Showing posts with label 2009 election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 election. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 5

In the news: Elections board seeks recanvass of votes, PCYC webcasts first board meeting

In the Pike County Press:

In the Pike County Courier:
Note: according to Pike County Youth Coalition executive director Nick Troiano, School Board 2.0 is a project of the youth coalition, not a new, separate organization as the article in the Courier states.

Monday, July 20

Opinion: Yolanda Goldsack a "political appointee"

A reminder that all opinions are welcome on RB for DV. If you have a letter to the editor, please email it to me at ryan@ryanbalton.com. The opinions posted on RB for DV do not necessarily reflect my own.
Reading the news reports of Yolanda Goldsack's self-exoneration campaign, I find to my surprise that I and other members of the Pike County Democratic Committee (PCDC) are in agreement with much that she says. For example, members of the PCDC have said for years they doubted Mrs. Goldsack's qualifications to hold the job of Director of Elections (DOE). She says she had her doubts too.

Members of the PCDC have long complained of Mrs. Goldsack's inadequate training. She now confirms that with the benefit of but one day of training she was in fact inadequately trained.

Mrs. Goldsack points out that the County Board of Elections (BOE) was and is in violation of State Law. Members of the PCDC have made the same claim for years and particularly, as Mrs. Goldsack points out, with regard to purging voter rolls. There remain members of the PCDC who wonder even now why the voter rolls have not been purged again since 2007.

Mrs. Goldsack complains of being "muzzled" by the Pike County Commissioners. While this is doubtless true, it is her own fault. As a political appointee, Mrs. Goldsack seems to have viewed herself as a political operative with an obligation to obey the Party bosses. Hence being "muzzled" was acceptable, even required, if resented.

What Mrs. Goldsack did not appreciate was that despite being a political appointee, once in the chair of DOE, she was no longer a political operative, but a public servant. What she failed to understand was that her salary was paid not by Harry Forbes but instead by the taxpayers of Pike County. Had she realized this, she would have known that as a public servant she had an obligation to speak out when the electoral process in Pike County was threatened by anything or anyone.

Amazingly, Mrs. Goldsack and Commissioners Caridi and Forbes maintain that there were no proven, documented improprities during her tenure as DOE. This is not true; and is a claim contradicted by the public record.

Her husband's petition to be listed on the Democratic ballot in the most recent Primary Election was ruled by the Common Pleas Court to be flawed, and that Petition was set aside. Mrs. Goldsack, in violation of her responsibilities under State Law, accepted her husband's petition even as she rejected the petitions of others with similar flaws. In accepting her husband's petition, while rejecting those of others, Mrs. Goldsack displayed a favoritism which made whole and true the PCDC's long-time prediction of a "corrupting conflict of interest represented by her (Mrs. Goldsack's) presence as Director of Elections." I personally stand by that now self-evident assessment. For those interested, a copy of Judge Kameen's Order and Elizabeth Forrest's Petition to Set Aside are available at the PCDC website, www.pikecountydemocrats.org.

In her public statements Mrs. Goldsack has spent a lot of time vilifying Commissioner Forbes. Here too I find myself in agreement with her. I have long maintained that Yolanda Goldsack is not the problem, but instead a symptom of the problem. The real problem lies in the BOE and specifically, as most Democrats and many Republicans now agree, that Commissioner Forbes is the problem.

With Mrs. Goldsack's resignation; the County Commissioners having turned away $1,000,000 in federal aid; the County Auditors and Commissioners locked in what appears to be extended, expensive, tax-payer funded, hand-to-hand combat; and the Federal lawsuit brought by Dawn Metzger, it is past time for Commissioner Forbes to take a page from Yolanda Goldsack’s book—resign; and then go on a self-exoneration campaign. For it surely seems that the wheels are coming off Pike County government.

Julius Litman
Milford, PA

Wednesday, July 8

BREAKING: PC Press reports Yolanda Goldsack will not accept new position

Goldsack Resigns; Will Not Accept Transfer
The embattled former director of elections, Yolanda Goldsack, will not accept a transfer.

Goldsack told the Pike County Board of Commissioners at their weekly public meeting on July 8 that she is withdrawing her request for transfer.
Read more at PikeCountyPress.com

Wednesday, July 1

BREAKING: Gary Orben appointed elections director

Gary Orben was appointed director of the Pike County Board of Elections. He replaces Yolanda Goldsack, wife of Delaware Valley School Board president Bob Goldsack.

Read more from the Pike County Press

Monday, June 22

Pike Democrats commend Yolanda Goldsack's resignation

The Pike County Democratic Committee has issued the following statement:
“Yolanda Goldsack’s decision to resign as Director of Elections is an act of service to Pike County’s voters,” said Julius Litman, Chairperson of the Pike County Democratic Committee (PCDC).

Litman said during the more than two years that Mrs. Goldsack has held this position, Pike County Democrats have warned repeatedly against the corrupting conflict of interest represented by her presence as Director of Elections, even as these protestations fell on the deaf ears of the County’s Board of Commissioners.

”Recent events have not only demonstrated the accuracy of our predictions of trouble during the 2009 election cycle, but have caused many in Republican and Independent ranks to echo our concerns,” said Elizabeth Forrest, the county’s State Committeewoman to the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee.

The PCDC wishes Mrs. Goldsack well and hopes that the transfer she seeks to another County position will be a better fit for her and for taxpayers.

In order to regain the trust of Pike County’s voters, the PCDC is confident that the Board of Commissioners will publicly advertise for and actively seek a variety of qualified candidates in order to avoid any further suspicion of cronyism or patronage in a job that must be wholly non-partisan, both in practice and appearance. It is the PCDC’s fervent hope that the position of Director of Elections will be filled only after careful consideration and evaluation of candidates based on merit, proven experience, and tested professionalism.

"The complexities of election law make it imperative that we find a candidate, regardless of party, who can execute its requirements with confidence and accuracy,” Forrest said.

Both Litman and Forrest said the PCDC stands ready to cooperate with the new Director of Elections whoever he or she may be.

Saturday, June 20

Elections director Yolanda Goldsack to step down following controversy at the polls

Pike County Board of Elections director Yolanda Goldsack will step down and seek a new position in the county government, according to the Pike County Press and other sources. Yolanda is the wife of incumbent school board candidate Bob Goldsack, who helped fix a voting machine on primary election day while he was campaigning at the Dingman Township 2 polling station.

Read more at PikeCountyPress.com

Tuesday, June 9

Witness says commissioners report that Bob Goldsack helped reprogram party ID card encoder on primary election day

The following is a letter to the editor from Dingman Township resident Linda Boyle.

The investigation by the Pike County Commissioners is in process. I have received findings that have been found to be the way that I reported them. I am still in the process of receiving further information regarding my statement.

I am going to state facts only, which were given to me in a letter dated June 1 from Thomas F. Farley, county solicitor.

1. I was the first voter of the day. My card was automatically registered a Democrat because the Democrats are in power. Therefore, the card needed to be placed into an encoder. It was not encoded to Republican.

2. Bob Goldsack did contact the county elections office. He explained the problem with the encoder to an employee in the election office. That employee explained to Mr. Goldsack how to reprogram the encoder to change from Democrat to Republican. Mr. Goldsack then verbalized these instructions to a person working at the polls who, based on the information, instructed the employees how to reprogram the encoder.

3. Because of the law, my candidates of choice cannot be changed to my registered party.

4. The election office provided me with a provisional ballot and explained to me that such provisional ballot would count. A provisional ballot can only be used on Election Day. Thus, a provisional ballot is not the proper remedy nor can it be permitted.

5. The election must be certified. Certification can occur so long as the number of votes equal the election, the total election, or an amount less than the election. There is clearly no palpable error in the total number of votes cast such that election must be certified.

There is one quote that I would like to bring to your attention from an article that was in a newspaper dated May 28.

In a phone interview, it is quoted that Bob Goldsack said, “It’s a lie.” regarding my statement that he phoned the county elections office to get assistance with a voting problem on Election Day. You can see from the Commissioners’ findings that are stated above, that it was not a lie.

There is one quote that I would like to bring to your attention from an article that was in a newspaper dated June 4.

During the Commissioners’ Meeting, Attorney Farley is quoted as saying to me, “Everyone after you caught the error before they voted. You were the only one that didn’t realize and immediately point out the error.” In fact, when my husband and I met with Commissioners Caridi, Forbes, and Wagner, Attorney Farley, and the Chief Clerk immediately following the Commissioners’ Meeting, the “yellow book” was brought to the table. The book confirmed that I was voter No. 1 and one of the group of people who first noticed the discrepancy was voter No. 7.

In no way do I want to place any blame on the poll workers.

Linda Boyle

Friday, June 5

Tie is broken: Fisher will appear on Rep ballot

The tie between Jack Fisher and Ed Silverstone for the last spot on the Republican ticket for 4-year school board term was broken today in Fisher's favor.
Fisher’s proxy, Bill Greenlaw, drew the number from a hat, placing Fisher on the general election ballot as both a Democrat and Republican. Silverstone will not appear on the ballot this fall.

In accordance with state policy, the Pike County commissioners oversaw a “cast of lots” at noon on the second Friday after the tie was declared. The cast of lots involved random chance to break the tie, which remained after the votes were recounted and provisional ballots were counted.

Fisher chose not to participate in the cast of lots because of his opposition to gambling. Because the cast of lots would legally happen whether or not Fisher participated, Greenlaw offered to take his place.

General election ballot this fall
4 Year Term (vote for not more than four)
Jack Fisher - D/R
Bob Goldsack - R
Bill Greenlaw - D
Pam Lutfy - D/R
Sue Schor -D/R
 
2 Year Term
Chuck Pike - D/R
County commissioner Harry Forbes, pictured at left, held two straws of different length out to Greenlaw and Silverstone. The person choosing the longer straw was to be the first one to draw a number from the baseball cap sitting on the commissioners’ table. The person choosing number one (1) would be the winner.

Greenlaw asked Silverstone to pick the straw first since he was an actual candidate participating. Silverstone pulled the shorter straw, so Greenlaw chose the first number. Keeping his fist closed until Silverstone selected his number, Greenlaw had selected number one (1), and so Fisher was declared the winner of the cast of lots.


In attendance were many members of the local press, Pam Lutfy, Sue Schor, Silverstone’s wife and a few members of the public. The cast of lots happened at noon in the commissioners’ office at the county administrative building.

LIVE: Cast of lots coverage

12:02 p.m.
Greenlaw picks number 1. Fisher will be placed on ballot.

12:01 p.m.
Silverstone picks first straw. Greenlaw has longer straw.

12:01 p.m.
Meeting called to order. Draw of straws to happen. Larger straw pulls from hat. Two numbers: 1 or 2. 1 is the winner.

11:59 a.m.
At the commisioners office, a baseball cap is placed on the table at the front of the room. Plenty of press, the commissioners, Bill Greenlaw, Ed Silverstone and family, Sue Schor and Pam Lutfy are in attendance.

11:25 a.m.
Stay tuned for live updates about the cast of lots taking place at noon today to break the tie between Jack Fisher and Ed Silverstone for the fourth spot on the Republican ticket for 4-year school board term.

Thursday, May 28

Courier roundup: More on tie

Tie remains for spot on Republican ballot
Cast of lots to happen next Friday

The final remaining overseas military ballot did not arrive in time to be counted, and lots will be cast June 5 to break the tie between school board candidates Jack Fisher and Ed Silverstone, according to chief clerk Gary Orben.

The election will not be certified until after the cast of lots.

The remaining military ballot remained to U.S. Navy sailor Ashley Lamac, whose father Bill Lamac read a statement at the commissioners' meeting, an attendee said in an email. Her vote was not cast before Election Day because she was in the Persian Gulf and didn't get back to port in time, sources said.

As previously reported, the final ballot would have given Fisher one extra vote over Silverstone, breaking the time 639-638.

Fisher initially expressed hesitation about casting lots, saying he was morally opposed to gambling of any form. But, he said in an email, "I ran as a team. I am a team player. I am going to take one for the team."

Fisher will have one of his running mates, Bill Greenlaw, participate in the cast of lots by proxy.

"It is shameful that a military members absentee vote was disallowed," Fisher said. "Mr. Silverstone can right this wrong by conceding and withdrawing. That would be the honorable thing to do and I call upon him to [do] such."

Update (2:26 p.m.)
The military ballot was received May 28th at 11:15 a.m., according to Orben. The cast of lots will still take place as scheduled.

Tuesday, May 26

BREAKING NEWS: Military ballot that would give Fisher a Republican edge will not arrive today

The sole remaining overseas military ballot will not arrive today, according to an email from Future of Pike County PAC volunteer Nick Troiano. The ballot would break the tie between Jack Fisher and Ed Silverstone for the last spot for school board on the Republican ballot.

The sailor who received the ballot voted for Fisher and not Silverstone, according to the sailor's family, Troiano said in the email last night. If counted, it would place Fisher on the Republican ballot. Silverstone would not appear on the general election ballot this fall.

In order for the ballot to count, it needed to be postmarked by May 18 and arrive at the Board of Elections office by the end of business today, May 26, according to election officials.

The ballot was not received by the sailor until May 22, according to Troiano, and it was not mailed back until today.

Board of Elections director Yolanda Goldsack declined in an email to comment on any questions pertaining to the tie.

Saturday, May 23

It's all down to one vote; After canvass, Fisher/Silverstone tie remains

One overseas military ballot may determine the outcome of the tie between Jack Fisher and Ed Silverstone. The tie at 638 votes each from Tuesday’s election remains after county officials recounted votes and certified the election in a canvass of votes Friday.

Neither of the two provisional ballots accepted in the Delaware Valley School District affected the Fisher/Silverstone tie for the fourth spot of four for the Republican 4-year term. The provisional ballots were counted for the first time on Friday, but they were both Democratic ballots.

One other opportunity to break the tie arose in the Matamoras Borough 2 precinct, where absentee ballots had been incorrectly tallied. The mistake only affected the Democratic totals, so the 638-638 tie remained.

The Republican totals were unchanged by the canvass of votes.

Only one ballot remains to be potentially counted. The county can accept overseas military ballots up until May 26. One ballot was mailed to a female Republican serving aboard a ship at an APO address. If she postmarked the ballot by May 18, one day before the primary election, and it arrives by the end of the business day on May 26, it will be counted. And if she voted for Fisher or Silverstone – just one of them – her ballot will break the tie.

Should the ballot not arrive, state election law says the candidates must “cast lots,” leaving the spot to random chance.

The information in this report is from firsthand observation or according to officials at the canvass of the votes on Friday.

See also...
UPDATE: Who said one vote doesn’t count? (Pike County Courier)

Goldsack's Democratic write-in campaign unsuccessful

Bob Goldsack received 133 write-in Democratic votes for the 4-year school board term.

The county judge removed Goldsack from the Democratic ballot for substantial errors on Goldsack’s Democratic ballot filing paperwork. Goldsack and his non-profit organization, Taxpayers United, ran a write-in campaign as a result.

Goldsack’s 133 votes still put him behind the lowest vote getter, fellow TU candidate Benny Marasa. Marasa received only 243 Democratic votes.

Whether or not the lack of Democratic support for Goldsack was due to his removal from the ballot will be tested in the general election this fall. In a general election, voters can select candidates from any party. Goldsack will appear as a Republican only, having received the third most Republican votes.

Some notable recipients of write in votes, just one or two each, were:
  • Dingman Delaware Middle School teacher Ruth Schneck
  • Former DV employee and disgruntled writer of letters to the editor Tony Splendora
  • Pike Democratic Committee chairwoman Elizabeth Forrest (ironically, a Republican vote)
  • DV class of 2007 graduate Robert Pike
  • R. Holdsack, whose evil twin is the current school board president

In the race for sheriff, Goldsack and Chuck Pike each had a write-in. Jack Bauer, from the hit Fox TV show, “24,” had several write-ins for various races.

Canvass slightly widens Democratic lead for Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike, Schor

Three Democratic ballots were counted for the first time at Friday’s canvass of the votes, widening the Democratic leads for Jack Fisher, Bill Greenlaw, Pam Lutfy, Chuck Pike and Sue Schor.

Two provisional ballots were accepted by the Board of Elections and counted on Friday. One provisional ballot was in Delaware Township 2 and one was in Dingman Township 1. Fisher, Lutfy, Greenlaw and Schor’s Democratic totals increased by two votes, and Pike’s by one.

An error in tallying absentee ballots at Matamoras Borough 2 resulted in one more Democratic vote for Fisher, Greenlaw, Pike, Schor and Ed Silverstone. The error was made because the original counters did not realize the school board races appeared on the back of the paper absentee ballot.

The certified totals are:

4 Year Term (D)
Pam Lutfy* 600
Susan Schor*560
Jack Fisher* 497
Bill Greenlaw* 479
Ed Silverstone 337
Benny Marasa243 (unchanged)


4 Year Term (R) – ALL UNCHANGED
Pam Lutfy* 739
Susan Schor* 712
Robert Goldsack* 674
Jack Fisher* 638
Ed Silverstone* 638
Bill Greenlaw 630
Benny Marasa 593


2 Year Term (D)
Charles Pike* 510
Patty Wright 268 (UNCHANGED)


2 Year Term (R) – BOTH UNCHANGED
Charles Pike* 732
Patty Wright 545


The canvass started at 9 a.m., and by 3:30 p.m. officials had only counted votes for the precincts in the Delaware Valley School District. Six people assisted in the canvass of the votes, including Taxpayers United supporter DeAnna Margiore, who was one of two people recording votes in books.

Candidates present for part of the canvass were Greenlaw, Lutfy, Schor and Silverstone. Fisher said in an email he was not able to attend because of a personal obligation. Also present for part of the canvass were school board solicitor Mike Weinstein, members of the Support Professionals union and reporters from the Pike County Courier and Pike County Dispatch.

Board of Elections head Yolanda Goldsack and the county commissioners were not present for the canvass.

All of the information in this report is from firsthand observation or according to officials at the canvass of the votes on Friday.

Friday, May 22

Republican voter says her vote counted for the wrong party

A Republican voter in Dingman Township 2 said in a letter to the county commissioners that she was given a Democrat card for the computer voting machine.

The voter, Linda Boyle, also said that 4-year term school board candidate Bob Goldsack assisted in the reprogramming of the voting machine at the Dingman Township Firehouse polling location, after receiving verbal directions from the head of the Board of Elections, Yolanda Goldsack, Bob's wife.

Boyle said county chief clerk Gary Orben told her that the county's solicitor said today's canvas of the votes still had to take place as scheduled, despite the receipt of her letter. Boyle then distributed the letter to attendees of the canvas this morning.

READ HER LETTER
May 22, 2009

Richard A. Caridi, Commissioner
Harry Forbes, Commissioner
Karl A. Wagner, Jr., Commissioner
Gary Orben, Chief Clerk

I feel that the election was flawed and should not be certified today for the following reasons.

1. There was a problem with the voting cards being programmed at Dingman 2 from approximately 7:00 AM to 7:20 AM. I was voter #1. I am a registered Republican and the card that was given to me was a Democrat card. My vote was cast as a democrat and not a Republican.

2. I feel that it is a gross conflict of interest that Bob Goldsack had anything to do with the reprogramming of the card programmer, whether done personally or verbally, after receiving verbal directions from his wife, Yolanda Goldsack, on how to reprogram the card programmer.

3. Not all of the facts are known such as how many other polling areas have been affected, if at all, and if all of the voters after me and prior to the reprogramming of the card programmer have been notified of the problem.

4. I filed a notarized affidavit with the Pike County Commissioners’ Office on May 21, 2009 stating the events that have personally affected me. This information is currently under investigation by all of the Pike County
Commissioners. It is my desire to entrust this investigation to the
above-mentioned Commissioners.

I respectfully request that the certification of votes be postponed until all of the above information is gathered and the investigation is complete.

Linda G. Boyle
Milford, PA

Prior to handing this to the press, I spoke with Gary Orben. I asked him if my request was granted, would it have already been brought up or would it be brought up after the count. He said it would have already been brought up. Gary said that he spoke with the solicitor and the solicitor said the canvass must go on as scheduled.
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