This Just In: NYSYRs Fire Back At Brooklyn YRs

The NYSYRs fired back at the "credentialed" Brooklyn YR Club by openly inviting the "non-credentialed" club to their Pearl Harbor Day fundraiser.

We were sent this screenshot by someone close to the parties involved and can only surmise that NYSYR Corresponding Secretary Nicole Russo sent this invite to the non-credentialed Brooklyn YR Club headed by Glenn Nocera as a way to send a clear message to the NYSYR Chair/ credentialed Brooklyn YR Club President, Diana Sepulveda.

Rumor has it that many of the "officers" of the NYSYRs are plotting a power grab to remove Diana Sepulveda from her perch and blame her for the existence of this blog.

Let's see what happens next.

Credentialed Brooklyn YR Club: http://www.brooklynyrs.com/

Non-credentialed Brooklyn YR Club: http://www.brooklynyr.com/

A site dedicated to Glenn Nocera (President of non-credentialed Brooklyn YRs): http://thenoceratapes.blogspot.com/

Side Show: NYSYRs Give Sepulveda a Smackdown

In a stunning move at the biennial convention in Staten Island back in May, NYSYR Chairwoman Diana Sepulveda was removed from a Board of Directors required by the Incorporation Document drafted and signed in 1934 via a Constitutional Amendment.

The Board of Directors is limited to 6 members. The amendment, which passed unanimously, lists the Vice Chair, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Male YRNF Committeeman, and Female YRNF Committeewoman as the official Board of Directors.

For those of you keeping score that means that the NYSYRs have a Board of Directors, a Governing Board, and an Executive Board!

The interesting thing is that if you look at the NYSYR official website you will find that the NYSYR Chairman in 1934 was George H. Sibley (1932-1935).

He was also the first person listed on the incorporation document and presumably the first member of the so-called Board of Directors of the NYSYR.

So why was the Chair removed from the Board of Directors in 2013? Was it for a legitimate reason? Something personal? Something sinister? Something sexist? Something racist? Revenge?

Clearly the precedent was to have the chair on the board.

Things that make you go hmm...

Cancelled: 2013 NYSYR Annual Saratoga Day at the Races

Saturday, August 10th & Sunday, August 11th 

Due to the recent changes in regards to political fundraising laws on NYRA property (including Saratoga Race Course), it is with deep regret that our Annual Day at the Races event has been canceled. 

We are working on a future fundraising and networking event and will provide information once the planning is complete.

____________________________________

Questions:

1) Why can't the NYSYRs still hold an event there? Just don't charge everyone double the price to make a "profit." Hold it as a social event and have everyone pay their own way. Sounds too republican for the NYSYRs though.

2) What are the NYSYRs (the officers) doing with all the money they already have? Meetings still cost a small fortune to attend, even the ones where elections are rumored to be allowed.

3) Shouldn't meetings where max participation is supposedly the goal be reasonably priced or free?

The NYSYRs have $15,919.15 on hand. 

Expenses:

The vast majority of the NYSYRs expenses (approved by who we ask) are for fundraising activities. Again, for what???

Here are a few examples

NYSYRs in Alabama

5/17/2013- $2000 for YRNF Registrations (Alabama)

Hypocrites? Expensive registration fees paid for by NYSYR (your $) funds.

5/1/2013- $288.78 for a "Chairman's Gavel." 

WTF?


SECTION 2:  The Governing Board shall set the policy of the NYSYR and bring business before the NYSYR. All withdrawals of funds, by check or otherwise, shall require the authorization of the Chair or the Governing Board. The Governing Board must approve all financial expenditures over $100. All expenditures must be presented to the membership for ratification as part of the Treasurer's report.

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Food for thought:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

Read More Here

YRNF Follows New York's Lead!

It's unanimous!

New York has pulled off a power grab.

The Young Republican National Federation has unanimously (s)elected its new chairman in another uncontested contest.

Jason Weingartner will lead the nation's young republicans in the same way he has lead his local and state republican organizations.

After all, New York State's model is to be envied (not even gonna mention the Queens, NY model*- his home county).


Here's our stats:

There are 18* credentialed county clubs (some of which do not exist in any form resembling an actual club) out of the 62 counties in New York State. (29%)

We recently passed gay marriage and an arguably unconstitutional anti-gun bill in New York with the help several republican senators.

President Obama won New York State with 63% of the vote and our candidate for senate received a measly 27% of the vote.

*Queens, NY is Jason Weingartner's home county and has not had a functioning YR club for as long as anyone can remember. Their former county organization vice-chair, Vince Tabone, is still awaiting trial in a bribery case.


With a track record like this we are confident that a New York republican from Queens, NY is exactly the right person to help rebuild our party from the ground up.

Congratulations.

Happy Independence Day...

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Read the rest here

RINO Alert!!!

Jason "Gos" Weingartner Here they go again folks. Jason Weingartner (former NYSYR Chairman and Treasurer) is running for YRNF Chairman against a good friend of not only the Republican Party but also New York and many of you reading this. The problem is that Jason handpicked a "YR" from New Jersey to be on his slate as OUR Regional Vice Chair named Tony Howly. Mr. Howly proudly endorsed a Democrat running for state senate when there was an actual YR in the race named James Sanford. What makes matters worse is the way in which Mr. Weingartner was "endorsed" by the NYSYR. You see, Jason was "endorsed" on a conference call by the so-called officers of the NYSYR. Since the 3 Governing Documents oddly lack any mechanism to endorse candidates this was seen as legitimate by the outgoing/incoming (same people) board members even though Mr. Griffiths was never given an opportunity to speak to the members of the NYSYR. We guess you all don't matter. At a later meeting it has been reported that Jason was endorsed by the members present at a quarterly meeting after some in attendance voiced their objection to the backroom endorsement. The officers present at that meeting made no mention of any other candidates running for the seat. Why would they? They prefer an ignorant membership. After all, was the amount of money lost at the 2012 holiday party (Jason was treasurer at the time and oversaw the finances of the event) ever disclosed to the membership? Would that have made some members question his qualifications to run for higher office? Was Jason's obstruction of the 2013 NYSYR electoral process ever disclosed and was the question ever asked by anyone as to why he would care if certain candidates ran for certain offices against certain incumbents? (more to come on that later) Here's how the current Chairman, Diana Sepulveda sees it: I am very excited to share with you some information about the Young Republican National Federation's 2013 Convention in Mobile, Alabama next month. As many of you know, our former Chairman of the New York State Young Republicans (2003 to 2000), Jason Weingartner, is running for Chairman of the YRNF on the YRNow2013 ticket.      Jason (or "Gos" as many of us know him) was the former President of the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. (2001 to 2004) and former Treasurer of the New York State Young Republicans (2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2013). He is currently the Vice Chairman-at-Large for the YRNF since July of 2009. The New York State Young Republicans have officially endorsed Jason and the YRNow2013 ticket. To learn more about Jason's platform & ticket, visit their website: YRNow2013.com Question to her and the other officers: Do you support endorsing Democrats over Young Republicans too? We do not and we suspect you don't either. It is because of Mr. Weingartner's lack of judgement as treasurer and his blatant anti-Republican stance illustrated by selecting a NJYR that endorsed a Democrat over a Young Republican in a state senate race to be OUR Regional Vice Chair that we here at the Watch proudly endorse Brian Griffiths for YRNF Chairman and urge anyone attending the convention in Alabama to think long and hard before casting a vote for someone because of where they live. By the way- Jason Weingartner lives in Queens, NY. There hasn't been a functioning county club there in years. Maybe he should start there. We will be watching and will let you know how anyone from New York votes in Alabama next month so you can decide if they are fit to lead your organization. To read Brian Griffith's message click the "read more" button below.

Post-Convention Edition: Voter Intimidation and the NYSYR CINO

 

From an emailer:

The Chair of the Westchester County YRs (Matt McCarrick) publicly endorsed a candidate (John Doyle) during his county report. He was the only chair to do so.

Two teenage YRs in his delegation voted for Meredith Belle (the only real candidate running for any NYSYR office) and had their votes voided and changed to John Doyle.

Members of the new old board were aware of what happened and promised to do something nothing.

From several credible sources:

The new Chair In Name Only (CINO) Diana Sepulveda, has had her status as a member of the Governing Board Executive Board Board of Directors revoked through a bizarre amendment to the NYSYR's constitution.

Under the new provision the 6 members of the Governing Board Executive Board Board of Directors will be the Vice-Chair, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, YRNF Committeewoman, and YNNF Committeeman.

This effectively neuters the Chair making her a CINO.

This amendment went through the Rules Committee and passed without any debate/dissent from anyone. It makes us at the Watch wonder if anyone trusts the new CINO to lead the group. (We don't)

We are told that the proponents of the amendment pushed for this to force the NYSYR to be in compliance with a third governing document (an incorporation document) which is not posted on their website. For the record, the updated constitution is still not posted even though other updates touting the newly elected selected officers have been made.


There will be more to come on this as we work to secure a legible copy of that document and explore the legitimacy off all decisions/elections made in violation of it prior to stripping the Chair of their vote on the Governing Board Executive Board Board of Directors.

We believe that the NYSYR Bylaws are still in violation of the incorporation document since there are still many references to a Governing and Executive Board in it which includes more than 6 members.


Stay tuned.

Unit Rule And An Endorsement For Meredith Belle

According to the NYSYR Bylaws the method of casting votes at the convention fundraiser on May 18th is unit rule (Article II, B, 6). This means that each county should hear the candidates speak, caucus, and then cast an internal vote to decide who gets "all" of their weighted vote. (Currently weighted by geography. One source tells us that the host county- Staten Island- will have and cast the most votes)

To this point there seems to be some confusion as to how to conduct an election in this manner.You see, there has never been a competitive election under these rules which were adopted in 2003. That's 10 years with no competitive elections!

An insider tells us that it won't matter anyway because the county chairs have already selected "delegates" that have been given their instructions as to who to "vote" for.


We have received emails from someone who said we could post his/her name but we won't. He/she wrote that there were going to be other candidates but they were bullied out of the race by other incumbent board members.

The tactics used were lies, distortions, and outright threats. More to come on that later.

The only person to stick it out and move forward with her candidacy was Meredith Belle.

Meredith is motivated, smart, and dedicated. She is running for Treasurer after Jason Weingartner decided to run for YRNF Chair this year. Is he under 40?

She is running against John Doyle who has been a member of the board(s) under the outgoing/incoming (same people/different titles) administration. He serves(d) as General Counsel.

There will be more to come on John Doyle once we can confirm some stuff sent to us which links him to the fundraising debacle of 2012 (check our archives) and the predicted fundraising debacle in Staten Island this month.

It is because of the above statements and numerous emails that the NYSYR Watch enthusiastically endorses Meredith Belle for Treasurer of the NYSYRs. She will be the only non-incumbent if she wins and the only new set of eyes on the board(s).

If you seek change- vote Belle!

Investigatory Phase: Fake Clubs/Fake Members [of the board(s)]

As we take a look at the "men" behind the curtain of the NYSYRs we are asking for your help. We are looking to find proof that the clubs listed below actually exist. We have searched and searched and some of these "clubs" have no online footprint whatsoever while others clearly are not real.

Highlighted in red are clubs we are having problems proving are real:

Officers

Chair	Giovanni Scaringi
	Rockland County
Vice-Chair	Diana Sepulveda
	Kings County
Treasurer	Jason Weingartner (lives in Queens)
	New York County
Recording Secretary	Anthony Reinhart
	Richmond County
Corresponding Secretary	Nicole Russo
	Nassau County
National Committeewoman	Kellie King
	Westchester County
National Committeeman	Michael Recca
	Westchester County

 

Cabinet

Chief of Staff	Christopher Dziedzic
	Broome County
Executive Director	Vacant
General Counsel	John Doyle
	Suffolk County
Parliamentarian	Gene Berardelli
	Kings County

Regional Chairs

Eastern	Ali Nazir
	Suffolk County
Capitol	Cory Custer
	Saratoga County
Finger Lakes	Peter Halliday
	Finger Lakes Region
Metro	David Carr
	Richmond County
Mid-Hudson	John Green
	Putnam County
Southern Tier	Rebecca O'Brien
	Tioga County

If we receive acceptable proof that the clubs in red exist and are active then we will not include them in the next post and un-red them on this post. We are pretty sure we are right on most of them though.

See you in a few days.


                                                         

Out with the old, in with the old... [Updated]

There are some of you out there that have contacted us to say things like:

"just wait- change is on the way once the new administration takes over"

"you only know how things were run under the old regime. the new board will change a lot of things."

Well, excuse us if we find that a little hard to believe. You see, the "new board" of the New York State Young Republicans looks a lot like the old one.


2012 Officers

Chair: Giovanni Scaringi (Rockland County)
Vice-Chair: Diana Sepulveda (Kings County)
Treasurer: Jason Weingartner (New York County)
Recording Secretary: Anthony Reinhart (Richmond County)
Corresponding Secretary: Nicole Russo (Nassau County)
National Committeewoman: Kellie King (Westchester County)
National Committeeman: Michael Recca (Westchester County)

General Counsel: John Doyle (Suffolk County)
Regional Chair: John Green (Putnam County)
Regional Chair: Cory Custer (Saratoga County)

Projected 2013 Officers

Chair:  Diana Sepulveda (Kings County)

Vice-Chair:  Cory Custer (Saratoga County)

Treasurer: John Doyle (Suffolk County)

Recording Secretary: Anthony Reinhart (Richmond County)

Corresponding Secretary:  Nicole Russo (Nassau County)

National Committeewoman: Kellie King (Westchester County)

National Committeeman: John Green (Putnam County)

As you can see the "new board" looks a lot like the old; and they are almost exclusively from downstate.

UPDATE: We erred in posting that there was actually a new member on the 2013 board. It turns out that Cory Custer of Saratoga County was also a 2012 officer. Our bad. 

The "election" (read-fundraiser) will be in Staten Island where 2+ board members are from.

What exactly will change?

Will the "new" chair appoint the same hacks to her cabinet?

Will meetings no longer cost $85 and profits be split between members of the board's home clubs?

Will competitive elections be tolerated?

Will YR County Chairs (read-members) have a say in anything that happens?

Will the NYSYRs follow their governing documents?

Will non-board members have any rights or privileges at all?


We won't hold our breath...

UPDATE: We received a little negative feedback on this post. To those that feel like this is an attack: prove us wrong! If you think that the "new" board (which consists 100% of old board members) can change things then do it. Don't worry about what this or any other blog(s) may say. 

Until then we will continue our work.

Next post: "Fake Clubs/Fake Members [of the board(s)]"

Cohesive and Collective...

Chairman's Message 2013 

NYSYR Convention

Fellow New York State Young Republicans,

It has been an amazing two years, and we have moved our organization forward, in so many ways, and it is because OF YOU. You have made the last two years, remarkable, successful, and unforgettable. As you may have already heard, I started my Ph.D. last September, and it has been an amazing personal experience. However, due to this new commitment, running for reelection this term would be impossible. I have been humbled and honored to serve as your Chairman for the last two years and have made and strengthened relationships that will last for many years to come. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for giving me the honor to serve in the capacity of Chairman.

 Moving forward, as we always should, our 2013 NYSYR Convention will be held Saturday, May 18, 2013, at 9:00AM in Staten Island, NY. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Richmond County Young Republicans who have done an amazing job of planning what I know will be an amazing convention. We will run our board meeting, elect new officers, and review our governing documents. Below, please find registration information and agenda information regarding our next Convention.




I hope to see you then, and if you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Again, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for everything you have done, everything you will do, and your commitment to this organization.

Cohesive and Collective,
Giovanni Scaringi
Chairman
New York State Young Republicans

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Price to "vote" in this year's non-competitive election: $85

Remember, your money will be split between the Staten Island Young Republicans and the New York State Young Republicans.

What a joke.

Hot Topics We Plan To Cover

Once we begin publishing you can use the links in the "Hot Topics" widget on the right side (where else would we put it?) of this blog.

• Backroom Deals
• Cabals
• Conflicts of Interest
• Conspiracy Theories
• Deals
• Dictatorial Power
• Fake Clubs/Members
• Non-Competitive Elections
• Power Grabs
• Power Through Appointment
• Profiles in Cowardice
• RINOs
• Taxation Without Representation
• Threats
• Violations of Governing Documents
• Where's the Money?