Some more on Ball’s recent political mailer
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- June
- 9
State Assemblyman Greg Ball sent out a mailer this past weekend that has some circles talking and others I’m sure fuming. In big, bold letters the political flyer starts out with “Greg Ball is Pro-Life, Pro-gun and Pro-Family.”
It’s the smaller wording underneath where he goes on to describe his opponent, former Brewster Mayor John Degnan, that I think needs some clarification. Since The Journal News is cited as the source in many cases, I think it’s up to us— namely me because I wrote several of these articles—to truth squad it.
Under “Who is John Degnan?” Ball writes:
“He created a sanctuary city in Brewster to provide free education and healthcare for illegal aliens.”
A sanctuary city is by definition a term used to describe municipalities that “do not allow municipal funds or resources to be used to enforce federal immigration laws, usually by not allowing police or municipal employees to inquire about ones immigration status.” Though the designation has no legal teeth, most cities that declare themselves sanctuary cities, such as San Francisco, adopt ordinances to do so. Under Degnan’s mayoral term, Brewster did not—or has it since—adopt any ordinances declaring itself a sanctuary. Furthermore, just before leaving office, Degnan supported bringing in the 287(g) program to the Brewster Police Department.
“Months before Spitzer tried the same, Degnan invited foreign governments into Brewster to issue illegal ID cards to illegal aliens.”
What former Governor Spitzer proposed was issuing drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. Degnan had invited the consul general of Guatemala to the village to discuss its mobile consular ID program. For more than five years, the Guatemalan Consulate has issued these “blue cards” to its citizens, who provide valid passports, birth certificates or “cedulas” national ID cards in order to get oneo. The photo ID card is valid for five years and includes a person’s name, date of birth, current address, signature and passport or ID number. The cards are not illegal though there definitely is controversy surrounding it.
“Degnan doubled his own salary as his first act in office and contracted his brother in law for hundreds of thousands of dollars as Village Attorney.”
It is true that the mayor’s salary went from $8,563 to $15,600 when Degnan took office, but it certainly wasn’t his first act. Degnan became mayor in Dec. 2005 and the budget adoption—which is when the salary adjustment took place—did not occur until May. And yes, Degnan’s brother-in-law Gary Kropkowski was the village attorney, but he had been appointed to that position by former village Mayor John Cesar in 2000 after then Brewster attorney Tom Kelly left for another job.
“He spearheaded a taxpayer funded work shelter for illegal aliens to provide recreational, educational and legal services at your expense.”
Okay here’s how the work shelter went down. It was Team Brewster, a group of elected officials and civic leaders formed in early 2005 to revitalize the village which was then led by former Deputy Putnam County Executive Frank Del Campo and co-chaired by Degnan, who brainstormed about bringing a hiring site to the village. The plan was to have the day laborers build the 24-foot-long by 8-foot-wide and 13-foot high shelter with plexiglass panels at a cost of less than $10,000. The proposal never materialized because the team could not find a suitable location for it.
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm by Marcela Rojas.
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Category: 287(g), Greg Ball, illegal aliens, Illegal immigrants, John Degnan, sanctuary
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Marcela,
Pretty good stuff. However, on #4, it was Columbia University grad students who brainstormed the hiring center, not Team Brewster. Mayor Degnan introduced this as his “Brewster Master Plan” which is still available on the village website. It clearly states that the center was to provide social services for all residents (not just undocumented ones).
So, it was really Frank DelCampo who wanted to build a work station for the illegal immigrants and not John Degnan. Frank DelCampo was always known to be a bleeding liberal. I hear he may want to come out of the bushes one day and try to run for County Executive. With all his dirty laundry he should stay retired and enjoy the peace and avoid the embarrasment, Frank is not up to the campaigning of 2008, Frank would get crushed.
I think we should start referring to Greg Ball as “King Fraud”
Ball’s recent mailer had a picture of some man that was not Degnan. What gives with that?
What gives?
The entire Ball / SOS team has made nothing but sloppy mistakes throughout their campaigns. This is just another example. Unfortunately they prey on hot-buttons with half-truths (at best) and garner support from the relatively uninvolved. Accuracy in anything is not their strong suit.
Ball sounds like a child in an adult body. He needs to grow up or go back to playing with his goats.
I forgot to add one more point to my post. The picture that Ball uses in his political ad is not John Degnan. It is actually Peter Hansen, the clerk of the village of Brewster who is shown and cast as the “pro-illegal alien activist.”
Why would Ball have used a totally different person that a poster identified as someone else? Could this have been done on purpose? If so why? Or was it as a poster stated: “Accuracy in anything is not their strong suit.”
If they are so absorbed in winning and not being careful with what they put on flyers, Ball must be like that as an Assemblyman as well and we need responsible accurate people spending our NY State Tax money.