Volunteering opportunities

There are at least two ways you can get involved, volunteer and make an impact on the 2022 election.

Right now, I am building a campaign team and this year we will need volunteers to help in areas including:

• Petitioning
• Fundraising
• Campaign mailers and post cards
• Sign Distribution 
• Phone calls

If you want to volunteer or know someone else who is interested, you can email me at edwardbondny@gmail.com and put "Campaign Volunteering" in the subject line.

Or, you could volunteer for the Chemung County Democratic Committee, which has a headquarters at 110 N. Main St. Go to their website at www.chemungdems.org for more info. 

Related links:

https://www.chemungdems.org/contact-us/

https://www.chemungdems.org/civic-education-center/

I'm running again

Not many details to share with you at this point, but I wanted those who have supported me in the past to know I am running again for Chemung County Legislature in the 4th District.

I am running for the same reasons as in 2018: 

• For openness and transparency in government

• To be an advocate for accuracy and honesty

• To be a legislator who listens to and responds to the voters

• To uphold the U.S. Constitution and to fight for a healthy democracy

• To fight for the dignity and respect of all residents of Chemung County

My 25-year career in journalism makes me an ideal legislator because it taught me to get the full story by listening to all sides, that facts matter, that correcting your mistakes mattered. 

If you want to help my campaign, contact me at edwardbondny@gmail.com or go to www.edbond.com/elected/.

Letter to the Editor: A PAC that makes voters partners

Elmira Star-Gazette, Jan. 26, 2020

How can we restore trust in our government and the political process?

It might begin next month when local candidates come knocking on your door to ask for your signature on a petition or later when they ask for your vote.

It begins with you asking the candidate - from any party - a question:

“Are you a Trailblazer?”

The Trailblazers PAC is not your typical political action committee. Trailblazers work against big money, back room politics. Honesty, accountability and transparency are their currency. They use a simple wisdom. That if you cannot trust someone on small matters, you cannot trust them on larger, more important matters.

They measure each candidate’s credibility one dollar at a time.

To earn the endorsement of the Trailblazers PAC, candidates must collect donations of at least $1 from at least 1 percent of registered voters in their district. To do this, they must earn the trust of the voters and persuade them to make an investment in their campaign. To earn that trust, the candidate has to demonstrate their commitment to the voter. This brings the average voter into the political process and makes them more than constituents. It makes them partners.

Not only do Trailblazer candidates have to report the source of every dollar donated — beyond the requirements of the law — they also have to commit to open government and transparency. The Trailblazers also run a mentorship program for candidates in which staff, volunteers, former and current candidates network and share information all with the goal of creating public servants, not politicians. With this help, people begin careers in public affairs based on honesty, accountability and transparency.

The organization is non-partisan and may even endorse opposing candidates in an election. Ultimately, the Trailblazers would like to see their candidates win 51 percent of elections, which is what would happen if all candidates were Trailblazers.

The organization launched in Horseheads in 2017, endorsing candidates in New York state, and is now working nationwide. I encourage everyone to go find their website [https://trailblazerspac.com] and read the accolades they have received from across the political spectrum. This organization needs your support and - if possible - your donations.

Ed Bond had been endorsed by the Trailblazers PAC in his run for Chemung County Legislature in 2018.

Legislators shouldn't dictate what libraries offer

[Published in the Elmira Star-Gazette, Dec. 1, 2019]

To the editor:

Congratulations to Steele Library for its presentation of the “Frozen Themed Drag Queen Story Time.” Dozens of kids and adults had a great time Nov. 14 despite the efforts of Chemung County legislator Joe Brennan to spoil the fun.

The library is where stories are celebrated. Some of these are in books on the shelves, and some are presented through story times and activities.  Very often, the best books are ones that challenge you, make you feel uncomfortable and question your worldview. 

Books with characters like Harry Potter, Huckleberry Finn, Holden Caufield, Celie, Scout, Jem, Piggy and even Junie B. Jones have been often denounced as inappropriate for children.  “George” about a transgendered child and “And Tango Makes Three” about two gay penguins who form a family are available through the Chemung County Library District. 

A book on a shelf that one person calls inappropriate or dangerous may also be the book that heals the pain and brings inner peace to someone else. So, who are we to choose for others which books to read, which stories to hear? If anyone does not want to read a book or go to a story time, they don’t have to. If a parent does not want their child to read a book or go to story time, they can control that. But who are we to choose for other parents which programs to take their kids to?

The point is that the library keeps the options open for readers/users to make their choices. Joe Brennan would take the choice away from you.

Without libraries that resist censorship, our freedom of speech and press would be in jeopardy. What good is it to write a book not available to the public? Or what good is a book if it cannot be preserved for future generations? What good is it to tell a story no one will hear?

When Joe Brennan uses his position as an elected official to attack our fellow residents of Horseheads, Big Flats and Chemung County, he defends himself by saying the voters “know where I stand.”

The residents of the Fourth District should remember Joe Brennan’s intolerance.

Ed Bond, of Horseheads, ran against Joe Brennan in the 2018 election

Will cynicism win the day?

I've written about cynicism in the past, while I was running for Chemung County Legislature. It's a topic that should be front-and-center for all Americans today.

This morning, as I write this, Michael Cohen is testifying before Congress. I've already read the copy of his opening statement as posted by CNN.

But what alarms me are the comments on social media, especially one I saw -- but did not grab it before it disappeared in my feed. Essentially, it said, "Both Cohen and Trump are liars. You can't believe anyone nowadays."

That attitude is how cynicism wins and how we end up giving power to Donald Trump and people like him. Donald Trump wants you to believe everyone else is a liar, will always lie and can never tell the truth.

If you accept that, then none of your choices matter, nothing you do matters and you should just give up, walk away and let Donald and his cronies run the world the way they like.

His victory is the victory of cynicism.

It is better to be a skeptic than a cynic. A skeptic doubts, but will listen, question and dig. A cynic does not bother checking the facts. They already know everyone is corrupt, in it for themselves and will always lie to suit their interests. But the cynic is wrong.

Human beings are flawed creatures. We can be selfish, stupid, foolish, careless and corrupt. We can let our desires, addictions and cravings make our choices for us and hurt each other in the process. Then out of fear, we can lie and try to throw blame onto anyone else but ourselves.

When we act like this, it becomes much more difficult to determine the truth.

But that doesn't mean there is no truth. That doesn't mean the facts don't exist and can't be uncovered.

Human beings can also be unselfish, altruistic and capable of self-sacrifice for the greater good. We can have remorse, seek to make amends and do the right thing. Parents try to teach children to be good. As a parent, I was glad to be a Boy Scout leader for a few years. We taught the boys that scouts are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

You should never assume all people are always good or that all people are always bad. Usually, the truth is a mix of the two, and we need to use reason to determine what the facts are.

So, the question before us today is: Do we believe Michael Cohen? Even though he is known to have lied in the past?

How do we recognize a liar?

If someone tells you something that later turns out to not be true, are they a liar?

If it happens once, you might give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they made a mistake.

If it happens twice, you are justified in doubting them, but maybe there is another answer. Perhaps they are simply careless with the facts. Then you need to make sure you double check what they tell you. (Always double check your facts, anyway!)

If it happens routinely, that person is at best unreliable and most likely a chronic, unrepentant liar.

How do we recognize a deliberate lie? How do we trust someone who has lied to us in the past?

Well, the facts can eventually be determined. If your auto mechanic tells you he has replaced an expensive part and charges you for it, and then later another mechanic tells you that original, flawed part is still there and causing problems, that sounds a lot like the first mechanic had lied to you. Worse, he did it to steal money from you. Money was the motivation.

According to his testimony, Michael Cohen routinely lied on behalf of Donald Trump and they did it to essentially steal money and eventually to help steal an election.  Money, prestige and power as a motivation to lie.

Now Michael Cohen is asking us to not believe what he told us when he worked for Donald Trump and believe what he tells us now.

What would be the key factors in deciding whether to believe him?

1) His motivations have changed. He no longer works for Donald Trump and therefore cannot make more money by helping him lie.

2) On the other hand, he is going to prison. So he may have a new, selfish motivation to say what he thinks his prosecutors want him to say. That is something to consider.

3) Documented evidence. Cohen provides records, checks and court testimony that backs up his current narrative of events. This is something he did not have to support his previous narrative and because of the guidance of those prosecuting him and putting him in prison, he has these things to back up his story.

Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the wrong reason, sometimes the wrong thing for the right reason, sometimes the right thing for the wrong reason and sometimes the right thing for the right reason. I think it possible Cohen may be doing the right thing -- possibly for the wrong reasons and possibly for the right reasons.

But it comes down to whether he presents himself as a believable witness today.

Will the people believe him?

I'm not sure, but their choice is crucial. Either way, his testimony is important. To believe the public assessment of Michael Cohen it is unimportant and trivial would be a victory for cynicism.

Better to fight and lose than to not even try

Click here for the unofficial results

Heading out of the Holiday Inn after the election results came in last night, I heard a voice call my name.

It was Stanley Arnold, who had volunteered for me. Stanley put out hundreds of door hangers for me and other candidates during the campaign. His wife made phone calls.

"It's not that we tried," he said. "We did something. We actually did something."

His knee hurt from all the hills and driveways, but Stanley beamed from the effort. Just like I don’t mind the blisters on my feet so much. We did something together. We took action.

Two years ago, my entire involvement in politics amounted to checking the polls on fivethirtyeight.com and yelling at the TV. That only left me feeling helpless and frustrated. 

Fighting and losing feels much better than never fighting at all. 

And as an entrepreneur and inventor, I am used to a new idea not working out the first time around. All you have to do is go through the process and figure out where your mistakes were and how to eliminate or mitigate them. So, we did it.

A Democrat had never run in this district before. Now, one has. 

But we have put a chink in the armor of some misconceptions:

“If you want to have a voice in this community, you have to join the Republican Party.”

“The Democrats will never field a candidate.”

“This is a Republican district, so the Democrats shouldn’t even be trying.”

When I announced in May, I took a look at the voter registration numbers. Sure, more Republicans than Democrats in the district (1705-1043 at that point) but there were also 834 unaffiliated — “blank” — voters. In a district of 3885 voters, here’s a fun fact: Most of the registered voters in the 4th district were NOT registered as Republicans. 

Of course, you don’t know which way many of those non-GOP voters lean until you knock on their doors and ask them, but it definitely seemed worth the effort.

At least now the voters of the 4th district don’t feel taken for granted. At least I hope so. 

At least it is a chink in the metal, a scratch in the surface, and one thing I have learned from working with various materials is if you can make a scratch in the surface you can eventually cut all the way through.

So my take-away is this: The voters of the 4th District are worth fighting for. They do want someone who will listen and respond to them and you should not accept the misconception that Republicans will always win. 

The 4th has awakened!

Questions and Answers

Earlier this month, the Elmira Telegram website sent me some questions. Here are my answers:

Name: Ed Bond
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Occupation: Entrepreneur, owner/operator at DreamGames 
Background/ Experience: 25 years in journalism as a reporter, editor, designer and journalism professor. 
 
What made you decide to run for election or re-election?
I’m running for office because unchallenged elections – or elections decided only in primaries – are unhealthy for democracy and open government. People deserve a choice. In uncontested elections, large segments of the population do not get a chance to be heard. Many don’t bother voting. They feel like their votes don’t count. They feel helpless.

If elected, what county wide issue is your #1 priority to address?
Jobs and the economy. I would support policies that create local jobs and help the residents start new businesses here in Chemung County. Money going into the pockets of the middle and working class would get spent at local businesses and local professional services.  This multiplies into a sustaining cycle of spending and hiring in the county. The result is a healthy economy and a better outlook for everyone.

What concerns are unique to your district? How will you address them?
Horseheads needs to take advantage of its proximity to the many great destinations in the Finger Lakes and become a destination itself. When we invest in our community by fostering attractive and fun destinations, residents would stay here to spend their money. Visitors would come here to spend their money. But maintaining infrastructure is key to becoming a destination. Roads and flood control are the other big issues I hear from residents, and these are resources that all areas of the county compete for. The new legislature and executive will have to address how to meet all these needs fairly. As I often say, we will have to “Do what we can, with what we have.”  But if we make the right investments into our community, the payoff will help us all.

There is a resurgence of enthusiasm and hope for the future of the City of Elmira. If elected, how would you propose the county help to keep that energy and momentum moving forward?
We need to end the animosity between the city and the county so that all parties can work together for the common good. Issues should not be addressed as County vs. City or even as Towns vs. City, We are all in it together, and a boost to the city is a boost to all of us in Chemung County. We need to find policies that are best for our individual communities and the county as a whole. We need to communicate with each other, understand the financial situation in each municipality and understand what each needs to succeed and how we can help each other. if we can dig down into the facts, we may be able to find solutions. Digging into the facts and communicating those facts to others is what I did as a newspaper reporter. So I would use those skills to help solve problems.

What personal skill set or personality trait do you feel would be a benefit if elected?
I’m a former newspaper reporter. I listen, take notes, ask questions and am endlessly curious about a wide range of topics. Everyone has a story, and the story of how Chemung County provides the services we need is one that has not been properly told. As a former reporter, I believe in open government, fiscal transparency and being financially responsible. Being a reporter means diving into complex situations and discerning quickly how a proposal would affect the lives of the residents. To ensure open government, I would put my all of my actions and interactions as a public official on the record.
Journalists watch the results of good and bad policies. We spend hours interviewing the people who made the decisions in the key events of our lives. This has created a wealth of pragmatic advice in my head that I want to put to use. 
Government must be run efficiently. Some would say that government should be run like a business, but I don't agree with that analogy. Government is more than a business. Here's the difference: If a business loses customers, that business is free to retool itself and seek out new customers and markets. They can write off those old customers and move on. Government can never write off its customers. A government will always have the same customers -- its constituents, who are the customers AND the employers of the government.

Do you favor term limits for County Legislators?
Yes. I think the county government benefits from having legislators of a diversity of backgrounds, professional experience and of different walks of life. A diversity of legislators creates a diversity of ways to solve problems. So, a frequent overturn of legislators would be healthy.
My only concern with term limits is the loss of institutional knowledge. It may take a couple of years for a legislator to get up to speed on how things work best. They may learn lessons the hard way when they pursue a course of action that had failed in the past. So, if term limits are established, I would recommend county and local governments create a volunteer board of advisors made up of retired legislators who would offer advice and insight to newcomers. 

What differentiates you from your opponent(s)?
Unlike my opponent, I’m not from Horseheads, but this town has become my adopted home. My wife and I chose to move here in 2001 to be close to her family. We chose Horseheads after living in California and considering other places to live, and I just can’t imagine living anywhere else right now. I’m originally from New Jersey and I’ve been a reporter in 5 states. I’ve written about issues at all levels of government, from planning and zoning all the way up to the federal level. I’ve watched as government officials and residents grapple with a wide range of problems. This gives me a broader experience to draw from and helps me see the big picture. I would also pursue more proactive contact with the residents. Rather than waiting for a problem to arise or for an election,  I would be continually connecting to the residents by networking, holding town halls, coffee talks and sending out regular newsletters and blogs on local issues.

Anything else you would like to say to voters?
VOTE! It all gets better when everyone gets involved and votes. I have been saddened to watch as voter turnouts drop. Too often the voters tune out politics because the atmosphere has become poisonous. Both sides yelling at the voters and telling them what to think doesn’t help. When elections come down to a bitter battle between the "never this" and the "never that,” the average voter just wants to sit it out. But it is better to be FOR something than AGAINST something. So, when you vote, you should know what you are for. Use your vote to take positive action. Choose leaders who are willing to listen and find solutions. www.edbond.com/elected/