Mulligan

Blazing Indiscretions
by James Vos

Blurt
by Seven Days

Bunnyspice
by Eva Sollberger

Burlington Underground
by Ryan Orlove and Friends

Burlingtonian
by Heavenly Ryan

BurlingtonVT.org
by David Abrams

BVT Daily News (Yahoo Group)
by Kevin Ryan

Candleblog (Original Site)
by Bill Simmon

Candleblog (New Site)
by Bill Simmon

Carolyn Bates Photography
(Blog)

by Carolyn Bates

Carolyn Bates Photography (Website)
by Carolyn Bates

Church Street Energy System
by ZHP

Circles for Peace
by David Brizendine and Friends

Daily Dose of Terror
by Greg Nixon

Diabologue
by Matt Paradise

Dohiyi Mir
by N. Todd Pritsky

Flameape
by Gregory Giordano

Good News Garage Blog
by Carmen George

Freyneland
by Peter Freyne

Front Porch Forum
by Michael Wood-Lewis

Ghost of Midnight
by Michael Wood-Lewis

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio
by Mike Luoma

HANDS
by Megan Humphrey and friends

Healthyhippiemagazine.com
by Taraleigh Silberberg

Hodska on the Web
by Steve Hodska

iBurlington
by Brian Brown

Identity Theory
by Matt Borondy

Inside Track
by Peter Freyne

JeremyRyan.org
by Jeremy Ryan

Local Action Works
by Owen Mulligan and Friends

Loyal's Tidal Wave
by Loyal Ploof

Maverick Media
by Greg Guma

Penelope Post
by Penelope Wall

Radio Deli
by Pam Scanlon

Repeal IRV
by Owen Mulligan

Rip and Read
by Alex Ball

Ron Paul Movement Hour Blog
by Steve Hodska

SEA+BA
by Mark Stephenson

She's Right (Original Site)
by Charity Tensel

She's Right (New Site)
by Charity Tensel

Spitting Out Teeth
by Jay

The 9/11 Non-conspiracist
Gazetteer

by Marc Awodey

The Burlington Livable Community Project
by The AARP

The Bove's Blog
by Mark Bove

The Deli Magazine
by Adena Harford

The Deadbeat Club
by Eva Sollberger

The Golden Age of Robots
by Adam Rabin

The Stech Blog
by Chris Stecher

The Vermont Daily Briefing (VDB)
by Philip Baruth

Undead Molly
by "Undead Molly"

UVM College Democrats
by UVM College Democrats

VCAM (Channel 15) Blog
by Vermont Community Access Media (VCAM)

Ward 5 NPA News
by Basil Vansuch

Vermont Buzz
by The Burlington Free Press

Vermonters for a Real 9/11 Investigation
by Frank Haddleton

Yes and No
by Frank ____

Koko and Nectar

Surrounding Area
Blogs and Websites

Broadsides
by Michael Colby

BureaucracyBlog.com
Deborah G. Alicen. Ph.D.

Defenders Council of Vermont
by Jamie Zeppernick

Five Before Chaos (Original Site)
by JD Ryan

Five Before Chaos (New Site)
by JD Ryan

Food Stamp Mamas
by "Jeremy" and "Zappaflower"

From the Newsdesk
by Chris Fells

Green Mountain Daily
by John Odum and Friends

Green Mountain Jamie
by Jamie ______

Green Mountain Politics 1
by Christopher Potter Stewart

I must be Dreaming
by Jamie ______

Illuminati Slayer
by Peter Stevenson

Lilac Knitting
by Kristine

Minor Heresies
by "Heretic"

Norsehorse's Home on the Web
by Morgan W. Brown

Norsehorse's Home Turf
by Morgan W. Brown

Political Animal
by Steve Benen and featuring Hilzoy

Politicker VT
by Jared Corey Kushner

Reason and Brimstone
by Julie Waters and Friends

The Carpetbagger Report
by Steve Benen

The Dwinell Political Report
by James Dwinwll

The Prog Blog
by Vermont Progressives

Tirade Parade
by "Tirade25"

Vermont Commons
by Brian McClintock

Vermont Hum
by Brian McClintock

Vermont Scrap Wood
by Scrapwood

Vermont Snarky Boy
by Michael Colby

What's the point?
by "Vermonter"

"Burlington"

Fletcher Free Library
Burlington City Arts
Burlington Free Press
Burlington College
Burlington Currency Project
Burlington Film Makers
Burlington Gardens
Preservation Burlington
Burlington Nights
Burlington Schools Coalition
Burlington Telecom

The Just Once Archives:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Click Sticker to get one.
Yours free with Paypal donation of any amount.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Burlington Music Scene

AramBedrosian.com
Big Heavy World
Icebox Records
Live Music Beth
Nato
Tom Azarian

Other Random Websites

http://www.antiwar.com
Radio Free Quaker
AlGore.org
Bellisse
christopherpearson.org
CCTV Channel 17
Here (BurlingtonPol.com)

Ari K's Strange Blue Planet

Bach's Cello Suite #1 in G Major Prelude

"Bulldog's" Bio

My Dream House

Adbusters

Daily Kos

Michael Moore

Nizkor

CCTV Channel 17

VCAM Channel 15

Vermont Guardian

UVM Cynic

WVAA 1390 AM

AM 620 WVMT

90.1 WRUV FM


Lois the Hot Dog Lady


Women Helping Battered Women

Dr. Tuna, et al.

7D

Burlington "Free" Press

WCAX Channel 3 (CBS)

WPTZ Channel 5 (NBC)

SEABA

Vermont Bar Association

Chittenden Solid Waste District

Chittenden Solid Waste District

Carnegie library building

Wiki Leaks

Madeleine Kunin's Resume

Famous Vermonters Part I

Famous Vermonters Part II

True Crime in Burlington

Kennedy Family Tree

Rockefeller Family Tree

Bush Family Tree

Church of the Subgenius

Robert Anton Wilson

Right Here Writing From China!

Democracy Now!

Neighborhood Planning Assemblies

Huffington Post

Editor and Publisher

Bet on Politics!

Political Graveyard

Rasmussen Reports

Mark Fiore

Frame Shop

The King of All Media

Alexandra Kosteniuk

Yahoo!

Google

Dictionary

Bellisse

Boob Nazis

MRBFK

ACLU

Center for Digital Democracy

Free Radio Burlington

The Freedom Forum

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Random Election Literature

Yahoo!

Google

Dictionary

blog

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

-Emma Lazarus, 1883

Church Street Energy System

Powered by
"The Medium is the Message."
Whatever things
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem, consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.
Whatever things
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis ligula lorem, consequat eget, tristique nec, auctor quis, purus. Vivamus ut sem. Fusce aliquam nunc vitae purus.