Schenectady NAACP officers being forced out Friday, January 2, 2009 By Michael Lamendola (Contact) Gazette Reporter
SCHENECTADY — The New York State Conference of the NAACP is forcing out the current officers of the Schenectady chapter because of inactivity and will reorganize the unit through new elections later this month, the state president said.
“The former officers have not fulfilled their obligations, and we are in to reorganize the unit,” said state conference President Hazel N. Dukes.
Elections will be held this month to choose officers to run the local chapter and to serve on its executive committee.
Dukes said the Schenectady chapter is out of compliance with the organization’s constitution and bylaws, prompting state action.
Must be that they stepped out of line defending the black man against Sue Savage on that Kosiur debacle. How dare they go against the party.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
SCHENECTADY COUNTY NAACP chapter leaders are ousted State conference cites inactivity, plans for new elections BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The NAACP State Conference has removed the leadership of the Schenectady County NAACP chapter for inactivity and is reorganizing the unit, the state president said. “The former officers have not fulfilled their obligations, and we are in to reorganize the unit,” said Hazel N. Dukes, president of the State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a national board member. Elections will be scheduled later this month to select officers to run the local chapter and its executive committee. “We will get people who are active in the community, who represent Schenectady County,” Dukes said Friday from New York City. Dukes said the Schenectady chapter is out of compliance with the NAACP’s national constitution and bylaws, prompting state action against it. She said members from the local unit have not attended regional, state and national conventions, and the unit is not running programs. “I have no activity reports from that branch. We have been getting reports from people that they have no meetings and they get no response from them,” Dukes said. Schenectady is one of four local chapters the state NAACP conference is reorganizing, Dukes said. The other units are New Rochelle, Utica and in New York City housing. The Schenectady chapter has undergone reorganization before, local officials said. The state conference put the local chapter into receivership Dec. 1 and told the current leaders that they could not participate in the unit’s reorganization, said Paul Webster, a dues-paying member of the local unit and a former candidate for the Schenectady County Legislature. Olivia Adams was the local chapter’s most recent president. She initially denied the state’s action when contacted for comment earlier this week. First Vice President Fred Clark and Third Vice President Joe Allen also denied that the local chapter had been decertified. Adams and Allen were not available for comment Friday. Clark on Friday said that he plans to run for office, even though Dukes said former officers would be barred from seeking election as part of the reorganization. Furthermore, the former leaders may no longer speak for the local chapter, Webster said. On Dec. 26, Clark told The Daily Gazette that the local chapter supports Brian Wright’s complaint of discrimination by Schenectady County. The local chapter has not taken a position on Wright’s claim with the state Division of Human Rights, Webster said, as the chapter has not met to discuss the issue. Webster said the local chapter held its last meeting Dec. 1, and only three members attended, not enough for a quorum. Webster said the local chapter should be reorganized: “I think there is a tremendous amount of work the Schenectady NAACP could be accomplishing if we were to have regular meetings and open dialogue between the membership and the community at large.” Webster said he and other local NAACP members are concerned that the organization does not meet regularly and has not sent members to national, state and regional conventions of the NAACP. “There is a group of people — former, current and new members — who have asked that the chapter be activated,” he said. In an interview last week, Allen, third vice president of the Schenectady chapter, said the Schenectady unit cannot afford to attend conferences outside of the county. He also said that the state conference does not have authority to reorganize the local unit. Dukes disagreed. “I have the right to begin the process to make sure we have an active, viable branch in a community where they have a charter,” she said. Dukes said Anne Pope, NAACP Northeast regional director, is organizing the elections. Pope was not available for comment. Local members were sent notices in November announcing the reorganization, Dukes said. Pope will send out another notice announcing the election once she selects a venue, Dukes said. Pope is charged with putting together a nominating committee to ................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00102
Split rends Schenectady County NAACP Rights group to appeal order telling it to reorganize
By SCOTT WALDMAN, Staff writer First published in print: Monday, January 5, 2009
The leadership of the Schenectady County NAACP chapter spent Sunday planning an appeal of a reorganization ordered by the civil rights group's statewide branch that would remove them from their positions.
The state group ordered the reorganization after concluding that the local chapter had fallen into inactivity.
But Fred Clark, the Schenectady chapter's first vice president, said the group has been active despite what he termed political infighting in the group's membership. He cited the group's advocacy in a number of recent legal cases involving African-Americans, voter registration drives and travel by chapter members to conferences in the last year as evidence of their work.
Paul Webster, a dues-paying member of the Schenectady branch and former candidate for County Legislature, said criticism of the local group is valid. He said the chapter's leadership was making decisions based on the opinions of a handful of people without consulting the more than 50 people who belong to the group.
He faulted the Schenectady NAACP for not taking an active role in the "equity and justice issues" in the county. He said leaders had misused their NAACP titles to voice their personal criticism of prominent African-Americans, such as Schenectady's new police chief, Mark Chaires.
That is not the role of the NAACP, Webster said: "It's to help bridge the gap and bring people together."
The group was placed in receivership on Dec. 1. Webster said he was part of a group that pressed the state leadership to reorganize the Schenectady branch. He said the organization does not meet often and that, when it does, only a handful of people are participating.
The group's receivership status means the current leadership cannot run for office during the reorganization unless their appeal is successful.
NAACP chapters nationwide will hold regularly scheduled elections later this month, said Anne Pope, regional director. Pope declined comment on the Schenectady chapter.
She said the elections, which happen every other year, will leave chapters "re-energized."
"We hope that every branch gets a new start at the end of two years," Pope said.
Clark and other Schenectady NAACP leaders met at chapter President Olivia Adams' home to discuss their future plans on Sunday. He blasted the state NAACP leader, Hazel Dukes, for not checking the group's attendance at mandatory conferences and said Webster was an outsider with only..........................http://timesunion.com/AspStori.....mp;newsdate=1/6/2009
They went againt the democrats in the latest dust up with Wright and Kosiur. Webster is the democrat point man to tak the organization over. Looks like the rest are paying the price for going against the democrats! somewhat strange that they should be allowed to buck the party, so this is the logical ending- CRACKDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
What is really really sad here, is that we have a 'one party rule' presently in place right now. And I don't care if it were dems or reps. This outcome would have been the same. There are no checks and balances. This is NOT what our government was intended to be.
Sadly, we have a country (county) where the majority of people are looking to the government for their freakin' next breath. And for that mind thought...the dems will rule. I don't see this turning around any time too soon. I don't think things will change during my lifetime...if ever! We are truly beginning to resemble all of the other socialist countries where the government rules superior.
The government, at all levels and in all parties are corrupt and self serving. And the average sheople don't really care as long as they get their hand out. I've posted it before and I will again.....'was Karl Marx's predictions correct?'
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
How dare the NAACP support a Black man against the Krats? They demanded some accountability and that the State civil service laws be followed. So the entire NAACP "leadership" must be thrown overboard. Another so Schenectady County....
Mr. Webster, who got no support when he ran for County Legislature in District 3, knows better than this. Coming soon a take over of the entire NAACP leadership by Krat operatives. And nobody will know from nuthin. They don't meet, have no money and are totally unaccountable to the membership, are we talking about the NAACP or a political party?
I have heard this is just one more group to be taken over for political purposes by Gardner and them. Everyone knows but the paper is in denial COMPLETELY! Sad that they used to be independent journalists.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
How dare a dem call his party on the carpet for Kosiur's created position that never got posted. In fact Kosiur didn't even apply for the job until 1 month AFTER he had it!!!! We know, the dems know and even Kosiur knows that his political days are over. And his party played a big part in that by pushing his stupid sex offender law. But not to worry, the dems made it up to him by creating a position, just for him, at the oppressed taxpayer's expense.
So they (the dems) obviously are trying to retalite and crush Wright for bringing the dems corruption to light. IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler