Former Rye Cop Chittenden to Run for Rye City Council
Former Rye City police officer and vocal critic of Rye City council Tim Chittenden has decided to run for office himself this November. Chittenden will seek the Republican line for one of the three spots on Rye City council that are up this fall. He plans to run independently if he does not receive Republican endorsement.
His announcement follows:
From: Timothy Chittenden
Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2009 10:44:01 AM
Subject: Running for Rye City Council
To All:
After much thought and consideration, as well as at the urging of numerous residents and employees of Rye, I have decided to run for a seat on the Rye City Council this November.
I am currently seeking the Republican line. If for some reason I do not receive it, I will get the necessary amount of signatures to run.
Some of the issues I plan on addressing:
1. Looking into the feasibility of splitting Police functions with the Harrison Police Headquarters with the Rye Police Headquarters. Perhaps Rye could be used for Administration and Investigations while Harrison Headquarters could be used for Patrol functions. This could eliminate the need for Rye to spend upwards of $20,000,000 on a new Headquarters. This plan would not eliminate any services.
2. Bringing accountability back to Rye government. The taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent and to get answers to their questions in a timely, respectful and non confrontational way.
3. Bringing transparency to Rye Government. Currently almost every Rye City Council meeting consists of an Executive Session where City of Rye business is conducted in secret. In addition, City Council meetings are not properly noticed and Open Meeting Laws are sometimes not followed.
4. Changing the City of Rye Charter back to the City Manager having to live in Rye.
5. Not giving any City Manager a contract without an expiration date.
5. Eliminating the position of Assistant City Manager.
6. Having a full time Corporation Counsel.
7. Having FOIL requests responded to timely and properly. Also, bringing Rye into the 21st Century with their record keeping and the New York State Public Officers Law.
8. Eliminating the position of Police Commissioner and having a Police Chief instead. All Rye Police Sergeants and Lieutenants would have the opportunity to take the Chiefs Exam.
I am open to any and all ideas, suggestions, opinions and help so please contact me at [email protected].
I look forward to a fair and lively campaign and to a common sense approach to bringing about the change in Rye government that we need.
Thank you.
Tim Chittenden
Amen. Go get ‘em Tim!
Great – will Tim be “packing heat” at meetings?
The idea of merging the Harrison and Rye PDs is a non-starter. Who in their right mind wants a Harrison cop patrolling Rye’s streets? How would a Harrison cop take to getting orders from a Rye cop?
Police Chief? Publicly-elected officials would no longer be responsible for hiring the head of the police force. The cops will choose their own head, leading to less civilian control over cops. Looks like we’re moving closer and closer to a police state. Kiss your rights goodbye, Rye!
Scooter –
I think our rights already left with you and the rest of the Otis administration.
TedC –
Enjoy free speech while you have it!
SCOOTER,
Get a Grip w/your self serving non sense. How long have you been living here? Before all the change Rye’s Administration was far superior to the crap we have now. I also would like to know what rights we have left that we should be concerned about losing?
“Police Chief? Publicly-elected officials would no longer be responsible for hiring the head of the police force. The cops will choose their own head, leading to less civilian control over cops”. Less civilian control over cops?…… THERE’S NONE NOW SO WHAT THE HELL IS THE DIFFERENCE? So you think that the selection of Connors was a good choice? You have got to be kiddn me!!!! This man left a Lieutenant in charge while on sick leave that ignored a dying boy in the streets & took a city owned vehicle to go watch his daughter play softball in BREWSTER! This man to this day has not paid my family one ounce of respect/condolence/sympathy etc. for the death of our son. NOT SO MUCH AS A PHONE CALL!!! This man instructed his patrol men/women to do radar on Midland Ave. for the sole purpose of proving a Father,Tax Payer,Life Long Resident, & the Family of the 10 year old boy that was killed on his streets wrong! This man does not discipline his officers for any wrong doing! This man is the only sole in the entire City of Rye that wouldn’t know me if he tripped on me! This man was given an unanimous “VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE” from the entire RPD!
THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!!! THESE ARE INDISPUTABLE FACTS!!! NO SCIENCE NEEDED!!!
BTW- I am not a big fan of the Harrison PD. But they definitely Patrol their streets a hell of a lot more vigorously than are PD.
Is the ballot going to read “Tim Chittenden” or “Wry record?”
Tim, in addition to revising the Charter to require residency for the City Manager, if it were allowed, would you also require this of police officers? Perhaps the police chief?
Scooter,
Your friend the police commish hires almost exclusively transfers from Mount Vernon or elsewhere. So what’s your beef with out of town cops patrolling Rye? They already are. As for chief vs commish what’s the diff as long as we get the right man. Maybe we should try a local instead of these outsiders running the show.
“2. Bringing accountability back to Rye government. ”
How about bringing back accountability to the citizens of Rye? How about insuring that people take accountability for their own decisions?? That is a true conservative. The No-Show Joe Republican is a liberal in disquise. Sounds like Tim would just be a No-Show Joe clone.
Axis,Scooter,
Leaders such as Mayors,Commissioners,Chiefs,City Managers,etc. should be hired in house because they know what Rye is all about and can pass this along. A Cop or Fireman can be trained with the right leadership.
What percentage of the Teachers in Rye live in Rye? They make outrageous demands that will have an immediate negative impact on our taxes.
Hats Off,
My biggest concern is a career civil servant who was a union member is now playing himself off as a Republican. Add to that, more lawyer fees, disregarding the City Charter and making sure our elected officials can’t even take a dump without doing so infront of an audience and you have an incompetent Republican.
Hi my name is Karl Marx and I’m running for Rye City Council as a Republican. I’m a strong union supporter. I encourage everyone to work for the gov’t. I’m also running on the platform that all of you Rye residents are so incompetent that you need a larger gov’t to take care of you. I want more lawyers and I am running on a platform that requires an Independent Counsel investigation into every word spoken at the Town Council Meetings. I also am requesting that doorless bathroom stalls be installed in the meeting room so the Council can even take a dump without full transparency. I’m also appointing Mr. Shubert as Czar of Private Property. Actually, I’m really just transferring ownership of all property into Mr. Shubert’s name so all citizens will be required to check with Mr. Shubert before making any changes are performed to protect Rye resident property. All water runoff in Rye will hereby be directed to Mr. Shubert’s property. Also, I am dismantling the City Charter that’s been in place since 1680. I hope I got your vote.
Axis wants to go back to republicans who follow the city charter. By this I guess he means meeting in secret at Rozs’ house to predetermine what is best for the rest of a us. Boy it would be terrible to have a middle class career civil servant on the council. I prefer upper class elitist country club members myself. They always follow 300 year old charters, at least when it suits them.
Axis is right. From what I see of Tim’s brave new world, the charter is going to change every time he’s faced with a tough decision. I’d rather have elitist country club members who stick with what’s worked for the past 300 years.
Transparency? I’d rather not see how the sausages are made, thank you very much. I’m more interested in results than in transparency. I don’t really care if they form a top-secret meeting complete with passwords and decoder rings if they keep my taxes down.
Watching the city council publicly debate what to do about lawsuits and personnel matters doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either – why not simply send a memo to the opposing attorney to let him know what the strategy is?
Another point – once you let a union official manage the city’s affairs, it doesn’t take long before the city is caving in to every little union demand. How can Tim assure us he’ll fairly represent the taxpayer when he’s negotiating against the very union he’s been part of for 20+ years? Or are we supposed to believe he’ll suddenly see the side of the taxpaying public, when for the past two decades he’s been screaming about how cheap the city is when paying for services? Give me a break.
Excellent post Karl Marx!
Hope you emerge from that bathroom stall and announce your own candidacy. Then we can all “Unite!”
Ted,
Imagine if the likes of Scooter,Karl Marx, Axis, Linus,actually ran!!! WE would never know it
“because cowards never” REVEIL THEIR TRUE IDENTITY!!!
“because cowards never” REVEIL (sic)THEIR TRUE IDENTITY!!
And who the hell is ShowYourMugs!!!
Truth does not need an identity.
Scooter,
I guess only country club members are smart enough to know when to change the charter. They did it to bring us the likes of out of towner O(stands for zero) Paul Shew. So much for sticking to your 300 year old charter.
We haven’t seen what the council has been cooking but the results are we all are sick. So maybe we should be watching what they’re cooking.
And as for this.
Another point – once you let a union official manage the city’s affairs, it doesn’t take long before the city is caving in to every little union demand. How can Tim assure us he’ll fairly represent the taxpayer when he’s negotiating against the very union he’s been part of for 20+ years? Or are we supposed to believe he’ll suddenly see the side of the taxpaying public, when for the past two decades he’s been screaming about how cheap the city is when paying for services? Give me a break
Scooter the city negotiates with the bargaining units, not against them. Lately it just seems like they are against them.
Tim is no longer a union official and last time I checked even ex-union officials pay property tax. I guess you don’t believe any union person can be fair. You must think Tim will bring his gun into the meetings if you think he can get the whole council to cave to every little union demand.
Tim, you better not run because Scooter thinks it will make the sky fall.
Scooter Little:
Let’s review some simple facts. Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes or to bargain for individual or collective advantage. When unions and management negotiate, they are on opposite sides of the table (duh!). So yes, the city’s negotiating team will face against the unions, as they are representing the taxpayer, who pays the rather generous salaries and benefits of the unionized employees.
Anyone with half a brain will realize that careers tend to shape the individual and the way in which they address critical thinking:
-Doctors are trained to assess the condition of the patient, symptoms witnessed, vital signs like pulse and respiratory in order to form an opinion of what ails the patient and to prognosticate on their chances of a full recovery.
-Lawyers are trained to discover the relevant facts of a dispute in order to best argue their client’s case in court.
-Business executives are trained to optimize performance of their business units by maximizing return on investment.
In the same fashion, union negotiators are trained to get the maximum benefits for their members from management, in this case the city council and its negotiators.
Tim has spent a significant amount of his career on the wrong side of the table when it comes to saving the taxpayer money.
But we’re now supposed to believe that the man who’s been manuvering to increase the police force (costing $$ for the city) and been pushing for a brand new police station at an estimated $20 million for his union is willing to change his tune completely with an off-the-wall idea of merging the Harrison and Rye Police departments. Sorry, I wasn’t born yesterday, and I’m not falling for this obvious bait-and-switch trick. There’s no way Harrison would enter into this partnership willingly.
I’m happy to hear Tim pays taxes. So does most every other property holder in Rye. That doesn’t set him apart in any meaningful way. What does set him apart is the fact that most other property holders are net contributors to the city’s balance sheet, whereas Tim is a net cost to the balance sheet, as his salary and benefits are paid for by all the other property holders. Will he voluntarily give up any increase in his disability pay as a result of any union agreement as a sign of good faith that he’s got the best interests of the taxpayer in mind? Don’t hold your breath.
Lastly, I don’t think the sky will fall if Tim runs, I just think my taxes will go up – and up and up – if he wins.
Again, I could care less if the city council met without due notice, without being televised, without even telling me what they’re going to talk about if it meant my taxes wouldn’t go up every year. I also don’t care where city employees live as long as they do their jobs well, which they’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. Ever stop to think that if we limit the list of potential employees, we limit the talent pool for hiring the most qualified individuals?
Scooter,
I’ve shown my mug more times than you know[obviously]. WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? TRUTH IS AN IDENTITY! THAT’S WHAT’S WRONG WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU! YOU DO YOUR TAINTING W/A MASK. PEOPLE WHO SPEAK FROM WITHIN HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE! PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS…PUT YOUR NAME TO IT!!!
Scooter,
Generous salaries, what are you basing that on?
Police, fire and dpw unions in Rye contribute more towards health benefits then most comparable cities and towns in the area.
These people aren’t getting rich doing what they do and have a hard enough time getting by. Maybe you can fly your work force in from where the cost of living is low enough for you to pay them less? I’m sure they will care about Rye more and do a better job.
If you can’t afford to live here move.
Scooter:
Did you know that currently the Department of Public Works is seriously concerned about employees not being able to afford to live in the area and actually your safety is at risk. DPW is having serious problems getting staff in during snow storms and other threatening weather events because a large percent live more than an hour away and can’t get here during bad weather. Talk to Mr. Anfuso he will let you know! So yeah they do a good job but it is getting risky now and more and more employees are moving farther and farther away because they can not afford to live any closer.
Wow all of you really know nothing about Rye. Tim You have my vote. Rye hasn’t hired a resident to the police force in 8yrs. the council, mayor and commissioner refuse to hire residents…why?
and Tim will drive taxes up? Last I checked taxes have been going up every year.
Tim Chittenden is an active citizen with an impressive track record of public service. Trouble is, he might not be paying all his taxes. Anyone who’s bought a fence from Tim knows he runs a cash business and receipts are in short supply. A thorough audit and investigation of Tim’s business activities is needed to make sure he’s the right person to decide how Rye’s tax money is spent.