The race for Spa Mayor 2013 and why I own an Ak-74

Well it might be only January but the race to city elections have already begun. Tonight I look at the Mayor’s race.

On the Democratic side we have the blond horse Joanne Yepsen.

Yepsen has been increasing her visibility in the last year. The thing about Joanne is she always plays the cautious politician. In the Charter Change debate she never really took a stand. She tried to be a voice of moderation in the gun show debate but she never really satisfied either side. Sources tell me she believes Scott Johnson won’t run for a 4^th term. I don’t think she could beat Johnson but might have a good shot against anyone else.

Next the ugly Horse; Henry J."Hank'' Kuczynski

"Hank'' Kuczynski  is perhaps best known as the popular Mayor Ken Kloz’s deputy and  for his pathological hared of Mayor Scott Johnson. "Hank'' wants a piece of Johnson in the worst way. He is also John Franck’s best friend and ally. This is where it gets interesting. Yepsen is backed by the McTygue’s. Hank is backed by McTygue’s friend Franck. Word is Kuczynski declared first dibs on Mayor and he’s not too happy. I don’t think Hank could beat a paper boy. 

The dark horse; Brent Wilkes

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Wilkes is making noises again that he wants a rematch with Johnson this time minus Pat Kane. Wilkes is still the darling of the democratic fringe and charter change crowd but Yepsen has spent a considerable amount of time cultivating the Bolshevik wing of the democratic committee. Maybe she can launch her campaign on International Workers' Day (also known as May Day).Charlie Brown, democratic  committee chair would like that. I hear he plays a mean “Internationale" on his guitar.

On the Republican side.

Scott Johnson: I have no idea if he plans to run again. Three grueling campaigns against three wing nuts {Keehn, Kim and Wilkes} all to be ringleader in a circus.  Hell the man still donates his salary to charity, I wouldn’t blame him if he had enough.

The outside shot if Johnson doesn’t run Matt Veitch;

Without daddy in-laws power at the county Veitch, might be looking to move on. In the last city election Veitch was the largest vote getter narrowly defeating Yepsen in the vote count. This was meaningless of course because both were unopposed but the message wasn’t lost on Yepsen. Veitch’s vote to sell Maplewood manor to a shaky LLC in lockstep with the county republicans and his support of a very bad county budget based on smoke and mirrors may prove to be his Achilles heel in the fall.

Finally some troll at the Saratogian called centerpost keeps asking “why would anyone need to own a AR-15?”

Well I don’t own one but I will try to address that question. My father Joe Tighe was drafted and served in Europe in World War 2. Late in the afternoon of 29 April 1945, Dachau Concentration Camp was surrendered to the American Army by SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Wicker. My father was one of those liberating solders. After the liberation Dachau became a displaced persons center and my father stayed as a camp guard and on the cleanup crew to July 1946. This event had a lifelong effect on him that he never really got over. His faith in humanity was never fully restored. Returning home he found work in GE then as a Spa Cop and finally as a fireman. He was Chief of the Department when he died at the age of 52 in 1975.My mother had a 38 revolver next to her bed after he died.

We had guns in the house. The fact that we did was never questioned. I joined the Kayaderosseras Fish & Game Club at the age of 6 and I’m still a member. I began shooting competitively at age 8 and continued to age 16. I have owned many guns and sold many in the course of my life. At the age of 21 I received a pistol permit .In 1987 I went through the long and complicated process of getting a federal c and r FFL. A kind of gun dealer’s license.After moving from my house in 2008 I sold off most of my stock and voluntary turned in my FFL to the Federal  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

I have never owned an AR-15. I find them overengineered, expensive and unreliable. Most of the guns I own know are antiques from the 19^th century. Some are museum pieces. They are the best of all the weapons that have passed through my life.

I still belong to the Kayaderosseras Fish & Game Club and I prefer to shoot my Russian AK-74. The people who say that this type of weapon isn’t needed for home defense are correct. I have a pump action 12 gauge shotgun for that. The gun is a destructive beast. Once a year I take it to the range to make sure it functions and to pump a couple rounds through the chamber. It’s loud, kicks like a horse and is no fun to shoot. God help the man who would dare break into my house with a gun or a knife and threaten to harm me or my wife. In 2010 a burglar did try to break into my house when I was heavily involved with exposing NXIVM. I dialed 911 and went for the shotgun. The burglar ran. The sheriff took 22 minutes to get to my house. That is a lifetime. There were two people and have never been caught.

I still love to shoot at the Kayaderosseras 100 yard range. My AK uses cheap Russian ammo is light has no kick and is a delight. Super dependable and with three moving parts it functions in cold, heat or rain. I can set it up on the bench and carefully try to shoot three shots in a tight pattern at 100 yards. This is a mathematical equation as wind and even humidity have to be taken into account. Then as the barrel heats up adjustments for even that have to be taken into account. I compare it to bowling a perfect game. Shooting relaxes me, lowers my blood pressure and even has a Zen like quality. I’m sure some of you will never understand this. Some might even think I’m crazy. But I have tried to explain why I shoot an AK-74 as honestly and clearly as possible.’

Saratoga In Decline

We never Sleep

Because people are strange