I believe the reason that Astorino was elected in 2009, was because many voters were tired of too many years of Andy Spano, first as County Clerk, and then as County Executive. And by 2009, Spano was too old.

Based on demographics and Astorino's dismal record, it is likely that Noam Bramson will be elected County Executive in 2013. Of course we will find out in November, who the voters prefer.

If Noam Bramson is elected County Exec and resigns as Mayor, there are 7 members of the New Rochelle City Council, and they will determine who is appointed to be Mayor from no-longer-than-the-period-of January 1 thru December 31, 2014. They could end up appointing whoever they choose. We have no reason to assume who that choice will be.

That probably-less-than-one-year appointment would be superceded by a Mayor elected in a Special Election in 2014. That Special Election might occur as late as November 2014, but under NY Election Law, that Special Election would likely be earlier in 2014. Nonetheless, by January 1, 2015, and probably earlier in 2014, we will have an elected Mayor whose term would end December 31, 2015.

On Election Day of November 2015, we will have a regular election for Mayor and the other City Council Members. They will be inaugurated on January 1, 2016.

Therefore, it is possible that between now and January 1, 2016, New Rochelle will have had four different people serving as Mayor.

The pragmatic question for NR's Republicans, is who would they want appointed Mayor in 2013, and who will they run in the two elections that would occur in 2014 and 2015? Certainly their nominated candidates for Mayor, in 2007 and 2011, were poor choices guaranteed to lose the day they were nominated.

If the Republicans want any chance to win any election as Mayor, they must choose someone who avoids Tea Party politics, who disdains the obstructions of Republicans in Congress, who is Pro-Choice, who promises to maintain if not enhance municipal services, and who does not appear hostile to the interests of the lower income voters of the South End nor the higher income voters of the North End.

Although a pragmatic Republican Party could win election as Mayor of New Rochelle, I suspect that the local Tea Party would choose to spite its face by chewing off its nose.

This piece by Warren is from his Facebook. We saw each other a few days ago and I said I would put it out for him. The reason for the post is he wanted to show his support of Bob Cox’s quest to become a member of The New Rochelle School Board and urge other residents to support Bob Cox. His point was to urge those that may still believe in Noam to support Bob Cox for New Rochelle School Board regardless of their beliefs and friend ships with him.

There is only that passing reference to Noam. The rest of the post refers to Bob Cox and how Bob Cox can think outside of the box and has the necessary base to serve on The New Rochelle School Board. His personal politics are irrelevant. He points out that Bob Cox is not running for council membership, he is not a lawyer or an educator, he is an ex business man and media specialist. His main point, the reason to support Bob Cox is simple; the man fully understands the educational challenges facing our City and has the courage to address these and yes, to do so in a collaborative way with his colleagues.

For the many reasons Warren gives in his Warrenesk way, I also support Bob Cox in his run for The New Rochelle School Board. I have seen him in action on this site and at School Board Meetings. He asks the right questions and has the ability to give solutions and help solve the problems that exist within the school system. We have seen this many times here on Talk of the Sound. Much of his research and follow up have lead to the true problems eventually being brought forward and not hidden under the rug. His knowledge and hard work would be a true blessing and a breath of fresh air for The New Rochelle School Board, our children and taxes would benefit the most.

Sorry I missed last night, Good Luck Bob!

Bramson is a crook and a follow-on instrument in the corruption and downfall of New Rochelle, which is now a sewer. Everyone knows that.

Bob Cox has been exposing Idoni and Bramson and will no doubt expose the new Mayor whom Bramson appoints and the stupid New Rochelle citizens vote in, so Bob Cox is a hero.

Hence my very sad disappointment at Warren's post.

I assume your note isn't to me, willyrand.

Mayor Bramson, A sniveling immature bully. It’s my way. I don’t care about you the taxpayer.

Congratulations to the East End Civic Association for trying to get to the truth behind the proposal to develop Echo Bay. If residents of the rest of the city (including those from our chronically local news-starved north end) can find their way to this report, I am sure the groundswell of public curiosity concerning what may be turning out to be nothing more than an ill-starred, glorified housing project will be, well, earthshaking!

We have seen from Echo Bay Facts the awesome power of simple, non-partisan distribution and dissemination of just the basic facts. Would that the entire community learn what has been revealed by the authors.

And just think; this important new component of New Rochelle's long-standing informal movement of "reform" grew out of a simple information-gathering neighborhood meeting just a few weeks ago.

Nice report on the EastEnd Association meeting especially regarding the Echo Bay Development

Demands for the mayor and other proponents of this project to justify their claims of "significant economic benefit" to the residents and taxpayers of New Rochelle have been made for weeks

The inability of them to detail the "benefits" strongly suggests that they do not exist.

The question is simple...if the project is so favorable to the residents, why can't the numbers be revealed?

Mayor Bramson has made a career out of blowing smoke and spinning his propaganda. Its all about trying to find something for him to stand upon for his meager and faltering political career.
The proof is in the shape New Rochelle is in with the projects that he has championed.
New Roc City? What is it?
LeCount Place Bramsons dream for his Political Future climbing out of the ashes. Ooops its still in the ashes LeCount has been Bramson Blighted...
Trump Cappelli half empty no retail.
Avalons draining city services and passing it all on to the Tax payer and the School district. The DEIS for the AVALONs were manipulated to show less school children and now we are footing the Bill. Bramson wants to continue the Ruse with Echo Bay and then on the County Level and the Democrats made him the poster child of how the County should be run. Hello he has presided over the New Rochelle .99 cent store economy. He should be run out of here not sent up to a higher office.

I am hoping someday people will realize that the City is NOT hiring in accordance with the merit and fitness clause of the NYS Constitution and instead hiring on the basis of who knows who. Most positions are being filled "provisionally" which means they can hire anyone they want without giving a test. Then, after the provisional is hired, they give the exam. So taking the exam is a waste of time as they already made their selection.

Moreover, the City had a residency rule in place but for many years they didn't comply with it and people were rejected for jobs illegally. This Civil Service department is corrupt and makes up the rules as they go along. Stay tuned, more interesting fact will shortly be posted on this website.

>>>I also am a supporter of Noam Bramson and will remain one as he seeks higher County office.

Realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly?

Dear me, that makes me SO sad. That's all I'll say.

>>>I am in full support of Bob Cox quest to become a member of the New Rochelle School Board and I urge all residents to support him.

Amen. Good luck, Bob Cox. Especially since Cox has helped to expose the crooked politics that is New Rochelle politics and the fish that stinks at the head, aka, Noam Bramson who is the stinking fish that will pollute Westchester County if the morons allow him to sit at the right hand of the head crook, Idoni.

Be well, Warren.

I need to know who out there is supporting me so we can contact them as the election approaches and remind them to get to the polls on May 21st.

If you are supporting me (and registered to vote in NR) please send me the following (robertcox@talkofthesound.com):

Name
Address
Phone
Email

If you are not registered to vote, you have until May 7th to be eligible for this election. You can get the forms online:

http://citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/register-to-vote

If you need assistance getting register email me at the address above and I will help. More than ever, your vote can make a real difference.

PS, campaign donations do not hurt either (see bob4boe.org for more on this)

Thank you. I appreciate that you actually provided facts.

I presume both homes referred to, are in New Rochelle. If not, then there was no reason to refer to ones outside of this city.

It is likely that these homes were overly-appraised in 2006 and 2008, due to the nation-wide real estate bubble. This is especially true of your friend's $980,000 home. The buyer of your friend's home was likely foolish to buy that property at unrealistic, overly-inflated prices.

Also, you state their reduced values in 2011, when Bush's Great Recession was still peaking. I suspect, 2013 appraisals would reflect much higher values than those of 2011. You have claimed that currently, NR real estate is down 30%, but what are their values currently in 2013?

As a comparison, compare stock prices in 2006, 2008, 2011 and currently. Many stocks and stock indexes, hit heavily by the Great Recession in 2008, are hitting new, all-time highs in 2013.

If your property values are currently down the 30% you claim, you need to contact a good lawyer to file an Art 78 to reduce your tax assessment.

However, New Rochelle hasn't done a city-wide reassessment since about 1956. Unless your property was reassessed in the last 20 years, its likely that your property is assessed much below its true value, which means your property might have been very under-assessed for decades, and that currently, the true value of your home is under-taxed.

You have my sympathy, regarding your taxes. But New Rochelle's residential property values are very related to the quality of our excellent public schools. If school taxes were cut city-wide, it would probably cause real estate values to fall, which is why most NR residents vote for school tax increases every time there is a referendum.

BMWCH - Ironically, you are delusionally lurking on the fringes.