Gillibrand’s Political Pedigree

Steve Hopkins’ just-published article on Kirsten Gillibrand — our newly elevated senator — in the current issue of The Hudson Valley Chronic reveals an interesting political pedigree of the young senator.

Hopkins writes that Gillibrand was groomed as “the scion of a key contingent in the powerful O’Connell dynasty that ran Albany for half a century.”

Gillibrand serves on several senate committees: Special Committee on Aging; Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Committee on Environment and Public Works; and the Committee on Foreign Relations. With the recent stimulus package, it should prove interesting how Gillibrand positions herself on the environment and public works committee.

To see Gillibrand’s senate page, click here.

Now is the Time to Unite

When Martin Luther King, Jr. made a famous speech at a certain march on D.C. in 1963, he told those in attendance that, “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.”

He was referring to the Civil Rights Movement, but this thought is relevent now, here in Kingston.

As president-elect Obama takes the helm of the country, local folks here in Kingston need to step up to the plate. We need to help one another at this critical time. We need to create unity.

On that last point, our most recent survey showed as of today that most people — 46 percent — in the city say “unity” is what Kingston needs the most.

The first step, of course, would be to work toward changing your own mindset. Look at Kingston not as a place with three distinct sections (uptown, downtown and midtown) and nine separate wards, but as one city with many different neighborhoods.

When people ask where you live, just say “Kingston” instead of midtown or uptown or where ever.

While you are thinking Kingston to be one, look at your own block the same way. Look at it not as a bunch of separate houses, but a single neighborhood where people have one amazing thing in common: they are all neighbors.

These are the seeds of community.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz