Saturday, August 02, 2008

ULSTER COUNTY FAIR: MEET AND GREET


Friday night, I went to the Ulster County Fair in New Paltz, and by the looks of the weather, I picked the right night to go.

The evenings at any county fair are just like we all remember them, the colorful rides, the 4H Competitions, the bad carnival food and the smell of livestock. Conjures up fond memories doesn’t it?

Well, the fair also provides a terrific venue for county wide candidates to meet thousands of potential voters. Both major parties have information booths and solicit new registrations. Those of us enrolled in the respective committees take turns stationed at the cubicle and get to interact with people we would otherwise never meet.

Not all candidates are on hand each evening; I had the privilege to share the booth with Elliott Auerbach the UC Comptroller candidate and Frank Skartados, the 100th Assembly candidate. Both excellent choices for their intended positions and if voters weigh qualifications as they vote this November, both will serve us well.

Frank and I discussed the issues facing Dutchess and Ulster counties regarding economic stimulus, and how inter connected the whole region is when it comes to attracting quality jobs to the area. He got to meet plenty of his future constituency throughout the day. The 100th district includes some of southern Ulster and some of Dutchess.

Elliott was his usual animated self, greeting everyone like family. Indeed, if any of us are to survive the economic downturn that the White House has provided us, we have to consider all UC residents as one big family. Cahill, Delarose, Skartados, Hein and Auerbach all recognize this.

One thing you all missed if you weren’t at the fair Friday night, we got Blaber to wear the Sponge Bob costume. Yes, as if he couldn’t be more of a spectacle, he greeted the youngsters and took pictures with families, actually contributing a positive action to the community. It was a sight to see.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blaber as Sponge Bob. Without pictures, i wouldnt have believed it. Next time something like this happens, get a video for youtube.
I didnt know that costume had the room to fit Jeremy.

Anonymous said...

Why no mention of the fact that Blaber almost got the entire Democratic booth booted from the fair because he couldn't follow the UC Fairgounds Policy of staying within close proximity of your own booth.

Need proof? Check out Clark Richters blog. Since "Kingston Progressive" was at the fair, you will recognize that the food vendors in the background of the picture were in front of the Republican booth, which was one row over and one aisle away from the Democratic booth.

Also, I don't think that costume is a Nickelodeon costume. I think it's a knock off, which makes it illegal.

Mike Madsen said...

Actually, the Republicans were standing around the Democrat booth while Sponge Bob was causing a stir by their booth.

While they were having a fit at their corner, I was having a nice chat with their solicitor at ours, pleasantly chatting about how they were doing.

Eventually the fella with the Quig and Bernie signs went back to his site, while Quig and Bernie were hootin & hollerin over there.

A stark difference on how two different manorisms handle the same confrontation. We smiled and had laughs with the Republican surrogate, they treated Blaber like they treat the middle class.

Anonymous said...

Nice shot mike, if the Republicans feel threatened by Blaber in a Sponge Bob costume, then they've got real problems.

Anonymous said...

Not just blaber Nick Woerner, and yourself got thrown out. play by the rules don't be a sottile

Mike Madsen said...

hello 4:57. Odd that you would submit such a comment. Were you there? I was. Except for some missing Auerbach balloons, nothing really transpired at the fair that night.
If someone is posting comments on the contrary, they are mistaken.

Jeremy, Nick and I had the pleasure of chatting and joking around with Len for about 45 minutes before heading back. Len is easy to talk to and he has a sense of humor. What you might want to do is confer with your sources before saying anon comments here.

I understand other Blogs will even let you swear, so being truthful wouldnt be an issue.