To the Editor:

I recently volunteered to drive disabled senior citizens to their Guilderland Democratic caucus at Tawasentha Park. Being from another town, I had never experienced anything like this caucus before.

First, I found out that seniors are routinely disenfranchised from voting as there are no absentee ballots allowed at the caucus. Then I found out that our daughters and sons in the military, fighting for our very right to vote, are also so disenfranchised.

Now I am a very nosey kind of guy and wanted to find out more about these seemingly unAmerican tactics.

It turns out that the caucus is set up in this way to facilitate the old white boy backroom politics that I thought vanished years ago. The Guilderland Democratic Committee prefers that as few voters as possible know about this caucus. Then usually fewer than a hundred voters show up to vote and they are mainly committee members, town officials, and family members.

There is a voice vote so everybody will know how you vote thus guaranteeing a town employee or Democratic committeeman will vote the right way.

But thanks to Judge Christine Napierski, who is bucking the old white boy, backroom network, almost 300 people showed up to vote. Now the word is spreading about this corrupt and antiquated system that Judge Napierski brought to many voters’ attention.

She also was responsible for one big improvement that night. Because of the increase in voters, the Democratic Committee did allow a written ballot.

One gets the impression those running the caucus cannot count to 20 without taking off their shoes. There are over 9,200 registered Democrats in Guilderland but yet only 300 showed up.

This pretty much speaks to the secrecy of the caucus. Tawasentha Park, the place selected for the caucus, is not very handicap accessible.

We should all thank Judge Napierski for risking her political future as told to her directly by some of the old boys themselves. She was instructed to step aside so one of the backroom boys could have her job.

It is now 2018 and these cavemen still expect women to gingerly skip to the back of the bus at their command.

Now my nosiness was getting the best of me. Just who is this good old boy that wants to throw out such a well-qualified, honest, and corruption-fighting judge as Judge Napierski?

Turns out he is the son-in-law of another sitting judge in the Guilderland court. He also works for that judge’s private law practice. But get this! He also has a legislative job that has paid at least $90,000 for each of the last five years at the Capital.

In addition, he knocks down another $22,000 as a county legislator, another part-time job. Add to that the money the taxpayers kick in annually to his pension accounts and you have a serious part-time taxpayer funded dynamo.

But wait! Now he wants the $50,000-per-year judgeship in Guilderland with even more retirement funding.

This is simply nepotism, greed, and the ultimate gravy train on steroids. Every Guilderland voter should be made aware of this distasteful situation. Where are all the women? They should stamp out this old boy, backroom network

John L. Di Nuzzo

Loudonville