By Michael Kaufman

Well, the good news is that the Orange County Legislature Republican majority has been forced to put off voting on a new proposal to transfer the Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation to a local development corporation (LDC) for at least 30 days. The rumored defection of two or more Democratic legislators, which would have given County Executive Steve Neuhaus the supermajority he needs to move forward with the sale of Valley View, did not take place when the legislators met earlier this week.

“Simply put, the Democrats have held together,” noted Michael Sussman, the Goshen attorney who won a lawsuit filed on behalf of Valley View workers and residents who oppose privatization. “Absent the votes, the Republicans do not want to face defeat again and certainly do not want to pass a Local Law subject to permissive referendum. So the chair of the legislature has asked the head of the Rules Committee to pull this item from the October 2 meeting.” (A Local Law requires only a simple majority but can be challenged by a referendum, which would allow county residents to vote on whether Valley View will remain publicly owned or sold to a private operator to be run for profit.) Sussman said he “could not be more thrilled” by the victory although he is keenly aware it may be short-lived. “I know they will not give up.”

“I’ve never seen an obsession like the obsession to privatize Valley View, now in its eighth year,” says Pamela Chergotis, managing editor of the weekly Chronicle, which has been providing superb coverage (by Chergotis and investigative reporter Nathan Mayberg) on Valley View, as well as the ongoing government center fiasco, and other controversial local political issues. “The fever isn’t breaking,” adds Chergotis. “The tactic seems to be to just wear people down—journalists, activists, Democrats, and supporters alike.”

Chergotis herself was the victim of a mean-spirited attack by Neuhaus following the ruling by Orange County Supreme Court Justice Elaine Slobod invalidating the LDC he illegally appointed. “Steve said I put Valley View on the front page every week for six months (not true either) because my mother died in Valley View in February and ‘it’s personal for them.’ My mother died 12 years ago in New Jersey and as far as I know never stepped foot in Orange County.” In the same statement, reported in the Times Herald-Record, Neuhaus suggested that both the judge and Chergotis are “too emotional and too lacking in professional detachment to do their jobs.” Chergotis says some have suggested to her that “sexism is afoot.” Sexism on the part of a Republican elected official? Impossible!.

Meanwhile, expect Neuhaus to keep the pressure on Democrats to cave on Valley View by threatening massive layoffs of other county workers if Valley View isn’t sold.

Endnote—Certain events inevitably bring out my inner Yippie. Imagine if Abbie Hoffman were still with us and had received an invitation to a “Free Private Event” at the Renaissance Faire’s Peacock Pavilion hosted by Genting “to thank our Warwick and Greenwood Lake supporters” of their plans for a Sterling Forest Resort casino. The event will include live entertainment, dinner and an info session (“By privately funding a Thruway exit, hiring locally, and improving local parkland (!), we are committed to improving the region’s quality of life and financial stability.”) The shindig takes place Saturday, Sept. 20, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The catch is that you have to RSVP and present the invitation card at the “Will Call” booth. But Abbie would have found a way to get in even without the invitation.

Michael can be reached at michael@zestoforange.com.