I can remember standing in church with my mother when the priest read the titles of a series of books and movies that were banned by “The Legion of Decency.”

As a curious kid who grew up to question politicians of all stripes, I asked my mother what it meant.

Never one to challenge church dogma, Mother angrily whispered, “The priest says don’t do it, so don’t do it. It’s an article of faith,” or some such.

We are, I think, faced with a similar question regarding Proposal Number One, an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot on Nov. 5. Succinctly entitled “An Amendment to Protect Against Unequal Treatment,” all of which are encoded in state law.

Proponents argue that state law isn’t enough protection in that it is easier, though still difficult, to change state law than the constitution. An amendment to the state constitution, adopted right here in Kingston in April of 1777, requires approval by two separate sessions of the legislature and by voters.

While The Legion of Decency has gone the way of burning heretics at the stake, the Catholic Church has weighed in on the so-called Equal Rights Amendment (words which do not appear on the ballot), but only in one area., what Prop One calls “gender identity.”

One might reasonably ask just what does the ballot mean by gender identity. The church preaches it’s about controlling parents’ rights to supervise medical treatment of their children, specifically, sex changes. Again, Prop One doesn’t say that. It’s open to interpretation.

On one hand, no reasonable person should be opposed to equal rights or protections based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. A “no” vote “leaves these protections out of the state constitution,” states Prop One.

On the other hand, if voters turn over their ballot and don’t understand what even one of the 10 categories they’re being asked to approve in the constitution, no less, its chances of passage are slim.

Thirty-five thousand independent voters aside, support for the ERA seems to fall along major party lines.

Democrats, generally speaking, are in support; Republicans against. In Ulster County that means passage, but it’s a big state.

Me, I’ll go with Stevie Wonder. “If you believe in things, you don’t understand … ”

Local Props Even More Vague

There are two proposed amendments to the Ulster County Charter on the ballot this year. Neither gives much information pro or con.

Proposal 2, for instance, asks voters to “approve revised charter language and additions recommended by the Ulster County Charter Revision Commission (in 2023).”

What revisions?

Proposal number 3 offers another blank check, to wit:

“Shall the amendment (to the charter) as proposed by local law, providing greater transparency and public awareness and participation when filling a vacancy in the Ulster County Legislature, be adopted?”

Greater transparency in government? Are they kidding?

It’s Party Time!

With the Democratic nomination of Family Court Judge Keri Savona for another 10-year term, Democrats will hold every important countywide office come Jan. 1. I am a loyal Democrat, but this is one-party government with a vengeance.

I pause here to congratulate the judge on her pending re-election. Family Court, by any measure, is the toughest judicial assignment. Judges quite literally preside over human misery day in and day out. That Judge Savona, now an experienced jurist, was willing to take on that assignment for another 10 years is commendable.

As far as party dominance, things were worse, much, much worse under Republican rule. When asked how many of (then) 33 county legislators he expected to elect in November, Peter Savago, the late great GOP chairman of yesteryear, would say, “Why, all of them. That’s why we nominated them.” He got close, twice, with 28-5 majorities.

County Democrats aren’t there yet, but they’re working on it.

There are, however, a few, but only a few, clouds on the horizon. There are about 30 vacancies among the party’s 300-odd committee members, most of them in Kingston. Newly elected chair Barbara Graves-Poller will no doubt make beefing up that contingent a priority. As Kingston corporation counsel, she will certainly conduct party business on her own time, as Mayor Steve Noble has pledged.

A bigger issue for Graves-Poller and her dominant party is the role it will play going forward dealing with what some pundits call “the enemy within.”

Here, I refer to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which over the last few years has knocked off two long-standing Democratic incumbents, Assemblymember Kevin Cahill and legislature chair Dave Donaldson. There’s nothing like starting at the top to make a lasting impression.

As a result of those twin killings, DSA, with its cadres of foot soldiers and the ability to raise untold thousands for its designees, has Democratic incumbents shaking in their boots. All now keenly appreciate their vulnerability in primaries. It won’t play out this year, but it could go forward. All the elements are in place for what we might call coup, coup, coup.

How Graves-Poller and her party deals with this potential threat from their far-left wing remains a priority.

Building for the Future

Politicians running for federal and state office talk a lot about affordable housing. It’s a subject over which they have little control, but Ulster County is actually doing something about it.

Groundbreaking took place last week at the former county jail site on Golden Hill near Kingston’s southern border last week.

The $80 million project will provide 164 units for seniors, homeless people and the needy. But, oh, the cost. Even if located on 20 prime acres of county-owned land, the average cost of each apartment will approach half a million dollars.

The county is also proposing to build over 800 units of workforce housing at the former IBM site in the Town of Ulster, and there’s land aplenty for more such housing at the proposed county Emergency Center in New Paltz.

City Taxes Go Pop

The property tax rate used to be the Holy Grail of fiscal management. Town, county and city governments shuddered at raising rates even half a percentage point. No more, it seems.

On a Friday afternoon when everybody was getting ready for the bi-annual Burning of Kingston celebration, Mayor Noble announced an almost 9 percent property tax increase in next year’s budget.

That more than half of what could be the biggest tax increase in recent history will be dedicated to the city’s new ambulance service is entirely justifiable, doesn’t make it any less palpable.

This will not stand. Aldermen are already grousing about how much to sluice off the city’s 20 percent surplus to get this closest-to-home tax burden down to something that doesn’t cause widescale heart attacks.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer; they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Kingston Wire Editorial Team.