Never give up!

I haven’t been on the Walkway over the Hudson since its inauguration in 2009, when people from all towns in Ulster County met on the bridge – going back and forth between Highland and Poughkeepsie – proudly displaying the insignia of their towns.

So, I was eager to join Rochester’s Summer Program trip to the Walkway over the Hudson on August 7. Happy that we didn’t have to display umbrellas, we enjoyed the views despite the overcast sky. I noticed the kids’ fascination with the freight trains running on the tracks next to the Hudson River. The boys in my group – Gavin, Nathan and Tristan – were among the first to spot the trains, from a big distance.

If you think that after a round-trip on the Walkway the kids were tired and had not enough energy left for the Fun-e Farm in Kingston, you are wrong! They enjoyed the colorful inflated slides to the fullest. It’s true, though, that on the way home little Brook (4) fell asleep on the bus.

Pure enjoyment all day long; no rain, clouds galore, walking on the bridge, lunch in Highland, plus Funny Farm’s symphony of colors… all making for a fun-filled day!

Manuela Michailescu

It was a pleasure to join the kids this last Tuesday for the trip to Bear Mountain…

Wonderful scenery, plus excitement generated by the zoo and the huge pool (capacity over 1,660 people).

I enjoyed observing kids’ genuine reactions:
– seeing for the first time a swan (actually… a “mute swan”)
– being fascinated with the animals – owls, bears, turtles, coyotes, eagle, snakes…
– enjoying taking photos

I understand they had even more fun at the Ulster County Fair next day… I must keep repeating it: Rochester has a wonderful summer program!

Manuela Michailescu

This trip, part of Rochester Summer Program’s Adventure Week, was not only exciting but also most authentic. To me, it’s important to be part of a well-organized but not staged event, and be able to enjoy kids’ authentic reactions.

Mother Nature gave us torrential rain right before the trip on Tuesday, July 23. Thanks to our great driver and to counselors offering alternative directions learned via smart phones, we managed to avoid the flooded roads on our way to Howe Caverns.

A record number of forty kids participated to the trip. The group assigned to me as counselor included Sophia (5), Alexa V. (6), Angel (7) and Lucy (8). Holding their little hands during the 90-minute tour of the caverns and also taking pictures proved to be a real challenge – my jacket’s many large pockets and the boat trip helped a lot!

Among the moments I would treasure:

Lucy being in an elevator for the first time, or almost being “hit” by the cane of Mr. Howe (an animated puppet) telling the story of the caverns… Angel’s emotional stories… Sophia proudly proclaiming our group an “all-girl group”… Alexa’s intention to buy the beautiful earrings as a present for her mom, then getting them for herself and starting to wear them right away!

Exploring the gift shop: the kids carefully comparing prices to make the most of their allowance, then getting together after finishing shopping to share and show each other their treasures (most enjoyed buying little stones – as many as they could fit in the little bags).

You should have seen the awe and excitement on kids’ faces, and on counselors’ too!
A truly rewarding experience.

Manuela Michailescu

As I said in my initial post about the Summer Program in our town, I intend to join the kids for at least one activity per week, which was supposed to be last Wednesday, July 17. It just happened that I was asked to help a little sooner, so on Tuesday, July 16, I went with the kids to the Kaatskill Kaleidoscope and Belleayre Beach.

On Wednesday, because of the oppressive heat, the Walkway over the Hudson objective was smartly replaced with the Kerhonkson pool, so the morning trip to Poughkeepsie was made only to the Children Museum, followed by lunch with a Walkway view…

Participating to these activities confirmed what an excellent program we have in Rochester! I find it superbly organized and extremely rich; I was impressed by the Director’s (MaryAnne Gates) and the counselors’ attention to details and dedication to the kids. Also, by how smart and well-behaving the kids are. Little Brook (4-year old) is beyond adorable and it was a pleasure to watch enjoying the beach and the water… Cheyenne is the perfect example of a kid who always lets a counselor know where she is. I was also extremely pleased to have in my groups Weston, Cyrus (who immediately detected my foreign accent and asked me about Romania!), Richie, Aleah and Lucy.

The Kaleidoscope, the Emerson’s gift shop, Belleayre beach and the picnic there, visiting the Children’s Museum in Poughkeepsie – all a real pleasure. Hopefully the photos are worth thousands of words…

Manuela Michailescu

Monday, July 8, 2013 marked the beginning of Town of Rochester’s Recreation/Youth Department’s Summer Program. With a record number of kids already registered (62 as of July 11), a wonderful mixture of field trips, and lots of enticing indoors/outdoors activities, I bet that this summer’s program it’s going to be super-successful…

As I loved my last year’s trip to the Albany Museum, I cannot wait to join the kids in future trips and help with chaperoning; I’m going to participate in at least one activity per week and keep a photographic journal. Check this blog for updates, a photo is worth a thousand words!

On July 8, the first deliciously-healthy “Lunch with Tana” confirmed a great tradition; as in the past, helping Chef Extraordinaire Tana Miller with the Monday lunches were Gail Agostaro and Alice Gray. Thanks to all!

The Summer Program continues till August 23. For more information please call 626-2115.

Manuela Michailescu

Tavi Cilenti, Manuela Michailescu and Carl Chipman
before their victory in 2007 elections.

Blue Stone Press – July 5, 2013
Shawangunk Journal – July 11, 2013

To the Editor:

I’m probably one of the very few who worked with and knows Carl Chipman both in an official and unofficial capacity, as a fellow Town Board member and as a fellow church goer. First I would like to say about Carl what I’d like people to say about me – Carl is Carl, he is not changed by titles and positions, he is always the same kind man determined to serve the people and to get problems solved. Not many people know that he is the President of the Ulster County Association of Town Supervisors and Village Mayors, but this added title didn’t change him a bit. We should be proud that our Town Supervisor was deservedly chosen to be the leader of town leaders.

It is known that I don’t shy away from arguing with leaders – and Carl can vouch for it; we had our ups and downs, we had our arguments, but – when the dust settled – it was obvious that he either was not given all the facts or he made a choice for the good of the entire town. And he always admitted his mistakes.

Carl Chipman is a fiscal conservative, has a truly balanced approach to leadership, and is an excellent communicator. His involvement in town’s life, at all levels, is unprecedented. Check webcasts of our Legislature’s sessions – you won’t find another town supervisor expressing his opinion even when it’s not a popular one. He is our town’s liaison to the county. He is representing our town and does this very well.

The only thing worth mentioning against Carl: he is too tight with the money – a “Cheap-man”! That’s why I found it disturbing to see the words “our town tax dollars should not be wasted” associated with his name in the ad for Chipman’s challenger! Carl has a proven record of watching taxpayers’ money, so why the “cheap” shot?

Carl’s challenger promises to “stop expanding taxes” when, in fact, our taxes were not increased and it seems that no other town in the state could boast the same thing over the same period of time. But Carl Chipman’s challenger sees everything as “expanding”: “expanding laws,” “expanding regulations,” “expanding expense with the startup of a police department,” “our comprehensive plan… continually expanded.”

The only thing I see “expanding” is Carl’s passion for solving town’s problems. He is passionate about serving, at times with great personal sacrifice.

Carl Chipman always had a clear vision for Rochester: the one beneficial to all the people in town…

Manuela Michailescu
Kerhonkson

Among my favorite experiences in the City is going to the annual communication symposium at my alma mater – Baruch College, CUNY. As one month has passed already, only eleven months to go till the next one!

This year, The 13th Communication Symposium & Communication-intensive Instruction – focused on story-telling – coincided with my 25th anniversary since graduation. It was also the last symposium under the leadership of Mikhail Gershovich, Ph.D., Executive Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute.

The morning program included the keynote presentation from Catherine Mathis, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Standard and Poor’s and the roundtable discussion of the idea that stories – or “literacy narratives” – can reveal much about the processes of teaching and learning.

After lunch – an opportunity to network and exchange impressions – the afternoon program started with a fascinating and extremely engaging workshop focused on “Story and Re-Story in the Age of Shape-shifting Portfolio People” led by Barbara Ganley, Community Expressions, and Alan Levine.

The afternoon keynote presentation was given by Suresh Canagarajah, Edwin Erie Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics and English, Penn State University.

Cocktails and dinner were, as in the last few years, at the great Players Club (Gramercy Park South) and the dinner “address” was a conversation with Gary Shteyngart, author of the Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan, and A Super Sad True Love Story, interviewed by Roselyn Bernstein, author of Illegal Living and Professor of Journalism and Creative Writing, Baruch College, CUNY.

The symposium and the evening ended with an emotional farewell from Director Mikhail Gershovich, who organized the past ten symposia. He promised to come from California and see us all next year.

The most valuable idea taken from this symposium: how important is not only the story-telling, but also re-telling of the story, to make sure that the receiver understood exactly what the sender of the message MEANT to be understood.

So, among my favorite experiences in the City is going to the annual communication symposium at my alma…

Manuela Michailescu

I was in New York City attending a communication symposium at Baruch College when I received an email from reporter Terence Ward asking about my candidacy for Legislature. He quoted from my answer in a Gunk Journal article:

“With an excellent challenger on a major line, my “mission” is accomplished – I won’t be in the Leg race… Just focus on town issues.”

The decision to not run marks – hopefully – the end of many years of personal sacrifices and vicious attacks against me. The first measurable effect of refraining from politics at the county level was the excellent blood pressure reading taken in my doctor’s office – where usually the “white coat syndrome” sends the numbers through the roof!

A few days ago I participated to a very interesting political training session where it was stressed how important consistency is for candidates – it’s all about “consistency, consistency, consistency.” It makes me proud to have been consistent when running for Legislator and now, when getting out of that race.

To elect means to choose, and – as many of you know – I was “obsessed” by the lack of choice in the Legislative race in our district (former District 1 in 2009, District 21 in 2011, following redistricting).

I tried to offer a choice in 2009 and 2011, when nobody else stepped up as a challenger. In 2011 I stated in Blue Stone Press (June 17, 2011, pg. 8) that:

“My four years of experience in local government provide a solid platform to move to the county level. Somebody truly involved, who knows the pulse of the town, is a good choice for voters. Starting at the local level it’s the natural way. Any of our town board members would make excellent legislators.”

Now when Councilwoman Lynn Archer – who has six years experience on the Town Board – decided to run, I feel my “mission” was accomplished. I offered a choice when there was none, “paving” the way, somehow, for the multiple choice the voters have this year. I can only hope their answer will be correct.

I value local government experience in the make-up of a Legislator and I believe that total lack of such experience was one of the reasons for the many problems we’ve seen in the past four years.

As described by Irina Eremia Bragin (Subterranean Towers: A Father-Daughter Story) “A world without choices would be a world without heroes…” The author concludes: “The hero is a man or a woman who behaves as decently in an extraordinary situation as in an ordinary one.”

I feel that getting out of the Legislative race is the decent thing to do.

I would like to go back on the Town Board to continue working for the people of Rochester. As I said even in the 2011 Blue Stone Press article mentioned above, “I’m not ruling out the possibility of running for the town board in the future.”

Manuela Michailescu

I was born on May 25, and most of the time my birthday falls during the Memorial Day weekend. That puts things in perspective, and my focus shifts to honoring those who gave their lives serving the country.

I’m happy that Youth Commission members’ idea to create a ‘meeting of generations’ at the Veterans Park worked and holds promise for the future. We were honored to have Mr. Harry Christian, a WWII Merchant Marine veteran, speaking at the ceremony, and showing models of the ships on which he served.

For the Memorial Day event at the Veterans Park, Jon and I prepared a photo display about Rochester’s veterans (above). That’s how we spent my birthday, and it was pretty emotional. Americans by choice, we honor the American veterans. Coming to America as adults, the veterans in our family are far away in time and geography, but we think of them too.

We did honor the heroes today… and my thoughts went to my great grand father, General Eremia Grigorescu (1863-1919), an artillery General during World War I and Romania’s Minister of War (October-November 1918). In 1917 he was the commander of the Romanian armies in the Battle of Mărăşeşti. It was there that he achieved his greatest success, managing to defeat Imperial German troops led by General August von Mackensen. After the battle, Grigorescu was nicknamed the “hero of Mărăşeşti,” and he became a recipient of the Order of Michael the Brave. His victory was praised in the Entente countries, and Yoshihito, the Emperor of Japan, sent him a sword engraved with the words “Pe aci nu se trece” – casually translated as “No one goes through.”

I visited his tomb only once. It is placed in the center of the Mausoleum at Mărăşeşti, surrounded by the remains of 5,073 Romanian soldiers and officers. In the Battle of Mărăşeşti Romania lost over 27,000 men, including 610 officers, while Germany lost over 47,000.

Manuela Michailescu

Before and during the dedication of the Rochester Veterans Park, Memorial Day 2011.


With fellow Town Board members Tavi Cilenti and Carl Chipman, May 30, 2011.

Dear members of the Rochester Republican Committee and other open-minded readers:

After more than six years of being involved in Rochester’s political life, I realized that it’s impossible to have an open discussion with my fellow committee members which is not staged by David O’Halloran, the committee Chair.

I don’t like deals made behind closed doors, so I decided to communicate with you through this open letter which would be read by many and appreciated by few.

Being a member of the 2007 winning team, I served as a Town of Rochester Councilwoman (2008-2011). As most of you committee members never attended a Town Board meeting during my four-year term, or came to any of the town events I did attend or promote, please allow me to highlight some of my activity – before, while and after being an elected official.

I am proud of…

• being the record-holder in attending town meetings and events
• helping to create BusyRochester.com, the first and still the only business directory of our town (where a Chamber of Commerce does not exist)
• succeeding to establish the Town Board’s open interviews policy
• being member of a team which healed the town, and solved the problems in the Fire Department and Assessor’s Office
• being the only Town Board member attending Grievance Day in the last 40 years (as I was told by Bruce Schoonmaker, God rest his soul)
• being part of the team which never increased the town taxes
• never missing a crucial meeting as Town Board liaison
• having a proven record of non-partisan voting
• never allowing to be pushed when voting on the Town Board (there were only two such instances in four years, one request coming from Rochester Republican Chair David O’Halloran, the other from fellow Legislator-candidate John Dawson)
• being instrumental in finally finishing the Rochester Veterans Park, by following up – as Town Board liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission – on the seven-year project
• fighting to keep Rochester whole during the redistricting process (as opposed to having the town chopped up for 10 years between legislative districts to favor the incumbent)
• being the only Town Board member attending the Annual Association of Towns meetings and training sessions in the last six years
• participating hands-on to activities of the Youth Commission (where I am a member and secretary)
• promoting town events, especially those organized by the Recreation/Youth Commission, via letters to the editor and photographs sent to newspapers
• making sure – as a then member of the Ulster County Tourism Advisory Board – that what’s on the covers of the Ulster County Travel Guides helps creating and maintaining the Ulster County brand

Despite my record, all I hear is “how can we get rid of Manuela?”
The question, especially asked by outsiders, is “why”?

Until somebody provides a better answer, here is mine:
You want to get rid of Manuela because she is outspoken, Manuela hates deals, Manuela really desires to serve, Manuela wants true town representation at the County level, Manuela cannot be manipulated, Manuela is fair and non-partisan, Manuela cares for all the people, Manuela is not self-serving, Manuela refuses to let politics change her…

In 2009 I told the Ulster County Republicans that the selection of Legislature candidates should not be based on the Catalano-Bernardo deal. I was dismissed and threatened, but I was right, and those dirty deals permanently scarred our county – no matter if you accept it or not. My 2009 candidacy symbolically offered voters a choice: I won the Republican primary in Rochester and I won the Republican line in the general election by 415 votes.

The appointments made by Terry Bernardo as Chair of the Ulster County Legislature proved that I was right when I told you – in 2011 – that the Republican party was hijacked by the Bonacic-Bernardo people. Ignoring the weight-voting required by the Election Law, Chairman O’Halloran engaged in pretend-voting over the phone, more than ten days after the interviews of Legislative candidates took place. The incumbent got the nod, but many of you don’t even recall the 2011 vote that was never recorded in the minutes of our Committee. Again, I offered voters a choice in the Legislative race. Unfortunately, as all other candidates in town were running unopposed, not many people bothered to vote that year.

Today there are three Republican candidates for one Legislator seat. On April 17, 2013, at our meeting before the interviews, I explained “why I’m running” (that little speech is on my blog at BeingManuela.com).

I have the personal, professional and political qualifications that make me the best candidate for the position of District 21 Legislator. My character, determination, and fairness, my expertise in marketing/communication, my involvement at county level in tourism issues, my experience and dedication as Town of Rochester Councilwoman and Youth Commission member, are all beyond question.

I appeal to each of you committee members (except Terry Bernardo, of course) to vote – when unofficially nominating one of us – based on our records. Not based on our pets, wrinkles, husbands or nieces, but based on our records; please vote based on facts, not on rumors, friendship or deals. Please vote your conscience as one day your vote would tell more about our town and this committee than about the candidates.

We’ve all witnessed the wrong being done to the people of Rochester and Ulster County in the last four years. As I said at the April committee meeting, I would never be part of the problem; and you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m willing and able to right the wrong.

Thank you for reading,

Manuela Michailescu
Member of the Rochester Republican Committee,
former Town of Rochester Councilwoman,
presently Youth Commission member.

UPDATE – May 23, 2013
I’m glad I wrote this open letter asking for a vote based on candidates’ record… Last night, at the Rochester Republican Committee endorsement meeting, the “result” of my open letter was that I was not even nominated. Moreover, out of three candidates:

Terry Bernardo – Legislator and Chairwoman of the Ulster County Legislature
Manuela Michailescu – former Town of Rochester Councilwoman
John Dawson

…the person with no record whatsoever received the nod. Thanks to the Committee members for confirming my expectations.

It was my choice not to play this mad game. I would follow my own path to the November ballot.