Eye On Port Chester
Aldo "The Patronage Boy" Vitagliano
Crashes Voting Rights Defence Fund Meeting
Law Professor Randolph McLaughlin spoke about the legal issues surrounding the Department of Justice voting rights lawsuit against the Village of Port Chester. The Meeting was open to the public but was geared toward the Hispanic community.
The meeting was organized by Cesar Ruiz, who heads the Voter Rights Defense Fund.
One of the early arrivals was Aldo Vitagliano, attorney for the Port Chester Voting Rights Commission established by the Board of Trustees when threatened with the lawsuit by the federal government. Vitagliano was at first told by McLaughlin that he couldn’t attend the meeting. However, after Vitagliano argued that he was a village resident, McLaughlin consulted with Ruiz and they allowed him to stay.
“My early arrival I think changed the tenor of the meeting,” Vitagliano said. “He did apologize for attempting to prevent me from attending the meeting.”
“In my opinion they absolutely changed the agenda when people from the public showed up,” he said.
“It looked as if they were soliciting participants in a lawsuit,” Vitagliano said after reading a story about the upcoming meeting on the Journal News Web site.
“To intercede at this stage of the proceeding is probably not helpful,” Vitagliano said, “except to saddle the village with attorney’s fees.”
St. Paul said there was typically a fee to represent a client, “but in this type of action the attorney’s fees can be awarded. You can ask for attorney’s fees from the Town of Port Chester.”
Fascinating lecture
Meanwhile, McLaughlin did speak for less than an hour to those assembled at the Carver Center.
“This was a very interesting lecture,” Vitagliano said. “I thought it was fascinating.”
McLaughlin, a law professor at Pace since 1988, represented a case against New Rochelle in 1991 challenging its at-large voting system. “The voters decided they wanted to change to a district system,” he said. He also successfully challenged the at-large voting system in the Town of Hempstead, Long Island, which took 10 years.
“This case is very different,” he said. “This case is where the DOJ has decided to initiate a voting rights lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act.” He mentioned that Ruiz filed a complaint with the DOJ asking that they look into it and they did. They had a series of experts analyze the elections and “they concluded there was a viable challenge to the at-large voting system.”
“The vote is the most important part a citizen can play in democracy,” McLaughlin said. He then attempted to explain why districting makes sense.
He said political scientists have done studies and people feel representatives have an allegiance to their district whereas under an at-large voting system they feel no elected official is responsible to them. “People elected at-large feel they are responsible to the entire city,” he said. “With districts (elected representatives) feel they have an allegiance to the city and to the district.”
The DOJ looked at 14 trustee, three mayoral and a number of school board elections, he said. “Eighty-two percent of the time the candidates preferred by the Hispanic community were defeated, according to the Justice Department.”
“You have to show that white voters are also voting as a group (racially polarized voting),” he said. “They showed (in their papers) that white voters were preferring different candidates so the Hispanic candidates lost most of the time (11 out of 14 trustee elections and three out of three mayoral elections).”
He explained that there were seven other factors presented in the lawsuit to make the DOJ’s case.
“It’s not a rush to judgment just because the DOJ has filed a suit,” McLaughlin said, “but I think they have a pretty interesting case.”
In order to win a preliminary injunction which would hold up the March village election, which the DOJ is seeking, they would have to prove that “their case is so strong they are entitled to relief now,” he explained. “The government has to show there is a substantial likelihood they will win the case.” He admitted that it was “pretty drastic to stop an election.” They have to prove that if they don’t stop the election, the Hispanic community and the U.S.A. will be harmed, he added.
“I don’t believe Judge Robinson has handled a voting rights suit before,” he said of the judge who will be hearing this case in federal court in White Plains in mid-February.
McLaughlin also made a strong case for the government.
“When the government decides to do this, they do their homework,” he said. “They have lots of resources. They’re not filing a lot of these cases.” He added that “I was surprised they would come to Port Chester and would file such a sweeping case. I was intrigued.”
He told those in attendance to get involved in what’s happening. “Come to the courthouse” when the case is heard, he said. “It’s a public process,” and “it’s your village.”
“It’s a difficult time in the village,” McLaughlin said. “There is going to be a strong reaction” by those who feel “who are you to tell us we’ve got to change? We’ve done it this way for 100 years.”
“Sometimes we do things because we think it’s the best way because it’s the way we’ve always done it,” he added. The question, however, is: “Is it fair to all residents?”
He wasn’t optimistic about the village’s chances in court.
“When the DOJ is against a municipality, you have a hard row to hoe,” he said, adding that if the village isn’t happy with Judge Robinson’s decision, it can go to the Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court.
McLaughlin ended his comments without taking any questions.
“He was like a deer in headlights,” Vitagliano commented. “It was disappointing he decided to hightail it out of Port Chester without taking questions.”
When asked at the end of the meeting, Ruiz said it was purely informational and the Port Chester Voter Rights Defense Fund was “a name we just picked up.”
“I just wanted to get people to come and learn a little more,” he said.
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Top Court to Hear New Eminent Domain Case
In another legal test of eminent domain, the
U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a private company can demand payment in exchange for not seizing property.
Developer Bart Didden wanted to put a CVS pharmacy on property he owned in Port Chester, N.Y. He had approvals from the local planning board but because the land was in a blighted redevelopment zone, he had to also gain approval from the private redevelopment company hired by the city to control development in the zone.
The developer overseeing the zone told Didden he’d have to pay $800,000 or give the developer G&S, a 50 percent stake in the CVS business. Otherwise, G&S would seize the property and use it for a Walgreen’s drug store.
Didden refused and the Village of Port Chester began eminent domain proceedings.
Didden sued at various levels without satisfaction, and now the matter is set to go before the highest court. Property rights activists see this as an opportunity for the top court to clarify its controversial decision in Kelo v. New London.
In that opinion in June 2005, the court ruled 5-4 that local governments could seize private property and turn it over to a private developer when the action was part of an economic development project that benefits the public.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, Warren Richey (01/05/07)
[via
Realtormag.com]
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Charles Nielsen takes reins of Port Chester Fire Dept.By Jeff Benzak
Charles Nielsen was installed Jan. 1 as the new chief of the Port Chester Fire Department. Nielsen, 43, takes over for Peter Mutz, whose two-year term expired Dec. 31.
Like all chiefs, Nielsen is a volunteer. His regular job is working the night shift as a lieutenant with the Port Chester Police Department. Nielsen has been a police officer...
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Shame on the Journal News for not properly maintaining their website.
You must go to the Port Chester Library to look up this information
The Christmas season concludes this weekend with Epiphany observances.
The
Christmas season concludes this weekend with Epiphany observances featuring worship, carols, gifts for children from magi and whimsical pastry.
It's a way of messing with you. ( via
Journal News )
ithout any loss of services."
