Contenders spar at Monticello candidates' night

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Mayor and trustee candidates spoke and answered questions at a public candidate's night at the Monticello Neighborhood Facility on March 6th. Hosted in the name of a taxpayer watchdog group, the event was moderated by Liberty residents Cathy and Vincent Lombardi.

Voting will take place on March 19, from noon to 9:00 P.M., also at the Neighborhood Facility.

Funeral director and former fire chief James Kenny is vying against incumbent mayor Robert Friedland, who was elected to two years ago to fill the unexpired term of John Duiguid. In a village where two thirds of the voters are Democrats, Republicans hope to take control of the village board with a campaign centered around Kenny's slogan, "Restore the trust."

Friedland and Kenny disagreed on some points, including the need to creat a full-time position for a village attorney, which Kenny said he supports. Kenny sidestepped a question about whether he would appoint former village attorney Mark Schulman to any village office.

With about a half-dozen village police officers, as well as chief Michael Brennan, sprinkling the audience, Friedland replied to accusations in a publicized memo by Brennan that he had threatened officers who had Kenny campaign materials on their private vehicles with dissolution of the police department. Friedland said he supports the police.

Both Friedland and Kenny stressed economic development and the importance of creating new opportunity for jobs in the village.

Trustee candidates John Barbarite (D), Alvin Dumas (D), and David Rosenberg (R) took turns explaining their platforms and fielding questions. Monis Brafman (R) was absent due to having undergone cateract surgery that day, Kenny said.

Barbarite and Rosenberg each stressed their experience holding public office. In addition to serving as supervisor of the Town of Thompson and on the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors for two years, after being elected as an Independent, Barbarite was vice-chair of the Industrial Development Authority. His explained that political philosophy is that government best serves the people by not being an obstacle to progress.

Once elected as a Democrat, Rosenberg was a village trustee from 1990 to 1994. He then failed in a bid as a write-in candidate. Rosenberg attacked Barbarite for utilizing the court system to remedy what Barbarite termed wrongful expenditures by the village. Rosenberg called the municipality "a not-for-profit co-op that we're all members of."

Democrat Alvin Dumas spoke of his experience as a police officer, community volunteer, and substitute teacher in Monticello schools, concerning the need for more youth-oriented activities in the village. "I'm a community spirit-minded individual. I take a lot of pride in that title," Dumas told the crowd, pledging to remain accessible if elected.
This was the third of four scheduled candidates nights. Others have been hosted by the local Million Man March Community Action Group; Variadades, a Spanish language newspaper; and by tenants of the Monticello Housing Authority.