Democratic Debate: “You Sound Like Me!”

The James Harmon Community Center at 44 main Street in Hastings was at capacity for the forum or debate – whichever you prefer to call it – for the “face-off” between rival Democrats Town Supervisor candidate and challenger Robert “Bob” Bernstein and 22-year incumbent and current Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. They are both seeking the Democratic endorsement for the Supervisor’s race. According to Democratic Leader Suzanne Berger, whichever candidate wins the endorsement on September 10th will be virtually guaranteed to be elected Supervisor in the November election. For Mr Bernstein this is a make-or-break primary and his only chance to run for the office. Mr Feiner on the other hand will also be running on the Working Families party line regardless of the outcome on September 10th.

There were two moderators for this evening’s debate and a three-member panel comprised of several media writers . They were Susan Wolfert representing the Scarsdale Inquirer/Rivertowns Enterprise, David McKay Wilson representing the Journal News and Danny Lopriore representing the online site The (Greenburgh) Daily Voice. Each candidate made opening statements followed by questions from the media panelists.

Here’s a few observations about the event. The room had probably about two hundred or so people in it. There were people lining the perimeter of the room. Also in attendance were Town Councilman Kevin Morgan, Town Attorney Timothy Lewis, County Legislators Alfreda Williams and Michael Smith. Also in attendance and given a chance to make a three minute introductory speech during a brief pause in the debate were Town Clerk challenger Sherron Brunson Fantauzzi and current incumbent Town Clerk Judith Beville. There were several others there that the hosts acknowledged early on. Mr Bernstein arrived at the dais carrying a small pad. Mr Feiner arrived carrying an armful of papers and folders. The audience seemed to be an even mix of supporters for both candidates. The moderators asked that the audience hold their applause while candidates spoke. There were numerous video and still photography and cell phone cameras going off. There was a young man who was using his Mac laptop as the official time-keeper for the candidates.

Ms Beville addresses the audience. Ms Brunson Fantauzzi
is seated to her right.

During their three-minute segment to address the crowd during the Supervisor candidates break, Ms Brunson Fantauzzi repeated her list of reasons why voters should choose her for Town Clerk. She similarly went through this list at the non-debate held at Town Hall several weeks ago. A sample from the list she read from included many points posed as questions, such as “If you want a Town Clerk who will expand the hours of her office, vote for me.” And, “If you want a Town Clerk who will transcribe minutes in real-time during the meeting, vote for me.” Unfortunately, Ms Brunson Fantauzzi read this rather long list from a sheet of paper that sat upon the table. As candidates were asked to stand during their answers, Ms Brunson Fantauzzi appeared to lose her place several times along with her rhythm. While this speech served her well at the last event, she fumbled here. At this stage of the campaign, she should have had it memorized or go with a different speech entirely. Ms Beville on the other hand spoke clearly, concisely and with confidence. We still think Ms Brunson Fantauzzi’s message is spot-on but her delivery was lacking and hope the message doesn’t hurt her campaign.

Supervisor candidate Bob Bernstein addresses the crowd.
Mr Feiner is seated to his left.

As questions were posed and answers tendered, an interesting pattern developed. When Mr Feiner spoke, Mr Bernstein jotted a few notes on his pad, and when appropriate stood up and rebutted Mr Feiner, sometimes referencing his notes, sometimes not. When Mr Bernstein spoke, Mr Feiner rummaged through his papers and folders spread out before him and when it was his turn to rebut Mr Bernstein’s comments, he would stand, hold up and point to a piece of paper and say , “This is a copy of the court’s decision. It quotes Mr Bernstein saying...” Or, “Here’s a quote from Mr Bernstein from 2008 when he was against...” This went on throughout the night. At one point, Mr Feiner appeared very nervous and blurted out, “You’re flip-flopping again. You’re all over the place. You sound like me!”

To Mr Feiner’s credit, he practiced for the night’s debate and was much more coherent and smoother that usual. He tried to lay his case against Mr Bernstein with a few ineffectual facts that ultimately rang hollow. When facts didn’t work for him, he resorted to what he always know best and began lying about Mr Bernstein, claiming Mr Bernstein wanted to hire a professional administrator so he could continue working at his law firm and leave running the Town to someone else. He (Bernstein) wasn’t going to be as attentive to residents’ needs and concerns as he has been for 22 years. Mr Feiner stated he was like an old time doctor who still makes house calls at any hour of the day or night. To his credit, he does. Mr Feiner is very adept at deflection and changing the subject when it suits him. He did this several times attacking Mr Bernstein, to the point where both the questioner and the moderator had to ask him to please answer the question. Throughout the evening, Mr Feiner seemed tense, almost jumpy and somewhat nervous. He did dress the part and abandoned the disheveled look that has served him so well in the past.

Mr Bernstein also may have practiced for last night’s debate. He has been involved in many of these same issues and has spoken about them at length before last night’s event. Whenever Mr Feiner spoke, he (Bernstein) periodically made a note or two and appeared to be calmly waiting his turn to either speak or rebut a point or two. After answering the actual question presented, Mr Bernstein smartly used his remaining response time to address points Mr Feiner made about him that were off-topic. When Mr Bernstein stood to speak, he cited facts and numbers, easily appearing confident, knowledgable and at ease with the topics and venue.

According to Mr Bernstein, Mr Feiner has done some good things in office. According to Mr Feiner, Mr Bernstein has sued the Town several times costing the Town unnecessary amounts of money. Mr Bernstein stated that taxes have increased for the Unincorporated as well as the Village residents. Mr Feiner stated that taxes have risen because of frivolous lawsuits from Mr Bernstein. Mr Feiner appeared to be on defense the entire night as Mr Bernstein handily recited facts, decisions and actions taken by Mr Feiner and his Board. Whenever Mr Bernstein hit too close to home, Mr Feiner would state it was the Town Board making the decisions and he was just one vote.

ABG has written often about the collusive nature of “his” Board. Mr Bernstein says he doesn’t want to fire Mr Feiner, just retire him. Mr Feiner states there are injustices that need correcting and he should get two more years. ABG has written often about the many injustices in the Town which have been created by Mr Feiner and his policies. Mr Bernstein has identified a number of ailments the Town is suffering from, some festering for about 22 years. Maybe its time to look for a new doctor? It’s certainly time for A Better Greenburgh.