In the 2nd Ward of the City of Poughkeepsie – hotly contested in the last election cycle – every vote counts. When 96 of those votes belong to residents of a low-income housing project, politicians do well to keep them happy.
But for the tenants at Eastman Towers, there has been little satisfaction with unsafe and unclean living conditions. Councilman Erik Haight (R-2nd Ward) has championed his constituents’ cause, though the problems – frequent false fire alarms, no heat – have persisted. Now that a polling site has been removed from the residence, community activist Denise Bolds worries the residents can add voter disenfranchisement to their list of grievances.
Bolds, a social worker, wants to know who is responsible for taking polls from Eastman, located at 22 Montgomery St. For many years Eastman residents, some who are elderly or disabled, have voted from a polling site inside their building. But this November they must cross the street to vote at the YMCA. While such a short walk might not sound like a great hardship, Arabella Denny, a 20-year resident who recently moved out of the building, said fewer voters will turn out. “They (Eastman residents) can’t get around that well. They’re not going to walk across the street,” she said.
Bolds has heard different accounts from Haight and the Democratic elections commissioner, Fran Knapp about who is responsible. From a political standpoint, public perception is doubly important in an overwhelmingly Democratic ward that went to a Republican last year (after a judge ruled on an absentee ballot dispute),. There are only 178 registered Republicans out of 1,277 voters in the ward, meaning Haight will likely need to draw support from some of the 688 Democrats to win reelection.
Bolds called the change “a huge violation of the rights of the residents of Eastman Terrace” in an e-mail to Knapp. “The majority of the residents here are homebound, utilizing DME (Durable Medical Equipment) and portable oxygen to get around. In the six years of living in my home (in the 2nd Ward), I have always voted at Eastman. I thought the move to the YMCA was due to renovation/construction being done at Eastman. I was wrong,” Bolds wrote.
The Common Council recommends polling sites to the Board of Elections (BOE), and council members discussed sites at a Feb. 20 meeting. On that date, Felicia Santos, the city chamberlain, reported that the Eastman polling site hadn’t always opened on time and made some voters uncomfortable: “If you had to vote after 6 p.m., no one felt safe there,” she said. (Santos was involved in oversight before the federal Help America Vote Act shifted responsibility for poll sites to the county last year). But at Haight’s suggestion and despite Santos’ concerns, council members voted to include Eastman Towers in their list of recommended polling sites last spring (a draft version had deleted it).
Their recommendation went to the two BOE commissioners, who have final word. Both Knapp and Republican commissioner David Gamache agreed to override the council’s recommendation by moving the poll to the YMCA. They are not required to provide official justification, but Knapp said her first question was whether Haight approved: “I usually support what the local person wants,” she said. “Commissioner Gamache suggested the move from Eastman to YMCA. He assured me Councilman Haight was in full agreement with the move,” said Knapp.
Bolds, a regular on the municipal meeting circuit, is outspoken when she perceives racial injustice. She points out that many Eastman residents are black – others are elderly or disabled – and she believes voters are in danger of being disenfranchised. Bolds has applauded Haight for his work on problems of safety and cleanliness at Eastman. But after reading Knapp’s email, she said, “It would appear that Mr. Haight has some clarifying to do. …It’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Haight maintained that he has always supported a polling site at Eastman: “I told Dave (Gamache) my public and official stance…is and still remains that I want the polling site at Eastman Towers,” said Haight.
Fraudulent minutes?
Gamache backed Haight’s version of the events and went further, saying Knapp was “lying” and calling the meeting minutes she’d produced supporting her version of the events fraudulent.
He even penned a letter to the New York State Board of Elections, dated Oct. 3, claiming that Knapp was in violation of an elections law prohibiting fraud when she circulated unsanctioned minutes.
The two commissioners also disagreed on whether Eastman should make a return as a polling place this year: “We have time to do it, and I think Councilman Haight should convince his commissioner (Gamache) that Eastman Towers should be a poll site,” said Knapp.
But Gamache said it was too late and that the YMCA’s accessibility, outdoor lighting and the fact that it is a public building (not a private residence) make it more suitable. Asked what he would say to residents with poor mobility, he countered, “What do you say to rest of community about what is the best place to vote? …Undoubtedly we’d hear from people in the community who feel (Eastman Towers) is a more difficult place to get to,” he said.
Just over half of the 2nd Ward’s 3rd District voters live at Eastman (wards are comprised of districts that share a polling site). District 1 has also voted at Eastman in the past, but Knapp is now proposing that District 1 vote at the YMCA and District 3 move back to Eastman.
“My response is great,” said Haight on hearing Knapp’s suggestion. “I’ve always been an advocate for the seniors and disabled at Eastman Towers and I will continue to do so.”
Knapp is the wife of Fred Knapp, the Democratic candidate for mayor, and Gamache called her spin on the events “a cheap publicity stunt for the Knapp political campaign.”
But Fran Knapp said that was “a baseless charge, diverting attention from the real issue, and that’s an accessible polling place that was moved.” Knapp said it was voters like Bolds, who e-mailed copies of her correspondence with Knapp to reporters and others, who were the impetus for any publicity.