A Spiteful Run

As the days countdown to the 2011 election for mayor of the village of New Paltz, five simple words will forever be engraved in John Cohen’s head.

“I’m gonna cream your ass.”

Those were the words Jason West uttered to Cohen, 54, when he found out that Cohen, an old friend, was running against him in the 2007 Mayoral election.

Four years later, Cohen and West will go head-to-head once again. Cohen said this year’s election is not all about winning, but more about keeping West out of office. He’ll do anything to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“He didn’t even wish me luck the first time,” said Cohen, who owns a clothing company in town called the Groovy Blueberry. He will be running for the Groovy Party in this upcoming election.

In 2004, Jason West put the national spotlight on New Paltz by performing same-sex marriages outside of the village hall. Cohen and West had always been friends and Cohen said he was willing to help West for anything he needed for his campaign. During that time, Cohen allowed West to use one of his properties to perform the marriages, which Cohen says almost got him in big trouble with the district attorney.

But when a friend who was staying in an apartment owned by Cohen was evicted, West turned on Cohen and his family.

“He became very mean and rude to my wife,” said Cohen. “His friend hadn’t paid rent in four months. What was I supposed to do?”

Shortly after this debacle, Cohen started going to town meetings to learn new things about the village of New Paltz. He realized that Mayor West hadn’t been doing anything in the last two years he was in office and that the village was just running itself. He got the 140 signatures needed to be eligible to run for mayor and that’s when West confronted him in a rude manner.

One of the biggest issues Cohen has is the new noise ordinance in New Paltz. Under the proposal, any noise over 70 decibels downtown would be illegal. Noise higher than 60 decibels in residential areas would be subject to a fine. According to the New Paltz Times, Mayor West has said that he is for the new ordinance. Cohen said that West prides himself on being a “freedom loving” person.

“West wants college students on campus and not around town,” said Cohen. “I know that students are dying to get off campus and have some sort of freedom. The ordinance will limit what students can do outside of the dorm rooms and downtown. It’s not fair to them and I want them to have the freedom they deserve.”

Cohen has urged many to register to vote for the village and then visit his shop on Main Street sometime before the election and sign his petition for this year’s election. The more signatures that Cohen gets, the less chance of a West re-election.

“I will do anything in my power to keep him out of office,” Cohen said. “He doesn’t care about anyone and will do anything he has to do to better himself. You don’t want someone like that running this beautiful village.”

Post by Nick Monaco & Monica Bachmann