In a letter to Lafayette in 1823, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The only security of all is a free press."We in the Union Vale Democratic Committee believe that.

The Union Vale straw poll, non-binding caucus was held on January 9, 2208 at our regular monthly meeting fifty-three citizens voted for one of the five candidates then running in the New York State Primary on Tuesday, February 5, 2008. Each candidate had a presenter who explained why he or she favored that candidate. Fran Knapp spoke for John Edwards; Frank Stoppenbach presented for Dennis Kucinich; Mike Kelsey offered his views on Barack Obama; Audrey Walker spoke for Bill Richardson (who has since withdrawn); and Vicky Pittman Hoagland presented for Hiliary Clinton. These presenters were well informed and very persuasive.

Then the assembly asked a few questions of the presenters, followed by a straw poll vote. Five voters in this poll will be too young to vote in the General Election next Nov.4, 2008, but the Union Vale Democratic Committee believed that these young people would profit from this early experience of democracy, considering that they will most likely be around for and subject to the results of this vote longer than those of us old enough to vote now.

Each voter was given two different colored cards: blue for first choice, yellow for second. Here are the results of the voting for first choice for Democratic nominee for President:

Obama= 21
Clinton= 17
Edwards=10
Kucinich= 5
Richardson= no votes for first choice

Here follow the results for second choice for Democratic nominee for President:
Obama= 17
Edwards= 13
Richardson=9
Clinton=7
Kucinich=6

Everyone present appeared to be enthusiastic about the race. All agreed we need a change from the current downward spiral resulting from the many, many mistakes and policies of the current Republican administration.

A local magazine covered our caucus, and we are grateful. We had informed the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Voice Ledger of our meeting. Apparently the only reporter the Poughkeepsie Journal has for political affairs was assigned to cover the Governor's speech in Albany. We appreciated her calling to explain why she could not attend. The Voice Ledger offered to publish an article written by us which will be published on January 24th.

We know we re local, we know we re small, and we know we are the minority party in this county.

However, we know too that our meeting was a demonstration of the quintessential American activity: direct participation in the election process.

We thought the press coverage might inspire other committees, of all parties, to initiate more grass roots activities. We could have taken out ads, paid these papers, and gotten coverage. But we don t think that was what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he talked about the need for a free press.

If you want to get involved in the primary, call Anne McCabe at 223-5734, leave a message, and she will try to put you in touch with the appropriate campaign. Let us use our voices now to make the change that may yet preserve our Constitutional rights and our national standing.