Good Government for Columbia County

Columbia County Dems Call on Clerk to End Special Plates

2010-09-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

County Democrats Question Whether Special License Plates Equal Special Privileges

The Columbia County Democratic Committee has called on County Clerk Holly Tanner to stop issuing special license plates that bear her initials.

They also called on her to stop issuing special municipal plates except for official purposes.

In a press release the Columbia County Democratic Committee stated:

There is a long history in Columbia County of cronyism and favoritism toward members of the ruling party and their relatives and friends. Those days must end. We support equal protection and equal opportunity for all, regardless of political affiliation or connections.

Committee Chair Christopher Nolan said, “Whether or not these plates actually convey special privileges or protection is difficult to say. But even the appearance of favoritism or cronyism should be condemned and not be tolerated.”

The Columbia County Democratic Committee believes that license plates purposely bearing the initials of elected officials should be forbidden and that any other municipal signifiers are inappropriate for general use and should be banned unless issued for official purposes.

The Committee calls on the County Clerk to immediately end the issuance of any license plates that might be construed as “official”.

Learn More

Read the full press release
See the post on ColumbiaDems.net

Campaign Appearance With Congressman Murphy and Candidates Peter Donahoe and Roberta Davis

2010-09-04T15:54:00.011-04:00

This Thursday, September 9, Congressman Scott Murphy, County Clerk Candidate Peter Donahoe and County Coroner Candidate Roberta Davis will attend a special campaign event at Democratic Campaign Headquarters in Hudson.

This will be a unique opportunity to speak with the candidates in an intimate setting.

Thursday
September 9

7:30pm – 8:30pm

The campaign office is serving as the Columbia County Headquarters for the Scott Murphy for Congress campaign, the Didi Barrett for State Senate campaign and for Good Government for Columbia County, the fund-raising and campaign arm for county-wide candidates, Peter Donahoe and Roberta Davis.

Come out and
meet the candidates.

There is no charge to attend this event.

The event will be held at

Columbia County
Campaign Headquarters

731 Warren Street, Hudson.

More at ColumbiaDems.net

Columbia County Democrats Support Donahoe for County Clerk

2010-09-04T05:28:00.002-04:00

HUDSON— Peter Donahoe, a computer technician and community activist, has been endorsed in his run for County Clerk by the Columbia County Democratic Committee (CCDC).

Donahoe lives in Stuyvesant, where he as served on the Greenway Committee, Zoning Revision Committee, and Stuyvesant Falls Bridge Project, and has run for supervisor.

Donahoe looks to make the County Clerk’s office more efficient, user-friendly and cost-effective.

“The Clerk's office is one of the most important in county government,” he says. “It’s the office that people contact most often, for every kind of document, from hunting permits to marriage licenses to deeds and legal records. How these records are maintained, and how the information is made freely accessible to the public, is an essential government service.

“The cost of this service must be reduced,” says Donahoe, “using all the tools of this information age, from an accessible and informative webpage to high-speed document scanning and retrieval.”

Donahoe has a background in computer technology, high-end imaging systems and the practical skills of troubleshooting and customer service. “These give me unique abilities to meet the challenges of the Clerk’s office and not only improve the quality of our experience of government service, but also make the County Clerk office as efficient and productive as possible to reduce cost and promote investment,” he says.

Donahoe works for Sagem-Morpho, Inc., in Albany, an international leader in biometrics that services the NYS Department of Social Services’ office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. The company provides support for more than 200 computer workstations across the state. Donahoe, a certified computer technician, is highly skilled at information management, including hands-on skill with hardware and software, computer network skills and information technology administration. He has many years of experience in problem solving and customer support.

As a former police photographer, he knows the importance of documentation and the preservation of information.

Donahoe is a graduate of St. Francis College and holds a master’s degree in communication design from Pratt Institute. He is also a certified electron microscopist, having trained at the VA hospital in Albany. He and his wife, Melanie Burrows Donahoe, have three children.

“The Columbia County Democratic Committee is proud to support Peter Donahoe as our candidate for County Clerk,” said Chris Nolan, CCDC chair. “We believe that the clerk’s office and its record-keeping systems are in disarray and desperately need just the kind of experience Peter has, to bring open, nonpartisan and accessible management practices to the office.”

County Clerk Candidate Peter Donahoe Proposes Aggressive Grant Writing Program

2010-09-04T05:15:00.003-04:00

County Clerk Candidate Peter Donahoe looks to reduce expenses at the County Clerk’s office by aggressive grant writing program

Donahoe Demonstrates Grant Writing Skills

Peter Donahoe is an Information Technology specialist and photographer who is running for Columbia County Clerk on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines . His demonstrated success in getting competitive grants will be an asset in reducing government expenses.

Longstanding Success in Highly Competitive Field.

As part of his plan to reduce the cost of government services, Donahoe plans to use his proven ability to win grants to reduce the tax burden on home owners. “As part of my overall strategy to reduce the tax burden, I will greatly improve the clerk’s outreach for grant funding for essential services such as document retrieval and the migration from paper to digital storage.”

Donahoe won his first grant almost 20 years ago, which allowed him to complete a documentation project for the Museum of the City of New York. Two more grants were awarded in the Special Opportunity Stipend [SOS] series from the New York Foundation for the Arts to exhibit and promote his work in Europe.

Thinking outside the box pays off for Donahoe.

“Taking an unconventional approach to problem solving often pays off,” said Donahoe, who has twice been awarded the highly competitive Individual Artists Grant in the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts. These grants are often given to only one artist in each of the state’s counties outside New York City. “A dedicated public servant must use every tool available to reduce the tax levy on hard pressed home owners,” Donahoe added. “Being imaginative in finding new sources of revenue for the clerk’s office will be my priority.”

Towns have shown the way. Why not the county?

“Many of the eighteen towns of the county and the City of Hudson are already being imaginative in finding grants to underwrite their essential services, so why not the county clerk’s office?” said Hudson City Democratic Committee Chairman Victor Mendolia. “Towns routinely write and receive grants to preserve their documents in a variety of media and the county clerk should be doing the same.”

Bringing 40 Years of Innovative Experience to the Job.

Donahoe has been a photographer for almost 40 years, including a stint as a photographer for the New York City Police department. One of his photographs of a local barn, now lost, can be seen in an exhibit opening this Saturday at the Columbia County Council on the Arts gallery at 209 Warren Street in Hudson. This was part of the work that was awarded one of the SOS grants that Donahoe has received.

Peter Donahoe lives in Stuyvesant Falls with his wife Melanie and daughters Kateri and Maeve.

He helped draft the town's comprehensive plan which was adopted in 1996, served on the committee which updated the town's zoning regulations and has assisted with revisions to the comprehensive plan. He is a member of Stuyvesant Falls Fire Co. #2 and he previously ran for Supervisor of the Town of Stuyvesant

Columbia County Dems Endorse Two Countywide Candidates

2010-07-03T04:12:00.001-04:00

Columbia County Democrats have announced the endorsement of two countywide candidates. One for Columbia County Clerk and the other for a new third Columbia County Coroner position.

Peter Donahoe will be running on the Democratic line against Holly Tanner for County Clerk.

Donahoe, a computer technician and community activist, has been endorsed in his run for County Clerk by the Columbia County Democratic Committee.Donahoe lives in Stuyvesant, where he has served on the Greenway Committee, Zoning Revision Committee, and Stuyvesant Falls Bridge Project, and has run previously run for Stuyvesant Supervisor.

Become a Donahoe supporter on Facebook

Roberta Davis R.N. will be running on the Democratic line for the newly created third County Coroner seat.
Davis, who lives in Austerlitz, earned her nursing degree at the Mt. Sinai Hospital School of Nursing. She also holds a master’s degree in organization and management, from Antioch New England Graduate School.
Davis worked most recently for COARC, as nurse-manager at the Evergreen Hall Day Treatment Center in Valatie. Her prior work experience includes 16 years in the private medical practice of her husband, Baruch J. Davis, M.D. She helped conceive, set up and manage their office in Chatham. “It was a busy general practice in a rural area,” she says, “a medical office created to meet the needs of a working community, with walk-in hours as well as appointments.”

Become a Davis supporter on Facebook