Thursday night

What kind of country do you want to live in?

Bill Clinton's speech last night, if it did nothing more, made it clear to a primetime audience just what the difference is between the two competing visions of America.  You may or may not like it; you may or may not subscribe to the Democratic vision, but you can't say you don't know the difference.  That's the job of a keynote convention speaker (as well as extolling the virtues of the candidate), and the Big Dog delivered.  He was elder statesman and teacher, exhorter and entertainer.  He gave a long speech that seemed to be over in a flash, even at the end of a long evening.

But you probably saw the speech, and you're probably not coming here to find out about what I thought about it.  I do think you should check out St. Louis Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's speech for a peek into a large and vibrant - and often overlooked - region of the Democratic experience.  And just for the benefit of the luminous smile, check out Sister Simone Campbell.

The delegates seemed tired last night.  I know that I was tired.  It was well into the morning hours before I got to sleep either night.  They seem to have the bus situation close to handled, although there are still some glitches (some delegates waited over an hour for their route bus, while eight or ten buses came for the route next to them).  My bus driver last night was from Mobile, Alabama.

Yesterday, at one of the caucuses, I met the woman who is responsible for the portion of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which allows children to remain on their parent's health insurance until they reach 26 years of age.  Right after that, she was defeated by the Tea Party; it was her only term in Congress.  That's what kind of country we live in right now.  I shook her hand and thanked her, and told her my boys thank her, too.

I don't have much time this morning, and I've spent a bunch of it talking to other delegates (imagine that!).  The truth is, except for signing the ballot yesterday morning, if I hadn't shown up, no one would have noticed.  It's nice to have lots of other folks around who have a lot to say and are as interested in the nuts and bolts of politics as I am.

I'll be back; got to get the bus to hear Governor Cuomo (and when I type that, I notice that I do really wish I meant Mario). 

Tuesday night

So where do I start?

I wanted to start with the continuing story of the great transportation disaster (three bus rides from hell in three and a half days), but even that tends to fade into the background against the experience of being on the convention floor last night.

Michelle Obama looked like she was born to do what she did last night.  She was strong and focused, clear and personal, compelling, compassionate and she made sense.  She spoke about character, which always makes me sit up and take notice:  I want, perhaps more than anything, a president with character.  She talked about her fears of what the Presidential experience would do to her children.  "Being president doesn't change who you are; it reveals who you are."  She is happy about what was revealed.  So am I.

There were - oh, I don't know, I didn't count - thirty or so speeches last night.  It was a mixed bag, and it took six hours.  I saw them all, and I think it's a new ball game.  The months of gloomy analysis about the lack of enthusiasm for the ticket and the re-election effort are over.  There was nothing but enthusiasm and - OK, I'll say it - hope, in the house last night.

So far, I'd give the "Barack Obama 2004 Convention Speech Award" to Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, but many of the pundits seem to be giving it to Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts.  I was disappointed that he didn't spend much time on Romneycare.  I liked Ted Strickland, former Governor of Ohio; the word on him seems to be that he was trying to ignite a class war.  I believe that we have been engaged in class warfare for half a century, at least, and that the rich have pretty much won.  And the notion that we should avoid anything that resembles fighting back is of great use to those who hold the advantage.

I'm in the breakfast room of the hotel right now, dividing my time between writing and joining in the conversation.  For a while the conversation focused on Michelle's dress, nails and work-out musculature.  I got a lot of writing done (I didn't remember what color her dress was, and when shown a picture, I still don't know...).  But we moved to another subject that the opposition is trying to convince us is impolite to mention:  race.  A black woman from the City spoke about her daughter, in college, who is trying to develop her own political identity. She can't get by the 'dog-whistle' issues - the phrases and issues which signal to those in the know how the speaker feels about racial issues.  "Do they think we're stupid?" her daughter asked.  "Maybe in grandma's day, when they didn't have the educational opportunities, but now... it's horrible."

The mayor of Hornell is sitting next to me, and we're talking (along with a former Town Supervisor from LI and the former Sheriff of Fulton County) about town/city merger vs. annexation of part of the town; Hizonner has sent Oneonta some information about this process, since Hornell is the only city in the state, according to him, which has successfully annexed contiguous land.  Everybody won.

It's rained here every day (I just missed getting wet yesterday), and the forecast is the same.  President Obama's speech venue has been changed, from the very big open sports stadium it was originally scheduled for, to the arena that the rest of the Convention has been held in.  Lots of folks won't be able to attend; there are 'watch parties' scheduled all over town.

On the way - the long way - to find the bus last night, I happened to be standing at an intersection when what I assume was Michelle Obama's convoy sped by.  Six or eight motorcycle policemen, with lights and sirens; then three or four Sheriffs' cars, four or five black SUVs, then three more police cars.  The were all going very fast.  At the intersection, there were about a dozen heavily-armed soldiers who were, as everyone in uniform as been, pleasant and vigilant.  Later, I found out that all traffic in town stopped until the convoy got out of town.

I did go to the Rural Council yesterday.  It was mostly about agriculture, and I took a lot of notes.  The Farm Bill - which includes the SNAP (Food Stamps) program, has been held up, unsurprisingly, in the House.  Fourteen cents of every SNAP dollar goes to American farmers.  Go figure.

Hey - I got my shoes shined!  Now they're (supposedly) very water resistant, and it's going to rain hard when I need to be walking outside.  See you later.

Tuesday morning

I've got some time before the Rural Council, and the general session - on the convention floor! - starts right after that.

Since this is the first day of the general session, it was the first day our credentials said "Floor Delegate."  I know all about how conventions have become less about doing the work of the party and more about campaigning, with the delegates relegated, for the most part, to the role of audience.  I don't care.  Putting that badge in my credential holder today was a profoundly moving experience.  I was here, in the wheels of democracy, personally part of over two hundred years of history.  I was participating, in an intense and  formal way, in America.  It was the same feeling, and for the same reason, that I had when I was sworn in as a County Representative in January.

On the bus back from downtown (actually, they call it 'uptown') yesterday, I sat next to Mike, a financial analyst who works for San Bernadino County in California, east of LA.  He spoke with a south Asian accent, and had a great sense of humor:  he showed me pictures he had had taken of himself at the podium of the caucus he attended just as it was breaking up; he pretended he was speaking.  He said, "A picture doesn't lie, does it?  I spoke at the convention!"  Anyway, Mike said he had had a conversation with a journalist who  attended the Republican convention as well.  The journalist was amazed at the diversity at the convention here in Charlotte.  "In Tampa," he said, "everyone was white.  And there were no families."  Here in Charlotte, it's like America.  Given that Caucasians will cease being in the majority in America soon (in demographic time), I'm glad I'm here and not in Tampa.

Mike also told me that the County Supervisors in his county make over $200,000 a year in salaries and benefits.  I looked it up, and it's true.  Kind of puts things in perspective.

I mentioned that the bus drivers were from all over (Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia), and that's also true of the police, who are everywhere, often in large groups, often on motorcycles or bicycles.  All very friendly, and very vigilant.  I saw uniformed officers from Chicago, Louisville KY, Virginia, and other places I can't remember.  I also saw a Secret Service agent; I knew that because his Kevlar vest said "Secret Service" on it, and he had one of those ear things.  Helicopters hover high above the city.  And the President isn't even here yet.

Michelle Obama, among others, will be speaking tonight.  I don't think I'm going to comment much about the main floor speeches, since everyone will have the opportunity to see them, but who knows.  I've got to go finish drying out everything I had on or with me yesterday.  See you tomorrow.

The Rest of Monday

The Charlotte Convention Center is about the size of, say, Oneonta.  The city, not the town.  For all it's voluminous size, it's easy to get around and easy to find the room you're looking for.  I was looking for Room 203, where the Faith Council was to meet.

Back in the day, delegates to party conventions had a hand in creating the party's platform (as well as, in many cases, actually choosing which aspirant would be the party's presidential candidate).  Today, that's all done well before the convention.  Now we meet in interest groups, and listen to the folks from the national party, who have been working on the issue for a long time, speak with intelligence and passion about the importance of the issue to the party, the campaign and the country.

Well, I don't know if that's the case all the time, but it was the case at the Faith Council.  About a dozen speakers filled two hours with insight into the faith foundations of the Democratic Party.  The speakers often came back to the strange and unfortunate habit of the media, the public, and Democrats themselves to cede the faith issues to the other side.  "Since when is faith only about abortion and homosexuality?" asked one speaker.  "Why isn't the faith conversation about homelessness and injustice?"  Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver of Missouri talked about the difference between "nine months" and "cradle to grave," and suggested that there was those who would choose those first nine months and then lose interest after that.  As a Democrat who feels strongly that abortion is the wrong choice most of the time, I worry much more about our lack of commitment to children once they are born.

There were a number of really good five minute sermons at the Faith Council, and a couple of stories of personal experience of Barack Obama not only knowing and speaking intelligently about Scripture, but acting with the grace and compassion that Scripture requires of us. 

I have always believed that if Jesus' teaching were translated into political terms, he would be a progressive Democrat.  I was thrilled to hear speaker after speaker reflecting and magnifying that belief.  From immigration to healthcare to voter suppression to racism, the preachers and rabbis and political professionals made it clear that they stood where they stood because of their faith.

Or, in at least one case, because of their faith but in spite of their religion.  Congressman Cleaver drew our attention to a letter sent by the Catholic church to his Catholic constituents saying, in effect, that anyone who voted Democratic would go to hell.   Robert Johnson, a black Catholic campaign worker, reminded us that Paul Ryan, whose budget plans are the centerpiece of the Republican economic plan, is a Catholic - and that the Catholic bishops have called the Ryan budget "immoral" because of the detrimental effect is has on God's people.

Johnson also reminded us of something St. Augustine wrote:  "Charity is no substitute for justice not served."  I think I'll just leave it there.

After the Faith Council, I went over to Wild Buffalo Wings, where NY delegates will be eating for free all week.  They had a small buffet set up for us - wings, sliders, fries.  Really tasty, unhealthy food.  Then it was off to Carolina Fest, a downtown street fair (which was strangely reminiscent of a county fair) set out just for DNC delegates.  At the center of town, I watched Jeff Bridges and his band and, after a rain delay, James Taylor.  Then back to the bus, soaking wet, and the bus ride from hell.  But I'm not going to talk about that.

Tomorrow the general sessions begin.  The real work.  See you soon.

Breakfast Monday (happy Labor Day!)

Just got back from the NY Dems breakfast meeting.  Imagine a tent longer than a football field, and about a third as wide.  Podium along one of the long sides; professional lighting, sound; half-a-dozen big screens for people who aren't up close.  The rest of the space is dining tables.  Breakfast was good, not great (no bacon!).

There were over a dozen speakers, most there to fire up the crowd.  It's Labor Day today, so NY labor leaders led off, followed by NYS Assemblymen, mayors, and NYDC officials.  The mayor of Syracuse introduced the mayor of Minneapolis, who introduced the mayor of Charlotte, Anthony Fox - an African-American lawyer (NYU |Law School) who is the first Democratic mayor in 22 years.

A couple of things stood out for me.  The Co-Chair of the NYSDC noted that "...because we are Democrats, we believe that a recovery is not a recovery until everybody does better."  I've always felt the same way about government:  we're all in it together, and nobody is collateral damage.  I think this serves as one of the more striking differences between the parties.

The President of NYS United Teachers (a leading teachers' union) related the story of a coalition of labor, civil rights and religious leaders he met with yesterday, elsewhere in North Carolina.  They're working on a law that would allow public employees the right to bargain collectively.  Imagine that.  One of the ministers who spoke at that meeting called NC a "right-to-work-for-less-money" state.

Anyway.  Transportation seems to be organized a lot better this morning, although a few of us just walked back to the hotel from the breakfast, because the bus driver hadn't gotten clear instructions about where to take us.  He was from Atlanta.

I'm off to the Carolina Fest, downtown, and one of the caucuses I'll participate in - the Faith Council (the other one is the Rural Council, which meets tomorrow).

DNC Reception

Just got back from the DNC reception in downtown Charlotte.  I was ready for the bus, at the hotel lobby, at 4PM; I got home at 9:30, and spent only two hours during that time at the reception.  If you do the math, you will realize how far the organizers are from having a functioning transportation system.  Lots of time waiting (and getting to know fellow NY delegates), lots of time crawling toward Charlotte in a non-air-conditioned bus, and finally a 13 block walk to the reception, because the bus driver couldn't figure out how to get to the site.  In his defense, much of downtown Charlotte is closed to all traffic, and most of the ubiquitouos emergency services personnel he asked didn't know how to help.

But  we got there eventually, and the Democrats seem to be a very diverse group.  Lots of people of all colors (except, now that I think of it, Asians), a blind man, two in wheelchairs, and one person with dwarfism.  A large number of labor folks (to judge by the t-shirts), which is nice to see, given that the convention is being held in a right-to-work state and because of that, major labor groups are passing it up.

The reception was given in Discovery Place, the downtown science discovery center, two stories of colorful, mazelike, interesting science stuff.  If it were my place, I would have had a little more hands-on experiences, but it was great anyway.  Lots of us wandered around and played with the exhibits, but most talked in small groups and ate the Carolina specialty food (Carolina caviar on pimento dip was my favorite) and an open bar, which is apparently standard at conventions.  Lots of music; three stages on two floors - cool jazz, acoustic guitar/mandolin, Latin (but not ska, sorry Randall), and a group of black kids in colorful sweaters who sang and danced an energetic, athletic, irresistible set, including a sweet, touching version of "God Bless America" with everyone singing along.

There was nothing particularly political about the gathering (except for the Democrat/Obama sale table at one end), but there were a lot of conversations among people from all regions and backgrounds.  I met a lot of NYers - a State Assemblyman from LI, a bunch of retired teachers from upstate, the Mayor of Albany, an English teacher who is active in the teachers union statewide, and a recent college graduate from Manhattan who's a campaign volunteer.  Democrats took pictures of each other under the grizzly bear; they designed houses on computers in the design section; they laid on a metal bed where thousands of nails came up from thousands of holes to demonstrate the distribution of weight; they danced to Latin and some other kind of music that came from a DJ working a computer and that my sons would know the name of but I don't.

On the way home, we swapped stories with our bus driver, who is from Mississippi (highly skilled, but out-of-town bus drivers don't help the transport situation).  He lives near the home of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, which was damaged by Hurricane Camille in 1969 - and was restored largely using donations from New Yorkers.  It's a strange world.

Sunday

After a nice visit with relatives outside Lancaster, PA, last night, I was on the road at 0:dark:30, heading south.  If you have to spend a day in the car, you can't do much better than I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia, and then I-77 south across North Carolina.  Coming down out of the mountains onto the piedmont this afternoon, I drove through scenery as breathtaking as any I've ever seen.

Charlotte is a new city - lots of chrome and glass in tall, modern buildings.  It's the smallest national convention venue since New Orleans in 1988; there are 'only' 15,000 hotel rooms in the metro area, and 40,000 folks are expected (just under 5,000 delegates), according to today's "Charlotte Observer."  I had looked forward to having my wife Abbey join me for the convention, but as the summer progressed, I got more and more bad news from the DNC and the NY Democratic Committee regarding how few, if any, credentials, venue space and even shuttle seats would be available to non-delegates.  It's a small town to be hosting such a huge event.

But so far so good.  There were representatives of the NY Democratic Committee and the Charlotte event planners right in the hotel lobby, with credentials, maps, and information.   I'm watching a baseball game for a while and - most important - not driving.

I had a note from a friend yesterday, remembering her experience of conventions past, when we were all much younger:

This is a ritual I remember (just watching) from a childhood where the trinity really was FDR, Adlai and Hubert.  When I see any of it I can go right back to the roasting Maryland nights we watched every last minute. Gavel to gavel quite literally.  I can feel the wallpaper peeling off from the humidity and hear the ice settle as it melted in the glasses of tea. That ritual and all that went with it all year long taught me to believe so strongly in the system, the power of the people to effect change and the truly good that we could all do together. That is why this means so much.

I have similar memories.  Ted Kennedy in 1980:  "The dream shall never die!"  Mario Cuomo in 1984:  "This country is a shining city on a hill."  The iconic 1968 DNC in Chicago:  "The whole world is watching!"  Barack Obama in 2004:

There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America... We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states.  We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.  There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. 

That's something to believe in.   I listened to that one with my family, and at the end I said, "He will be the next Democratic nominee for President."  Now here I am, ready to vote on the convention floor, ready to put his name into nomination for a second term, this, the second inexperienced junior Senator from Illinois to become president.

It's been nearly 30 years since either party began their convention without a candidate who had clinched the nomination.  Many say the days of conventions as useful or relevant events are coming to a close.  We'll see.  I'm part of a history that means a great deal to me, and that's enough.

See you soon.

Charlotte bound!

As some of you may know, I'm a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC next week.  I'm representing NY's 24th Congressional District - which no longer exists.  The delegate selection was done before the re-districting, so we're all representing the map the way it used to look (Oneonta's now in the 19th CD, which roughly covers the Catskill Mountains).

I'm going to try and record my experiences at the Convention right here at Otsego11.  I say 'try' because the schedule looks pretty full, especially if you factor in getting around an unfamiliar city. Things start early and end way past my bedtime.

I'll be driving our Prius down to Charlotte, a two day trip with an overnight outside Lancaster, PA, at my wife's sister's house.  I'm looking forward to the Shenandoah Valley.

I'll do my best to keep you up to date.  It's an entirely new experience for me, and I don't know what to expect.  Leave questions in the Comments, and I'll take a shot at answering them.

East Street Parking Lot Project

Not much has changed at the corners of East St., Bugbee Rd. and Meadowbrook Lane in the last few months. What looked like construction work on the property has stopped, and the status of the land use applications is about what it was at that time.

A parking lot is not considered a proper use of this land, in the City or the Town, so Mr. Ranieri must apply for a use variance from both the the Zoning Board of Appeals, in the City, and the Town Planning Board. The ZBA has not acted, as far as I know, and the Town Planning Board considers the application incomplete, and will not act, one would assume, until all the elements of the application are presented.

I received a copy of the County Planning Board's “Notice of Recommendation” for the project last week. The Planning Board neither approved nor disapproved, since there was 'no significant county-wide or inter-community impacts;' this is consistent with their responsibility in these matters. However, the document does mention some concerns, including the impact on the community character. I talked with Karen Sullivan, Director of the Otsego County Planning Board, this morning, and she noted that Mr. Ranieri has not produced the kinds of plans necessary for the various agencies to come to a decision, so significant change up on the corner is, apparently, still in the distant future – if at all.

More Detail on the Future of the Manor

As promised, a little more detail regarding the Manor and its future.

As I noted yesterday, keeping the Manor open and functioning, unchanged, will cost Otsego County taxpayers four to six million dollars a year above and beyond the expected revenues. Given that revenues (mostly Medicaid and Medicare) are dropping every year, and expenses are increasing, that annual subsidy will increase with time.

Here are the four options for the future, as developed by the Manor Committee and Manor Director Ed Marchi:

• Option 1: No change. See above.
• Option 2: Turn in the operating certificate, and sell the building to be used as a hotel. This would get us out of the nursing home business, and leave us only with debt service (depending on purchase price) and legacy costs (retirees' health insurance, etc.), which would diminish over time. As noted yesterday, this is somewhat unattractive to a potential buyer, because current residents have the option of remaining in the building for the rest of their lives, or moving voluntarily, and the transition to a hotel could not be done until the last resident was gone. This is not an option we are likely to pursue.
• Option 3: Retain the building with reduced Skilled Nursing beds, which would be operated by the County, and find “Community Partners” to run the Medicaid Assisted Living program. This would retain most of the services currently available through the Manor, and reduce the annual subsidy somewhat, but it wouldn't eliminate it, nor would it slow down its growth. In addition, for rather technical reasons, this option would probably lose money – above and beyond the subsidy – in the range of two million dollars per year.
• Option 4: Sell the building and lease the Skilled Nursing portion of the Manor function, but reduce the number of beds. This would be economically viable (as Option 3 would not be), and would leave us only with debt service on the building (depending on purchase price) and legacy costs (retirees' health insurance, etc.), which would diminish over time.
• Option 5: Sell the building and the operating certificate to an entity which would operate the Manor, to the greatest extent possible, as it has been. This process might be costly up front, and we would need to retain staff to continue to claim outstanding reimbursements for up to a year after the sale, but it would leave us, as in Options 2 and 4, only with debt service on the building (depending on purchase price) and legacy costs (retirees' health insurance, etc.), which would diminish over time.

On Wednesday, we empowered Cathy Clarke, Board Chair, to negotiate with a well-recommended consulting company who is in the business of doing just this: helping with the transfer of health facilities.

Our first priority is still the care and comfort of our residents. Stay tuned for further develpments.