Monsey, NY – As the FBI continues to investigate possible corruption in the town of Ramapo, an Orthodox Jew has accepted the Republican party’s nomination to run for the position of Ramapo Town Supervisor in the upcoming November election, an office that has held by Democrat Christopher St. Lawrence for over twelve and a half years.
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Michael Koplen is a practicing local lawyer who has served as a county legislator, assistant county attorney, civil court arbitrator and deputy mayor of the village of New Hempstead. Koplen, a 28 year resident of New Hempstead, located just north of Monsey, has been elected as a village trustee three times and has served in that capacity for the last eleven years. Koplen is also the founder and director of the Washington Online Learning Institute, an online paralegal college.
“There is a pressing need for leadership in Town Hall,” Koplen told VIN News. “The town is a financial mess and you have a situation where people are at war with each other and there is a lot of resentment and hostility. St. Lawrence and his crew have no credibility and cannot repair the damage that has been done. ”
FBI agents conducted a raid on the Ramapo Town Hall on May 16th, as previously reported on VIN News. While the reason for the raid is still unknown, St. Lawrence has been involved in several potentially controversial issues and has long been accused of catering to the Orthodox community in exchange for their vote.
Koplen dismissed the notion that religion played any role in his nomination.
“I think the party approached me because of my record as a legislator, a county attorney and as a trustee of the village of New Hempstead,” said Koplen. “I want to get my message across and have people see my competence and experience, not what religion I practice.”
The 59 year old father of five acknowledged that religious tension runs high in Ramapo.
“There is incredible hostility directed at the Orthodox community and it is all St. Lawrence’s fault because he has been ignoring everyone else in the town,” explained Koplen. “I am part of the Orthodox community and am sensitive to their needs but I am not going to pander to the Orthodox community or any other special interest group. It may have worked for St. Lawrence but his time has come and gone.”
High on Koplen’s list of priorities is resolving financial issues at Provident Bank Park, a minor league baseball stadium in Pomona, built by St. Lawrence in 2011. While residents voted against issuing a bond to pay for the stadium, St. Lawrence issued a different bond which was not subject to public referendum in order to finance the project after failing to find private investors.
“71 percent of the voters voted against floating bonds to build the stadium and St. Lawrence pulled some kind of financial shenanigans, circumventing the will of the people as if their opinion didn’t count,” said Koplen. “Anyone doing a financial analysis of the project would see that the stadium would lose money, saddling taxpayers with the bill. I really can’t understand what his motivation was to go out and bury taxpayers with a huge bill for a stadium they voted against. Something funny is going on here and it is a very expensive joke.”
Koplen is confident that his background in bankruptcy law can help him find a way to help alleviate the situation, calling it a “terribly unfair burden to taxpayers.”
While Ramapo has typically been a Democratic stronghold, the Republican Koplen is convinced that political affiliation is a non-issue.
“It is tough running as a Republican in Rockland County, but I think party won’t count as much as leadership, integrity and experience.”
So much of what Mr. Koplen is saying here is so true and I have been feeling it and saying it for years. In my opinion, the CSL pandering is to the Haredi community, not to the Orthodox community. The Orthodox are just on the receiving end of the ire and hatred that have become part of the Ramapo arena. If Mr. Koplen holds true to his credo to bring Ramapo back to an inclusive community and stop the political pandering, he seems like a good man for the position, and I wish him well.
Luke.
Mike ran once townwide and won by a fluke in a bad year for the dems, he promptly lost his re electiom bid and only ran in his village unopposed, Mike is not active campainer and not know outside his area, in fact his area of new hemp went for CSL in the big way. one on one CSL vs Koplen my money is on CSL to win
Go Mike go!
I remember when Herb Reisman, another jew, ran the town, and was also very “sensitive” to the anti semites in town. The orthodox community was stifled and oppressed at every turn. Under CSL B”H our community has grown by leaps and bounds. We owe him every bit of hakaros hatov, and hopefully he will have the support of the entire community. It is no secret, that the current investigation was ignited by Preserve Ramapo activists, who are looking for any disruptions that they can cause to to our growth. Having failed at the ballot box, at the school board elections, and in town, they have commenced terrorizing elected officials and school board members, with fishing expeditions. While i can not speak for CSL’s financial machinations on the stadium, i believe that he meant well, and actually brought some good qualified jobs for local people on the project. While I dont know Mr. Koplen personally, and he may very well be a nice person, I would rather be in Golus with CSL than with another jew bent on proving what a “sensitive” person he is……
I agree with Mr. Koplen. CSL is finished. He is going to be indicted. Everyone knows this. The feds don’t have raids for no reason. I have lived in Monsey since 1977. I have seen a lot of changes. The worst is that there are terrible divisions in Monsey. There was a time when we all got along but those times are over thanks to CSL. Who knows what other scandals will come out once the indictments are announced? I know the Hareidim of Monsey have enjoyed the lax policies of CSL but do they really want to be identified with a crook? I hope they are smarter than that. Mr. Koplen seems like a good man and I wish him luck. I also want to say that for a Jew to not vote for him just because he is Jewish is just backwards thinking and actually shows Jewish self hatred. A Jew should be proud to vote for another Jew if he is qualified and a good choice.
Mike’s a really good guy, but unless New Square and Kaiser back him 100% he cannot win. He knows this, but the Republican Party can’t be totally upstaged by Preserve Ramapo by having no viable candidate. Mike will get 4,000 votes, Preserve Ramapo 7,000 votes; which is certainly better than 0 to 7,000. After he loses, he will be given a job with the County as a “thank you” from the Party for playing along. That’s how Ramapo and Rockland County work.
Mike seems like a good guy, but he endorsed David Fried whom the bloc LOVES, so my vote will go to Preserve Ramapo…..and I’m Orthodox, so don’t call me a Jew hater.