Category Archives: Uncategorized

I saw the post — bright yellow, bold lettering, confident messaging. A re-election campaign kickoff. February 26. Guest speaker: the Chair of the Legislature. Hosted by prominent Democratic supporters. Meyer’s Olde Dutch. Food & Such. It looks organized. Energized. Focused. And it raises a simple question. Is this just a gathering of the already-convinced? OrContinue reading “A Re-Election Launch and a Simple Question”

Charles Dickens once wrote: “The one great principle of the English law is to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings.” He wrote that in Bleak House in 1853, criticizing a legal system so consumed with its own process that justice became secondaryContinue reading “Justice Should Feel Fair”

This week, according to Mid Hudson News, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado abandoned his Democratic primary challenge to Governor Kathy Hochul. The explanation offered was clinical: no viable path forward. Of course there wasn’t. There rarely is when you challenge the sitting governor of New York and the full institutional weight of the party apparatus linesContinue reading “In Albany, power rarely shouts. It squeezes.”

What does courage look like in public life? It’s not always dramatic. It’s not standing on a podium when the room is cheering. It’s not casting the easy vote when your caucus expects it. It’s not repeating the talking points that poll well. Sometimes courage is far quieter — and far rarer. It is theContinue reading “Majorities Have Votes. Citizens Have Voices.”

Tonight, I addressed the Dutchess County Legislature regarding the proposal to eliminate the long-standing two-thirds vote requirement to access County reserve and contingency funds. In my remarks, I made clear that this was not a minor procedural adjustment, but a structural change to one of the County’s key fiscal safeguards. For years, requiring a supermajorityContinue reading “Guardrails Removed: The 2/3 Rule Falls 15–10”

My friends and neighbors, On Monday, the Dutchess County Legislature is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would eliminate the long-standing two-thirds requirement for accessing the County’s reserve and contingency funds. This may sound technical. It is not. For years, accessing reserve funds required a supermajority — broad bipartisan agreement — before taxpayer savingsContinue reading “An Open Letter to the Residents of Dutchess County”

As the full Legislature prepares to vote Monday on the proposal to eliminate the two-thirds requirement for accessing County reserve and contingency funds, I write as a concerned resident who believes this decision deserves deeper reflection. This vote is not about party politics. It is about institutional safeguards. For years, requiring a supermajority before tappingContinue reading “An Open Letter to the Dutchess County Legislature”

There are moments in government when process matters more than politics. This is one of them. This week, Dutchess County Democrats advanced a proposal to eliminate the long-standing two-thirds vote requirement for accessing the County’s reserve and contingency funds. On paper, it sounds procedural — a rules change. In reality, it’s a significant shift inContinue reading “Dutchess County Democrats Rewrite the Rules Before the Spending Begins”

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with brilliant executives, gifted operators, and rainmakers who could bend markets with a phone call. I’ve seen companies scale fast, attract capital, and assemble extraordinary teams. And I’ve seen all of that jeopardized by one person. Not because they lacked talent. Because they were tolerated. The mostContinue reading “The Most Expensive Employee Is the Toxic One You Refuse to Fire”

The idea of fare-free buses is politically irresistible. Who argues against “free”? Who doesn’t want to help working families, boost ridership, and reduce congestion? But when municipalities actually implement zero-fare systems, the long-term record is far more cautionary than celebratory. Start with Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) in Kansas City — one of theContinue reading “Is it really Free?”

I saw a post the other day titled “Life Lessons By A Lawyer.” It was one of those clean, simple lists — seven neat rules framed like universal truths. But the longer I looked at it, the more I realized those weren’t just lessons. They were hard-earned understandings. The kind you only absorb after standingContinue reading “The Myth of the Perfect System”

There it is. The legal version of “Back in my day…”You can almost hear the oak paneling creak when it’s said. Lawyers repeat that phrase not because anyone asked, but because it’s a reflex—like objecting on instinct or billing .2 hours for thinking about billing. It’s the throat-clear before a story that’s half confession, halfContinue reading ““When I was a young lawyer…””