Today is village election day in New Paltz, and the many candidates are vying for mayor and village trustee amid the kind of goofiness that often happens in a college town. The New Paltz Gadfly, who urges everyone to vote today from noon to 9pm at the Fire House, posted a "campaign video" for a rather unconventional candidate who seems to have made a late entry into the race. (You can watch the video above.)
The Gadfly also reports that two campaign signs on his street mysteriously disappeared on Sunday, and that the suspects are either drunken students or foul play:
[I] was expecting signs to go missing in the dark of night, when the students are crawling back to bed, and that they would be replaced with lawn decorations. When I have invited businesses to put a sign on my lawn, that's usually what happens. They disappear, either to be tossed into the undergrowth or to hang on a dorm room wall.
But these signs disappeared on a Sunday morning, when the alcohol which promotes mischief has moved on to creating stupor and hangovers. My previouspolitical sign took effort to remove, so I suspected foul play; this one was much easier to take, but I think it was more likely an opponent, not an admirer, who nicked it.
I guess over 200 years of being a college town takes its toll on the adults, too. But I still love this town, despite the ninnies and cowards who share it with me.
Meanwhile, students have been lackadaisical during the official campaign. According to the Times Herald-Record, only about six SUNY New Paltz students bothered to attend an on-campus debate featuring over a dozen candidates last week. One of those students was a reporter for the New Paltz Oracle, so there was a record of the conversation. According to the Oracle, one of the non-students in attendance was having an understandable problem in an election with so many candidates -- trouble narrowing them down:
For 16-year village resident Andrea Russo, the lack of unity between members of village government has remained a pivotal issue that she hopes will not affect the future board.
With Election Day around the corner, she said she is still undecided on which candidates will get her vote.
“My problem is I think there’s more than one qualified candidate,” she said. “I’m having a problem limiting my choice and I don’t think I’m any closer.”
2:30pm update: I mistakenly said that voting ends at 4pm in New Paltz tonight. It ends at 9pm. The above post has been corrected. Mea culpa.
