Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer, those
are the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station, gets, staff,
management or ownership.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A good morning, you'll find you out with Pete and
the Poet Gold. I'm Peter Leonner and the Poet Gold
is not with us today. So we're not going to
have any poem before we speak to Senator Rob Rollinson,
except because there's such a demand in the studio, I
might substitute for Poet Gold, not with one of her
original poems that she does every week. But let me
(00:34):
just give you the first part of an Irish poem
by William Butler. Yes, as we dips the rocky island
of Luthwood in the lake, they lies a leafy island
with flapping her in his wake, the drowsy water rat.
There we've hidden a fairy vats full of barriers in
(00:54):
the rate of stolen cherries. So come away a human
child who the water in the wild with a fairy
hand in hand. World more full of weeping than you
can understand. A little fancistful I read. It's a really
good one. It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's a really good one.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
And poet, but pobet call is on vacation and so yeah,
good for her. But we are on the This Morning
with Senator Rob Rolinson, the state senator from thirty ninth District,
and were delighted to have him back on the show.
Particularly uh fitting that Senator Rollinson's with us today because
(01:35):
he's been a long term advocate for people with disabilities
and the people who support them direct support professionals, and
this is Direct Support Professional Week. And Rob, you uh
have some comments about d sps.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, I do, And obviously you know we've we've talked
about this before.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I have.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Before I even knew what the term DSP was right
or even the DSP was initiated. Thinking back on folks
that took care of my parents. DSPs took care of
my mom and after she passed, they were there to
help my dad, and so then never myself at this
(02:20):
point in my life at age sixty seven, I haven't
had to have a DSP, but I know what they
did for mom and dad. And then getting elected to
the Senate in twenty twenty three, having great relationships with
organizations that help individuals with different types of disabilities, and
(02:40):
then also having great relationships and friendships now with DSPs
who worked for these organizations, and this has been a
great week to be able to celebrate their work, what
they do for others that can't necessarily do for themselves
the way that we want them to be able to
take care for themselves. And I was at the Arc
(03:04):
of the Greater Hudson Valley where I presented a center
proclamation for a DSP week. But you walk into these
places and you know this well period with New Horizons
and others, is that they're just so glad that you
came in and you know and have developed friendships with
so many of them. And but then you get to
see the work that they're doing right in front of you.
(03:27):
And how you know that the work that they do
they do not because they're making a lot of money,
Because they're not. They're doing it because they truly care
about the people that're they're working for and with they
are and and it's it's something that we continually and
since my time in Albany, you know, trying to increase
(03:49):
those subsidies that these organizations get to pay these employees
because for many, many years, and I didn't know this
until I got up there, was that there hadn't been
any cost of living adjustments for many years, and they
are way behind where they need to be and that
directly impacts their ability to do the work and to
(04:12):
do it in a way that they that their organizations
want them to and family members and you know, want
want that because they they're working two jobs. Many of
them people are calling in sometimes because they've got to
take care of their own families. There's not enough staff.
You know, it's you know, the retention, the pay, and
I think you know, and actually I said this to
(04:34):
the group at ARC is that I don't think there's
anybody in Albany that doesn't see this as a challenge
and and want them to be paid equitably, and that
there's just a certain amount of money that goes around
to be able to do these things. A lot of
competing you know, entities for that. But I know when
(04:55):
they're there, and they're a huge presence in the Capitol
during session, various organizations doing work for various individuals who
are reflected with different types of challenges. That they're a
powerful group. Yeah, as well, they should be.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
They should be, you know, of course, I'm very very
concerned with the issues around the pay for the SPS,
the rest support professionals. With my son Kevin as a
resident New Horizons Resources, and he's been there. He's forty
four years old and he's been there for seventeen years already.
(05:32):
Usually live with me until he's twenty seven. And every
day at New Horizons, I am freaking great.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yes, I know you were, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, I live in uh with gratitude in my belly
because they're good every day, you know, yeah, And you
know it's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You know it just and thank God THEMN and thank
God for Kevin, right, because these are inspirational things when
we talk about this, when you talk about your son,
I hear your voices, I see it in your face.
But I remember if first getting elected, I went to
a meeting over at Orange Community College in Newburgh, Newburgh campus.
There's an organization on the Orange County side that is
(06:19):
a group of organizations that do work in a variety
of human service fields mental health disabilities, and they were
kind of introducing themselves to me and what their work
is as sort of a consortium. But one of the
things excuse me that they said that I was really
taken aback, but also like Jessup, I get it that
(06:41):
just about every one of their employees, one way or
the other, actually gets the services that the person sitting
next to them provides. In other words, they need help
with assistance for food and other types of things because
they're not making enough money. And these are the folks
that we're counting on to go out there, to go
to locations, to stay at locations. Sometimes the overtime. Right
(07:04):
when we were at New Horizons with with Sam and
the team, the amount of overtime that is generated because
there's not enough of them, which shows you that the
challenges that are in those professions. And when it relates
to our DSPs, you know, and and while we know,
we appreciate them and love them because every time I
go someplace, I know exactly what they're doing and I
(07:26):
walk away feeling better about life in general because there
are folks that are doing it. But it's also very
i would say upsetting to me knowing that if it
was not for them, who would it be? Who would
it be?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And the answer that there's nobody in many communications. Yeah,
but it is great having you here for DSP week. Yeah,
I know me too, pretty and it's an issue we've
connected on for a long time, you know, I said,
last summer, I ran into you, and you're an easy
person to run into because you will all over the place.
(08:03):
There's a word I learned years ago that never comes
in handy, but it's ubiquitous, which means all over the place.
But you're ubiquitous. And I hope nobody asked me to
spell it, but you'd be something, I think. But I
show you at the uh well hawkn Festival the gal
(08:27):
Gets and you spoke at that and when you spoke,
of course it had my attention, but it was alarming
to me. My my head snapped when you use the
word love about uh, the people in the Obahakan, the
American community and Poughkeepsie, and it reminded me. And it's
(08:52):
funny how quickly we can forget that you were the
mayor of Poughkeepsie for you know quite you know, for
seven years, and that you know up close you UH
live with the growth of the Mexican community in Poughkeepsie,
and you're using the word love. Like I said, I
(09:12):
thought that it was inappropriate until I put it in
the context of your long term relationship with them, and
it was a great festival.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You know, it's tremendous.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, the fancy dresses, a great dancing, and it's very uh,
you recognize how much the Wallhackan community in Poughkeepsie wants
to maintain their roots as well as joined into American
society in a way. It's but what's your impression of
the Mexican community in Poughkeepsie.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, I mean, you know, for me, it was an
evolution over time, and it really when I became aware
of the Wohawkan community was when my dear friend Skip Menane,
who who had help with Collette Lafuente get the body
(10:04):
back to Ohaka of a gentleman who was struck and
killed on the arterial highway at that time by hit
and run driver who eventually was you know, was was
apprehended for that for that incident. And I and Skip,
who I grew up with, you know, he went to
Phkeepsie and I went span kill we I and I
(10:26):
nominated him for a top Cop award from the National
Organization and he won. He won, and we went to
d C to to accept my my uh then girlfriend,
uh Laurie at the time, and Skip and I and
we were there and I started to learn more about
(10:47):
how the well, there were individuals from Ohaka who kind
of landed in Poughkeepsie, and it just grew because they
found a place there, right, you know, and and then
subsequently knowing a little bit more about it, you know,
based on that. But then in the county legislature, I
had been introduced to some members of the Wahakan community,
(11:10):
but it really didn't happen for me until I was
running for office in two thousand and fifteen, and once
and having conversations with members of that community. And they
could have been from anywhere, right, but but predominantly from
Wahawcken and Gabriella. My dear friend, Vega Matthews had said
(11:34):
to me. I met her on Peter. I met her
on the street in front of Roy Budennick's Art Centro
back in the day. And I actually was going there
to do an interview with a Latino radio station, Super
Latina FM Radio, which is on Brito Roriguez. So I
met her and she told me, she goes, you know,
(11:54):
I've heard of you. I haven't met you before. She
worked for the county, still does, and she said to me,
you know, I want to support you because I think
you will, you will be a good mayor, and I
think I think you're gonna win, or something like that.
But she said, you have to make a commitment to
me that you will open up and make city Hall
accessible to my community, to our community. And I said,
(12:17):
I will, and I did. And that started the relationship
not only with her, which is obviously very strong to
this day. Actually she became a Woman of Distinction. I
nominated her this this past session from the Senate. You
received a Senate Honor of the Woman Distinction, which was
a great moment for her but also for me because
(12:38):
of my relationship with her. But so we created a
committee when we commated a wealhak and Friendship committee. We
did a a agreement with the city of Walhaka, which
is in the state of Whaka, as a partnering city,
kind of a formal kind of thing, which was really cool.
And I always been I'm always there, I'm not going,
(13:02):
you know, I'm not leaving. I mean, obviously got a
little bigger territory now in the City of Poughkeepsie, but
it's helped me with with other types of communities, you like, say,
in the city of Newburgh where they have a multi
multicultural even more so diverse than Poughkeepsie. A lot of people, Yeah,
and they know and they and they know about it,
and they're like, yes, we know, we know so And
(13:23):
to me, you know, Perio, it's like it's just is
just how I view life. And that doesn't mean that
people who don't know that, it's not their fault. But
when you're in a community like Poughkeepsie, where I grew
up and where I live, take advantage of it right
as you have.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And you're finding out with Pete and poblic cold Public Gold,
that's not what this pool having a good time anyway.
And we always sending to rub Rolls and uh I
was sending it from thirty ninth District. Uh in in
the area. Well it's a much bigger area in Poughkeepsie now,
but the Mutson Valley. But I want to spend the
(14:01):
extra minute. You mentioned Skip my name's name, and I
got to know him through that incident where the fellow
was a victim of hit and run and Skip started
the fundraiser to get the body back to Wallhawka. And yeah,
so I got involved with that, and I was working
(14:23):
for the Pekeepsie Journal at the time as a columnist,
and I didn't some columns and that we had the
first Piughkeepsie Journal column in Spanish that ran in the
Pekeepsie Journal. It was a column I did that. I
had my friend Andy Bush's Spanish teacher vastly translated it
(14:44):
and we did it. But the headline got messed up.
We put the Picktepsie Journal thought they knew how to
speak Spanish and they ran a headlined basically said it
in Spanish. I don't know how to speak Spanish, but
so but anyway, I Skip. I I went down to
Wahawk with Skip and he he was so gracious, sort
(15:06):
of representing our community and yeah, quiet dignity to him.
And uh but he stayed in the uh in my
room with me. Uh. And you know, Skipper is needed
and I am so you know, we had a little.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Skip was a very tightened up individual because of his
marine background. Yeah, oh yeah, very Yeah, I love it.
I loved it.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, anyway, Skippers, we don't want to forget his name.
And but the Hawking community is vibrant and Poughkeepsie and
PEPSI would be a very different place without it. And
in terms of us public safety, the more people on
the streets because of the thing, and you know, the
economic advantages are certainly profound. So but I did want
(15:53):
to go back to you. You really surprising me with
your speech, and uh you you don't usually get surprised
by a political leader of making a speech, but you
actually say things deserve well people.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And Peter, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
To me.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
I think you know, I if you talk about like
your strengths and weaknesses, because we've got we all got both.
A strength is when you can be genuine and people
recognize it, and when you speak directly to them, not
necessarily something else, and to let them know like one
(16:37):
of the things that has been very important to me,
and I would say definitely since my time as mayor,
but probably more so going into my second term. When
you know, we don't say enough to our friends and
(16:58):
neighbors and folks that we don't even necessarily know but
we know what they do is that we do love
them right and we do care about them, because if
you don't tell them that, then they don't really know that.
And it's not like I use it. I'm not I'm
not overdoing it because I generally feel that way about people.
I just and I and I and and it's interesting too.
It's like some people react to that like wow, Others
(17:19):
some like really, I can't you know, it's like did
you really mean that? I mean love? I mean, like,
you know, even with your relatives, sometimes it's like, but
you got it, but you got it, Like to me,
I gotta say it. I got to do it. And
I you know, recently.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Let me get you those on that, yeah, because you know,
I don't use the word, uh love very much, and
so to hear you say in public surprised me. But
the tone, the genuine tone you use with it, it made
it believable from the beginning, from from the first utterance
of it. And that's different because you know, you know
(17:57):
people sometimes they so hey of you, yeah, meaning.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Right, and I've done that for your Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Yeah, but it's again, the celebration was a big thing
about you know, what a vibrant thing America is in
terms of immigration, which can take a whole kinds of
odd turns at this point, but in we have an appreciation.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah, and and and to celebrate it and be proud
of it. Yeah, and especially and it was someone there
that day and I forget who it was. I think
it was there, but said something along the lines, which
which I thought was brilliant, is that to to the Wahackens,
to whatever group that this may have been act, because
I know it was for people from different countries and
(18:43):
how to be There was that don't be afraid to
celebrate your own heritage because that heritage makes us better.
And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna use
that because that's that's a good one and it's so truthful.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Yeah. Also, I mean, you know, people want to say
we wanted to become America. I want you know by action,
we didn't plan it. But I did that little Irish
poem in the beginning. Now it's not an accent that
I happen to know from Irish poetry. You know, I'm Irish.
I'm Irish American, and you know, and that makes me,
(19:16):
you know, really, I don't think, hey man, I'm not
really American because I have an Irish heerdan. Nobody thinks that, right.
And the same thing with the current immigrants, which remind
people they're finding out with Pete and the poet Cole
and poet Cold is not with us today. But we
are on the year with Senator Rob Rollinson, and we
are talking about things with a great deal of fluidity,
(19:39):
but when we don't want to forget the upcoming program
you're running for seniors. It's a Golden Gathering on September
twenty seventh.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, and and thank you for that, because we were
like in this whole other world there and you're bringing
it right back in.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
And it's at Arlington High School. It goes between ten
and one. It's free, you don't have to pre register.
This Golden Gathering has been going on since the days
of Senator Steve Saland who became a senator after my
dad retired in nineteen ninety and it's been at Arlington
(20:18):
High School, a great, great, great place to have. It's
KINDI centrally located right there almost in the center of
Dutchess County, and we have this year. I believe it's
over seventy vendors, also Healthcare for Vaccinations, Walmart their pharmacy.
That group are going to be there, food of course,
(20:39):
and music of course, and fun of course, just fun
of course.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I'll never forget the first year that we did it
in twenty three when I took office. It was forecast
to be RANI and I'm like, oh man. So it
was raining a little bit in the morning, and remember
driving out there and pulling into the parking lot and
the place was packed, right people. So I'm walking around
(21:09):
trying to see as many people as possible and talk
to the vendors, talk to you know, talk to the
folks that were there. And I sat down and they
had like a little lunch room area where they were
doing you know, coffee and bagels, milk and juice and
things and which the school district staff is you know,
is doing and they're they're just all lovely. But so
I sat down next to this this woman and I
(21:31):
said to her and she's like, well, h I send
her how are you? And I'm like, oh, good, how
are you. I'm so glad you're here. And I said, god,
I was really I was worried, you know, the rain
in the forecast. And she looked at me and she said, honey,
if there's free food, we're coming. And I was like,
thank you, thank you. Then the following year, it was
(21:51):
there was a traffic back up on fifty five and
just it's so great because and you.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Get to do it. I went last year because I'm
seventy five years old, like qualify is of course, but
I went there actually I wanted to be a supportive
of your program, like you know, we did it on
the radio and yeah, okay. So I go there and
as I got fifty five of the Orlanston High School,
(22:18):
I reckoon how superfluous my presence was going to be.
I mean the place was like, yeah, yeah, right, I
think you have like, you know, twenty two people.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I think a crazy number.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Huge. Yeah, it's a very popular and very useful thing.
There's lots of information is it's certainly fun is the
medical stuff, but there's also just loads of information that
we can use.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And what's really good about it is, you know, obviously
the partnership with the Dutchess County Officer of the Aging
Ta tan Credy count Executive su SERNO. This year we
partnered up I think this thing the first time actually
sentra Hinschy so so the people in the northern part
of Dutchess County would be getting that information from her.
And so I'm again expecting a huge crowd of people.
(23:08):
I was in Putnam Kiny this morning talking about it.
And you know I'm sick. I just I turned sixty
seven in July. And you know, there are a lot
of things that you can find there that you may
not be thinking about right now, or there could come
a point in time where you need to think about
it and it then and the folks are there to
(23:29):
give you that information.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
And anybody who's transitioned from having a job to being
retired and getting Medicare and Social Security, that's a hassle.
I mean, you got to you need information. I mean
I don't know one person who taught a vaster college
who U smoothly transitioned into that system. Everyone's life panicked.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
I flipped out because when I turned sixty five, you know,
I'm being told you have to go on care for
the healthcare coverage, you know, and I have all the
additional care coverage. But I, Peter, I'm thinking, I can't
do this, and you got to get a whole Social
Security administration. But I will say this. I will say
(24:13):
this is that once I committed to doing it and
getting online and making the phone calls, it actually happened.
But I worked myself into an absolute frenzy because the
one thing that I did not know about was the
special part of prescriptions. That's a whole other thing. So
I sign up for a medicare and then they're like,
(24:34):
I go to write it on Hooker revenue and they're like,
you got your card? Like what card? You got to
have a card for just for prescriptions. So I'm like, okay,
and you know, I called the internet number and I
got my card.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And you know, so any government program is how I negotiation.
You know, when you have poor people who were some
time uh not advantage in terms of education, makes it
even harder. It's it's very difficult to get human services
from the government, yes, and it's crucial to get it.
(25:10):
You know, you mentioned your father who was the state senator,
and also your friend Steve Saline, who in yourself all
Republicans and as everyone and not everyone knows, but anybody
who doesn't know, I'm the most left wing Democrat you
can find in this county or in this country. Okay,
let's just leave that aside for a minute. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I never thought that any way, shape or form, acca
because we operate on a friendship level, yes, which is
which is the cool.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Yeah, but AOC is a little right wing to make.
But okay, so, but leave that aside. But when you
think of your your father's Republican Party and Steve Slaine's
Republican Party, I wonder if you feel that the party
is changing in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Well, I think, you know, for me, and thank you
for that question, I have never looked at it really
that way, and I think it's helped me with what
I do and how I try to do it. It's
tough not to get sucked into the rhetoric on both
sides of the aisle. And but you know, being someone
(26:21):
from my county legislative days to being there and then
to being in the state Senate and being a Republican
representing a blue district, I've never looked you know, I
can't think that way specifically or exclusively. I think both sides.
You can hear the same thing from from my Democratic
friends and colleagues that you know, they may say it
(26:43):
privately or you know, not publicly, or sometimes publicly, you
know they feel that there's too much on that side
Republicans exactly. You know, I've always operated right in the middle.
And I remember one time saying that to someone, and
someone said to me people who walk in the middle
of the road get run over. And I said, well,
I haven't been run over yet, and I have no
intention of getting run over. But thinking back to like
(27:08):
my dad's days, right, So he got into the Senate
is sixty seven, retired in ninety twelve terms twenty four years,
I know, and then Centri's Land who was an assembly
and Slant took over for Dad. Both of them very
again my opinion, very work centered, getting stuff done. And
(27:35):
I think Albany, Albany is Albany, right, and there was
always there is partisanship. Of course, that's the system that
we have, but maybe not using the word partisanship, but
different sides of the equation and different sides of the aisle.
It was a different place, and I know that because
my dad said that to me. My dad passed away
(27:56):
in two thousand and seven, so we had the opportunity
to talk more I would say political, but more as
an elected official, because I became a legislator in two
thousand and three and talked about things that, you know,
not knowing i'd ever be the mayor, not ever be
a senator, but I wish, you know, I mean, I
miss both my mom and Dad dearly. It would have
(28:18):
been amazing to hear some of his thoughts about today.
I think he would be I know he would be
unhappy with what's happening at all levels really and sometimes
even the local levels, where we've lost sight of the
fact that you know, we're there to do work. And
I can't work in an environment at least I don't
(28:43):
want to work in an environment, you know, where people
yelling at each other because there are so many folks
that we meet. You know this. I know this because
they're frustrated. They've lost, you know, faith in government. I
hear that continually, and it's our responsibility to at least
give them. Okay, I'm with you because I kind of
have to write so, but I do know like what
(29:05):
we do to help people, and I'll bring it right
to what I heard. This morning. I was at an event,
senior event in Putnam Valley, which I represent. Woman came
over to me and said, Hey, Senat, I just want
to let you know your office helped me with a
problem with dann thee for a friend of mine who
was a veteran, and I called and in two days
(29:28):
dan V called me and she said it was just
thank you for that. And and then and then she
said to me, Peter, which I thought was kind of fun.
She said, you know you're a lot younger looking than
your picture on your flyers. You got to get a
better photo. I said, listen, I love you for that.
But but that's that's what we do, right, I mean,
we do thousands of cases to help people.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And you know you do go down in the middle.
I don't. I'm not a person in the middle. I mean,
see you, Slane was the kind of a person who
was Lauder in the middle. He when he veered off
the middle to cast a crucial vote for gay marriage
in New York, costmas seat customas seat. So it is
inevitability there.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
And you don't pear on that. What did the role
fall partner?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, but would you want to remind people that they
are going to have an awful lot of fun and
get a lot of information on September twenty seventh when
you show up at the cold and gathering at the
Poughkeepsie High School, Harlem High School and Route fifty five.
And thanks to Fall for being with us, we're getting
gold and we ran over time. But Mike can take
(30:39):
care of that all right, thank you, thank you, brother,
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer, those
are the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station, gets, staff,
management or ownership.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A good morning, you'll find you out with Pete and
the Poet Gold. I'm Peter Leonner and the Poet Gold
is not with us today. So we're not going to
have any poem before we speak to Senator Rob Rollinson,
except because there's such a demand in the studio, I
might substitute for Poet Gold, not with one of her
original poems that she does every week. But let me
(00:34):
just give you the first part of an Irish poem
by William Butler. Yes, as we dips the rocky island
of Luthwood in the lake, they lies a leafy island
with flapping her in his wake, the drowsy water rat.
There we've hidden a fairy vats full of barriers in
(00:54):
the rate of stolen cherries. So come away a human
child who the water in the wild with a fairy
hand in hand. World more full of weeping than you
can understand. A little fancistful I read. It's a really
good one. It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's a really good one.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
And poet, but pobet call is on vacation and so yeah,
good for her. But we are on the This Morning
with Senator Rob Rolinson, the state senator from thirty ninth District,
and were delighted to have him back on the show.
Particularly uh fitting that Senator Rollinson's with us today because
(01:35):
he's been a long term advocate for people with disabilities
and the people who support them direct support professionals, and
this is Direct Support Professional Week. And Rob, you uh
have some comments about d sps.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, I do, And obviously you know we've we've talked
about this before.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I have.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Before I even knew what the term DSP was right
or even the DSP was initiated. Thinking back on folks
that took care of my parents. DSPs took care of
my mom and after she passed, they were there to
help my dad, and so then never myself at this
(02:20):
point in my life at age sixty seven, I haven't
had to have a DSP, but I know what they
did for mom and dad. And then getting elected to
the Senate in twenty twenty three, having great relationships with
organizations that help individuals with different types of disabilities, and
(02:40):
then also having great relationships and friendships now with DSPs
who worked for these organizations, and this has been a
great week to be able to celebrate their work, what
they do for others that can't necessarily do for themselves
the way that we want them to be able to
take care for themselves. And I was at the Arc
(03:04):
of the Greater Hudson Valley where I presented a center
proclamation for a DSP week. But you walk into these
places and you know this well period with New Horizons
and others, is that they're just so glad that you
came in and you know and have developed friendships with
so many of them. And but then you get to
see the work that they're doing right in front of you.
(03:27):
And how you know that the work that they do
they do not because they're making a lot of money,
Because they're not. They're doing it because they truly care
about the people that're they're working for and with they
are and and it's it's something that we continually and
since my time in Albany, you know, trying to increase
(03:49):
those subsidies that these organizations get to pay these employees
because for many, many years, and I didn't know this
until I got up there, was that there hadn't been
any cost of living adjustments for many years, and they
are way behind where they need to be and that
directly impacts their ability to do the work and to
(04:12):
do it in a way that they that their organizations
want them to and family members and you know, want
want that because they they're working two jobs. Many of
them people are calling in sometimes because they've got to
take care of their own families. There's not enough staff.
You know, it's you know, the retention, the pay, and
I think you know, and actually I said this to
(04:34):
the group at ARC is that I don't think there's
anybody in Albany that doesn't see this as a challenge
and and want them to be paid equitably, and that
there's just a certain amount of money that goes around
to be able to do these things. A lot of
competing you know, entities for that. But I know when
(04:55):
they're there, and they're a huge presence in the Capitol
during session, various organizations doing work for various individuals who
are reflected with different types of challenges. That they're a
powerful group. Yeah, as well, they should be.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
They should be, you know, of course, I'm very very
concerned with the issues around the pay for the SPS,
the rest support professionals. With my son Kevin as a
resident New Horizons Resources, and he's been there. He's forty
four years old and he's been there for seventeen years already.
(05:32):
Usually live with me until he's twenty seven. And every
day at New Horizons, I am freaking great.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yes, I know you were, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, I live in uh with gratitude in my belly
because they're good every day, you know, yeah, And you
know it's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
You know it just and thank God THEMN and thank
God for Kevin, right, because these are inspirational things when
we talk about this, when you talk about your son,
I hear your voices, I see it in your face.
But I remember if first getting elected, I went to
a meeting over at Orange Community College in Newburgh, Newburgh campus.
There's an organization on the Orange County side that is
(06:19):
a group of organizations that do work in a variety
of human service fields mental health disabilities, and they were
kind of introducing themselves to me and what their work
is as sort of a consortium. But one of the
things excuse me that they said that I was really
taken aback, but also like Jessup, I get it that
(06:41):
just about every one of their employees, one way or
the other, actually gets the services that the person sitting
next to them provides. In other words, they need help
with assistance for food and other types of things because
they're not making enough money. And these are the folks
that we're counting on to go out there, to go
to locations, to stay at locations. Sometimes the overtime. Right
(07:04):
when we were at New Horizons with with Sam and
the team, the amount of overtime that is generated because
there's not enough of them, which shows you that the
challenges that are in those professions. And when it relates
to our DSPs, you know, and and while we know,
we appreciate them and love them because every time I
go someplace, I know exactly what they're doing and I
(07:26):
walk away feeling better about life in general because there
are folks that are doing it. But it's also very
i would say upsetting to me knowing that if it
was not for them, who would it be? Who would
it be?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And the answer that there's nobody in many communications. Yeah,
but it is great having you here for DSP week. Yeah,
I know me too, pretty and it's an issue we've
connected on for a long time, you know, I said,
last summer, I ran into you, and you're an easy
person to run into because you will all over the place.
(08:03):
There's a word I learned years ago that never comes
in handy, but it's ubiquitous, which means all over the place.
But you're ubiquitous. And I hope nobody asked me to
spell it, but you'd be something, I think. But I
show you at the uh well hawkn Festival the gal
(08:27):
Gets and you spoke at that and when you spoke,
of course it had my attention, but it was alarming
to me. My my head snapped when you use the
word love about uh, the people in the Obahakan, the
American community and Poughkeepsie, and it reminded me. And it's
(08:52):
funny how quickly we can forget that you were the
mayor of Poughkeepsie for you know quite you know, for
seven years, and that you know up close you UH
live with the growth of the Mexican community in Poughkeepsie,
and you're using the word love. Like I said, I
(09:12):
thought that it was inappropriate until I put it in
the context of your long term relationship with them, and
it was a great festival.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You know, it's tremendous.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, the fancy dresses, a great dancing, and it's very uh,
you recognize how much the Wallhackan community in Poughkeepsie wants
to maintain their roots as well as joined into American
society in a way. It's but what's your impression of
the Mexican community in Poughkeepsie.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, I mean, you know, for me, it was an
evolution over time, and it really when I became aware
of the Wohawkan community was when my dear friend Skip Menane,
who who had help with Collette Lafuente get the body
(10:04):
back to Ohaka of a gentleman who was struck and
killed on the arterial highway at that time by hit
and run driver who eventually was you know, was was
apprehended for that for that incident. And I and Skip,
who I grew up with, you know, he went to
Phkeepsie and I went span kill we I and I
(10:26):
nominated him for a top Cop award from the National
Organization and he won. He won, and we went to
d C to to accept my my uh then girlfriend,
uh Laurie at the time, and Skip and I and
we were there and I started to learn more about
(10:47):
how the well, there were individuals from Ohaka who kind
of landed in Poughkeepsie, and it just grew because they
found a place there, right, you know, and and then
subsequently knowing a little bit more about it, you know,
based on that. But then in the county legislature, I
had been introduced to some members of the Wahakan community,
(11:10):
but it really didn't happen for me until I was
running for office in two thousand and fifteen, and once
and having conversations with members of that community. And they
could have been from anywhere, right, but but predominantly from
Wahawcken and Gabriella. My dear friend, Vega Matthews had said
(11:34):
to me. I met her on Peter. I met her
on the street in front of Roy Budennick's Art Centro
back in the day. And I actually was going there
to do an interview with a Latino radio station, Super
Latina FM Radio, which is on Brito Roriguez. So I
met her and she told me, she goes, you know,
(11:54):
I've heard of you. I haven't met you before. She
worked for the county, still does, and she said to me,
you know, I want to support you because I think
you will, you will be a good mayor, and I
think I think you're gonna win, or something like that.
But she said, you have to make a commitment to
me that you will open up and make city Hall
accessible to my community, to our community. And I said,
(12:17):
I will, and I did. And that started the relationship
not only with her, which is obviously very strong to
this day. Actually she became a Woman of Distinction. I
nominated her this this past session from the Senate. You
received a Senate Honor of the Woman Distinction, which was
a great moment for her but also for me because
(12:38):
of my relationship with her. But so we created a
committee when we commated a wealhak and Friendship committee. We
did a a agreement with the city of Walhaka, which
is in the state of Whaka, as a partnering city,
kind of a formal kind of thing, which was really cool.
And I always been I'm always there, I'm not going,
(13:02):
you know, I'm not leaving. I mean, obviously got a
little bigger territory now in the City of Poughkeepsie, but
it's helped me with with other types of communities, you like, say,
in the city of Newburgh where they have a multi
multicultural even more so diverse than Poughkeepsie. A lot of people, Yeah,
and they know and they and they know about it,
and they're like, yes, we know, we know so And
(13:23):
to me, you know, Perio, it's like it's just is
just how I view life. And that doesn't mean that
people who don't know that, it's not their fault. But
when you're in a community like Poughkeepsie, where I grew
up and where I live, take advantage of it right
as you have.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And you're finding out with Pete and poblic cold Public Gold,
that's not what this pool having a good time anyway.
And we always sending to rub Rolls and uh I
was sending it from thirty ninth District. Uh in in
the area. Well it's a much bigger area in Poughkeepsie now,
but the Mutson Valley. But I want to spend the
(14:01):
extra minute. You mentioned Skip my name's name, and I
got to know him through that incident where the fellow
was a victim of hit and run and Skip started
the fundraiser to get the body back to Wallhawka. And yeah,
so I got involved with that, and I was working
(14:23):
for the Pekeepsie Journal at the time as a columnist,
and I didn't some columns and that we had the
first Piughkeepsie Journal column in Spanish that ran in the
Pekeepsie Journal. It was a column I did that. I
had my friend Andy Bush's Spanish teacher vastly translated it
(14:44):
and we did it. But the headline got messed up.
We put the Picktepsie Journal thought they knew how to
speak Spanish and they ran a headlined basically said it
in Spanish. I don't know how to speak Spanish, but
so but anyway, I Skip. I I went down to
Wahawk with Skip and he he was so gracious, sort
(15:06):
of representing our community and yeah, quiet dignity to him.
And uh but he stayed in the uh in my
room with me. Uh. And you know, Skipper is needed
and I am so you know, we had a little.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Skip was a very tightened up individual because of his
marine background. Yeah, oh yeah, very Yeah, I love it.
I loved it.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, anyway, Skippers, we don't want to forget his name.
And but the Hawking community is vibrant and Poughkeepsie and
PEPSI would be a very different place without it. And
in terms of us public safety, the more people on
the streets because of the thing, and you know, the
economic advantages are certainly profound. So but I did want
(15:53):
to go back to you. You really surprising me with
your speech, and uh you you don't usually get surprised
by a political leader of making a speech, but you
actually say things deserve well people.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And Peter, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
To me.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
I think you know, I if you talk about like
your strengths and weaknesses, because we've got we all got both.
A strength is when you can be genuine and people
recognize it, and when you speak directly to them, not
necessarily something else, and to let them know like one
(16:37):
of the things that has been very important to me,
and I would say definitely since my time as mayor,
but probably more so going into my second term. When
you know, we don't say enough to our friends and
(16:58):
neighbors and folks that we don't even necessarily know but
we know what they do is that we do love
them right and we do care about them, because if
you don't tell them that, then they don't really know that.
And it's not like I use it. I'm not I'm
not overdoing it because I generally feel that way about people.
I just and I and I and and it's interesting too.
It's like some people react to that like wow, Others
(17:19):
some like really, I can't you know, it's like did
you really mean that? I mean love? I mean, like,
you know, even with your relatives, sometimes it's like, but
you got it, but you got it, Like to me,
I gotta say it. I got to do it. And
I you know, recently.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Let me get you those on that, yeah, because you know,
I don't use the word, uh love very much, and
so to hear you say in public surprised me. But
the tone, the genuine tone you use with it, it made
it believable from the beginning, from from the first utterance
of it. And that's different because you know, you know
(17:57):
people sometimes they so hey of you, yeah, meaning.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Right, and I've done that for your Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Yeah, but it's again, the celebration was a big thing
about you know, what a vibrant thing America is in
terms of immigration, which can take a whole kinds of
odd turns at this point, but in we have an appreciation.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah, and and and to celebrate it and be proud
of it. Yeah, and especially and it was someone there
that day and I forget who it was. I think
it was there, but said something along the lines, which
which I thought was brilliant, is that to to the Wahackens,
to whatever group that this may have been act, because
I know it was for people from different countries and
(18:43):
how to be There was that don't be afraid to
celebrate your own heritage because that heritage makes us better.
And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna use
that because that's that's a good one and it's so truthful.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Yeah. Also, I mean, you know, people want to say
we wanted to become America. I want you know by action,
we didn't plan it. But I did that little Irish
poem in the beginning. Now it's not an accent that
I happen to know from Irish poetry. You know, I'm Irish.
I'm Irish American, and you know, and that makes me,
(19:16):
you know, really, I don't think, hey man, I'm not
really American because I have an Irish heerdan. Nobody thinks that, right.
And the same thing with the current immigrants, which remind
people they're finding out with Pete and the poet Cole
and poet Cold is not with us today. But we
are on the year with Senator Rob Rollinson, and we
are talking about things with a great deal of fluidity,
(19:39):
but when we don't want to forget the upcoming program
you're running for seniors. It's a Golden Gathering on September
twenty seventh.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, and and thank you for that, because we were
like in this whole other world there and you're bringing
it right back in.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
And it's at Arlington High School. It goes between ten
and one. It's free, you don't have to pre register.
This Golden Gathering has been going on since the days
of Senator Steve Saland who became a senator after my
dad retired in nineteen ninety and it's been at Arlington
(20:18):
High School, a great, great, great place to have. It's
KINDI centrally located right there almost in the center of
Dutchess County, and we have this year. I believe it's
over seventy vendors, also Healthcare for Vaccinations, Walmart their pharmacy.
That group are going to be there, food of course,
(20:39):
and music of course, and fun of course, just fun
of course.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I'll never forget the first year that we did it
in twenty three when I took office. It was forecast
to be RANI and I'm like, oh man. So it
was raining a little bit in the morning, and remember
driving out there and pulling into the parking lot and
the place was packed, right people. So I'm walking around
(21:09):
trying to see as many people as possible and talk
to the vendors, talk to you know, talk to the
folks that were there. And I sat down and they
had like a little lunch room area where they were
doing you know, coffee and bagels, milk and juice and
things and which the school district staff is you know,
is doing and they're they're just all lovely. But so
I sat down next to this this woman and I
(21:31):
said to her and she's like, well, h I send
her how are you? And I'm like, oh, good, how
are you. I'm so glad you're here. And I said, god,
I was really I was worried, you know, the rain
in the forecast. And she looked at me and she said, honey,
if there's free food, we're coming. And I was like,
thank you, thank you. Then the following year, it was
(21:51):
there was a traffic back up on fifty five and
just it's so great because and you.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Get to do it. I went last year because I'm
seventy five years old, like qualify is of course, but
I went there actually I wanted to be a supportive
of your program, like you know, we did it on
the radio and yeah, okay. So I go there and
as I got fifty five of the Orlanston High School,
(22:18):
I reckoon how superfluous my presence was going to be.
I mean the place was like, yeah, yeah, right, I
think you have like, you know, twenty two people.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I think a crazy number.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Huge. Yeah, it's a very popular and very useful thing.
There's lots of information is it's certainly fun is the
medical stuff, but there's also just loads of information that
we can use.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
And what's really good about it is, you know, obviously
the partnership with the Dutchess County Officer of the Aging
Ta tan Credy count Executive su SERNO. This year we
partnered up I think this thing the first time actually
sentra Hinschy so so the people in the northern part
of Dutchess County would be getting that information from her.
And so I'm again expecting a huge crowd of people.
(23:08):
I was in Putnam Kiny this morning talking about it.
And you know I'm sick. I just I turned sixty
seven in July. And you know, there are a lot
of things that you can find there that you may
not be thinking about right now, or there could come
a point in time where you need to think about
it and it then and the folks are there to
(23:29):
give you that information.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
And anybody who's transitioned from having a job to being
retired and getting Medicare and Social Security, that's a hassle.
I mean, you got to you need information. I mean
I don't know one person who taught a vaster college
who U smoothly transitioned into that system. Everyone's life panicked.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
I flipped out because when I turned sixty five, you know,
I'm being told you have to go on care for
the healthcare coverage, you know, and I have all the
additional care coverage. But I, Peter, I'm thinking, I can't
do this, and you got to get a whole Social
Security administration. But I will say this. I will say
(24:13):
this is that once I committed to doing it and
getting online and making the phone calls, it actually happened.
But I worked myself into an absolute frenzy because the
one thing that I did not know about was the
special part of prescriptions. That's a whole other thing. So
I sign up for a medicare and then they're like,
(24:34):
I go to write it on Hooker revenue and they're like,
you got your card? Like what card? You got to
have a card for just for prescriptions. So I'm like, okay,
and you know, I called the internet number and I
got my card.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And you know, so any government program is how I negotiation.
You know, when you have poor people who were some
time uh not advantage in terms of education, makes it
even harder. It's it's very difficult to get human services
from the government, yes, and it's crucial to get it.
(25:10):
You know, you mentioned your father who was the state senator,
and also your friend Steve Saline, who in yourself all
Republicans and as everyone and not everyone knows, but anybody
who doesn't know, I'm the most left wing Democrat you
can find in this county or in this country. Okay,
let's just leave that aside for a minute. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I never thought that any way, shape or form, acca
because we operate on a friendship level, yes, which is
which is the cool.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Yeah, but AOC is a little right wing to make.
But okay, so, but leave that aside. But when you
think of your your father's Republican Party and Steve Slaine's
Republican Party, I wonder if you feel that the party
is changing in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Well, I think, you know, for me, and thank you
for that question, I have never looked at it really
that way, and I think it's helped me with what
I do and how I try to do it. It's
tough not to get sucked into the rhetoric on both
sides of the aisle. And but you know, being someone
(26:21):
from my county legislative days to being there and then
to being in the state Senate and being a Republican
representing a blue district, I've never looked you know, I
can't think that way specifically or exclusively. I think both sides.
You can hear the same thing from from my Democratic
friends and colleagues that you know, they may say it
(26:43):
privately or you know, not publicly, or sometimes publicly, you
know they feel that there's too much on that side
Republicans exactly. You know, I've always operated right in the middle.
And I remember one time saying that to someone, and
someone said to me people who walk in the middle
of the road get run over. And I said, well,
I haven't been run over yet, and I have no
intention of getting run over. But thinking back to like
(27:08):
my dad's days, right, So he got into the Senate
is sixty seven, retired in ninety twelve terms twenty four years,
I know, and then Centri's Land who was an assembly
and Slant took over for Dad. Both of them very
again my opinion, very work centered, getting stuff done. And
(27:35):
I think Albany, Albany is Albany, right, and there was
always there is partisanship. Of course, that's the system that
we have, but maybe not using the word partisanship, but
different sides of the equation and different sides of the aisle.
It was a different place, and I know that because
my dad said that to me. My dad passed away
(27:56):
in two thousand and seven, so we had the opportunity
to talk more I would say political, but more as
an elected official, because I became a legislator in two
thousand and three and talked about things that, you know,
not knowing i'd ever be the mayor, not ever be
a senator, but I wish, you know, I mean, I
miss both my mom and Dad dearly. It would have
(28:18):
been amazing to hear some of his thoughts about today.
I think he would be I know he would be
unhappy with what's happening at all levels really and sometimes
even the local levels, where we've lost sight of the
fact that you know, we're there to do work. And
I can't work in an environment at least I don't
(28:43):
want to work in an environment, you know, where people
yelling at each other because there are so many folks
that we meet. You know this. I know this because
they're frustrated. They've lost, you know, faith in government. I
hear that continually, and it's our responsibility to at least
give them. Okay, I'm with you because I kind of
have to write so, but I do know like what
(29:05):
we do to help people, and I'll bring it right
to what I heard. This morning. I was at an event,
senior event in Putnam Valley, which I represent. Woman came
over to me and said, Hey, Senat, I just want
to let you know your office helped me with a
problem with dann thee for a friend of mine who
was a veteran, and I called and in two days
(29:28):
dan V called me and she said it was just
thank you for that. And and then and then she
said to me, Peter, which I thought was kind of fun.
She said, you know you're a lot younger looking than
your picture on your flyers. You got to get a
better photo. I said, listen, I love you for that.
But but that's that's what we do, right, I mean,
we do thousands of cases to help people.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And you know you do go down in the middle.
I don't. I'm not a person in the middle. I mean,
see you, Slane was the kind of a person who
was Lauder in the middle. He when he veered off
the middle to cast a crucial vote for gay marriage
in New York, costmas seat customas seat. So it is
inevitability there.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
And you don't pear on that. What did the role
fall partner?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, but would you want to remind people that they
are going to have an awful lot of fun and
get a lot of information on September twenty seventh when
you show up at the cold and gathering at the
Poughkeepsie High School, Harlem High School and Route fifty five.
And thanks to Fall for being with us, we're getting
gold and we ran over time. But Mike can take
(30:39):
care of that all right, thank you, thank you, brother,
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It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.