The Advocates with Richard J. Garfunkel on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning September 27th, at 9:00 am, I am hosting my show “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or you can listen to its live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio.  Usually the “Advocates” discusses public policy, but this morning our special guest, Mr. Alan Rosenberg will talk about “collecting.”  Alan Rosenberg, a CPA, who has offices here in Westchester and NYC, is a graduate of NYU, a long-time Westchester resident, who was raised in Mount Vernon and has lived in New Rochelle for many, many years. So therefore we are taking a break from the serious issues of the day, and we are going to discuss the art and love of “collecting.” We also expect a call-in from Keith Stupell of New York, one of the leading collectors of German political and economic history, which is featured on stamps, and ephemera.

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. “Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates with Richard J. Garfunkel on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning September 20th, at 9:00 am, I am hosting my show “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or you can listen to its live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as its guests, Ms. Sonja Brown, Mr. Kevin Morgan, Ms. Allegra Dengler and our phone guest Supervisor Paul Feiner. Our topic this morning is electoral change in Greenburgh. The long campaign is over, and what does it mean? (The Feiner Team won an incredible victory this past Tuesday, and I had the pleasure of being the Campaign Manager!)

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. “Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates with Richard J. Garfunkel on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning September 6th, at 9:00 am, I am hosting my show “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or you can listen to its live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as its guest, Ms. Allegra Dengler. Ms. Dengler is the Chair of the Westchester-based Citizens for Voting Integrity, a former Dobbs Ferry Village Trustee, a member of the Sierra Club Election Protection Task Force, a member of the NY Democratic Lawyers Council HAVA Committee (Help America Vote Act) and the Progressive Democrats of America Election Protection Working Group. She was a candidate for the Greenburgh Town Board in 2005, and is a candidate for Village Mayor of Dobbs Ferry this November.  This week’s subject will be “Addressing the Threat to our Free Elections, and the Impact of Non-verifiable Voting Machines.”

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. “Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates with Richard J. Garfunkel on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning August 30th, at 9:00 am, I am hosting my show “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or you can listen to its live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as its guests, Police Commissioner David E. Chong of the Mount Vernon, NY, and Mr. Glen Hockley, a member of the White Plains Common Council. Commissioner Chong is a veteran of over 28 years of law enforcement, spending over 22 years with NYC’s Finest, and became Lt. Commander of Detectives in Charge of the NYPD’s Global Intelligence and Analysis Director of Counter-Terrorism after 9/11. He retired from the NYPD with 119 medals, awards and citations and became the Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety for the City of White Plains, where he served for four years. Since May 2006 he has been serving in Mount Vernon, the 8^th largest city in the state as its Police Commissioner. Glen Hockley, after a career in business in New York, is a full-time and active City Council member from White Plains. Glen is active in many civic and community organizations, like the Rotary Club, the NAACP and the Jewish War Veterans. Glen is greatly concerned with the problems of housing, homelessness, hunger, youth alienation and children at risk, and he is actively involved with the Sustainability Alliance, which focuses on solutions to our deteriorating infrastructure. Today our guests will address the ongoing program of young people in crises, youth in the streets, and how to solve and get these youngsters mainstreamed into society in the most meaningful way.

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. “Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning August 23rd, at 9:00 am, I am hosting a show called “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or you can listen to its live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as its guests, Mr. John Berenyi, of New York, who has served as an investment banker for over twenty-five years, he is deeply involved in Eco-Property development through his award-winning company Ecocite. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University, and was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard. He has specialized in the arena of finance regarding alternative energy, the environment and the creation of public infrastructures. John has been associated with some of the leading companies in the world, which include: Citicorp, IF Rothschild, and HSBC Capital. He has worked closely with the state governments of New York and California on drafting both legislation creating tax-incremental bond financing and alternate energy projects. Currently he is working along with Councilman Glen Hockley of White Plains, and Supervisor Paul Feiner of Greenburgh on the Sustainability Alliance. Our other guest in the studio, is Mr. John Puma of Mount Vernon, NY, whose career has ranged from creating start-up businesses, to developing communications systems for multi-national communication giants, to building housing for the middle and working class citizens, and to developing alternate energy concepts for communities.  John, who was brought up on Long Island, and gravitated to Mount Vernon, was educated at the State University of NY in Buffalo, and took graduate courses in entertainment arts at NYU.

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789 is the framework of our laws. But “public policy” is the amplification of that framework of our laws. In other words, new laws are always being written and old laws are always being challenged. Eventually these challenges reach the Supreme Court for “Constitutional testing.” Out of those tests rulings either re-affirm or change law. Out of these changes, “public policy can shift dramatically, but the arguments, pro and con, can remain with us for many years.

“Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

This morning I will discuss with my guests the ongoing problem of infrastructure decline in the United States, and how did it develop. We will discuss the how this problem evolved, how the concept of deferred maintenance added to the crisis, can it be solved, and how long will it take.  We will also go into the history behind this problem and the question of whether this has resulted from a combination of government bureaucracy, and over-lapping jurisdictions.

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning August 9, at 9:00 am, I am hosting a show called “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as its guest Mr. Paul Court, the long-time lead Social Studies teacher at Mount Vernon High School. Paul, a native son of Mount Vernon, and a teacher there for 27 years has helped me immeasurably with the Jon Breen Scholarship Fund.

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789 is the framework of our laws. But “public policy” is the amplification of that framework of our laws. In other words, new laws are always being written and old laws are always being challenged. Eventually these challenges reach the Supreme Court for “Constitutional testing.” Out of those tests rulings either re-affirm or change law. Out of these changes, “public policy can shift dramatically, but the arguments, pro and con, can remain with us for many years.

“Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

This morning Paul and I will discuss some of the following aspects of teaching American History, how as it changed over the last quarter century, is it relevant to today’s young people, are young people being inspired to public service through the teaching of American history, and should we return to the teaching of civics? Tune in and see what Paul Court has to say about the future of education and how it is taught!

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Advocates on WVOX – AM Radio 1460-

Thursday morning August 2, at 9:00 am, I am hosting a show called “The Advocates” on WVOX- 1460 AM on your dial, or live streaming at www.wvox.com.  One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio. The program this week will have as one of its guests, the distinguished journalist Mr. Milton Hoffman, who was with Westchester daily newspapers for 50 years.  Mr. Hoffman retired five years ago as senior editor with the Journal News. Our other guest will be the Hon. Martin J. Rogowsky, a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Mr. Rogowsky represents the Sixth Legislative District of Harrison and its surrounding community. They will discuss the “ever evolving” changing political landscape of Westchester over the past 50 years and address questions regarding the future of our present electoral system.

Meanwhile the mission of the “Advocates” is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy “ issues. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789 is the framework of our laws. But “public policy” is the amplification of that framework of our laws. In other words, new laws are always being written and old laws are always being challenged. Eventually these challenges reach the Supreme Court for “Constitutional testing.” Out of those tests rulings either re-affirm or change law. Out of these changes, “public policy can shift dramatically, but the arguments, pro and con, can remain with us for many years.

“Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow. Over the years the “public policy” of the United States has changed or has been modified greatly. As an example, “free public education” is the public policy of the United States. Also, over time great struggles have ensued over the control of the direction of “public policy” For example: free trade vs. protectionism, slavery vs. emancipation, state’s rights vs. Federalism, and an all-volunteer armed forces or the “draft.”

This morning I hope to address the issues of the “red and blue” electoral regions, the “open” primary, the future of the “two-party system,” the traditional means of voting, the “paper trail” with the new voting machines, and the low voter turnouts.

Richard J. Garfunkel

Letter to the Editor –Journal News

December 20, 2007

William “Boss” Ryan’s remarks on crafting his own compensation harks back to the arrogance of other political bosses like, Tweed, Marcy, and Hague, who wound up on the trash bin of history. Ryan is a product of a disturbing trend in this country and area, of the one-party political reality. For whatever reason, we have seen more and more areas of our country devolving into the so-called “red or blue,” rotten boroughs. The resulting consequences are less and less accountability to the general public. Most incumbents are never challenged in a primary, and without a two-party system, November doesn’t even count. Well in today’s paper, Democratic Party Leader Liz Shollenberger gave a ringing endorsement to Ryan’s arrogance and “let the public be damned” attitude. In a crass example of letting “one hand wash the other,” Ms. Shollenberger justified his outrageous remarks and salary demands, by saying that “…he could command a large salary as a lobbyist.” An enraged electorate should give him that choice. He has chosen the line of work he is currently doing. The job specifications were made well aware to him and his colleagues. Since when does someone apply for a job (running for an office) and then vote with his fellow employees (his colleagues on the County Board) to determine their compensation, embellished with overly generous committee perks? Though I am a life-long and active Democrat, I see a great flaw developing with the loss of our electoral “checks and balances,” as the two-party system in Westchester fades..

Richard J. Garfunkel