Vivian Viloria-Fisher, the Democratic candidate for Suffolk County Clerk, was mortified when she discovered her campaign had mailed a pamphlet to voters that contained a spelling error.
The former English teacher and stickler for detail in the county legislature said she doesn’t know how or when the error occurred but is investigating. In a brochure, “Who Has the Record to Protect Our Identities in the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office?” Viloria-Fisher’s record as a legislator is twice touted as including that she “overseas the county’s $2.7 billion budget.” The correct word is “oversees” in this context.
“I believe this is the first time that the voters will have seen something I have published and sent to them with an error,” Viloria-Fisher said, referring to her seven-plus years as a legislator.
James T. Madore
“It upset me that this mistake was made. I’ve always been very careful, very scrupulous. My pet peeve is when people put out published material with mistakes.”
She added that she caught a grammatical error in a separate mailing before it went out and it is being reprinted at the printer’s expense.
Incumbent clerk Judith A. Pascale, a Republican, wasn’t aware of the spelling error until being contacted by a reporter. She declined to comment on the error but said the content of Viloria-Fisher’s mailing was “a bunch of lies” about some homeowners’ Social Security numbers exposed to potential identity theft because documents were posted on the clerk’s Web site.
“I think it is shameful and insulting to the voters of this county, who enjoy the distinction of having the best county clerk’s office in New York State,” said Pascale, who worked in the clerk’s office for 16 years before being named to the top job earlier this year.
Viloria-Fisher responded by accusing Pascale of “misleading voters” by claiming the clerk’s office generates $500 million per year for Suffolk, when only $27 million goes to the county.
Edward P. Romaine, a Republican who was clerk for 16 years before returning to the legislature, said the spelling error casts doubt on Viloria-Fisher’s candidacy. He said: “Obviously, Vivian cannot dot her I’s and cross her T’s. How can she be county clerk?"
Comments (12)
First off, I thought the County Executive "oversee's" the county budget not Vivian Fisher, she merely votes on it, not manages it.
Secondly, Fisher was right in using “overseas” as she was actually referring to the fact that she is overseas when she in enjoying visits to her billionaire friends situated on the north side of Conscience Bay in Setauket. So she is technically overseas, I just think it was a subliminal slip on her part.
As far as Vivian being a former three village school district english teacher and stickler for detail. Well the only english Fisher ever cared about teaching were the finer points of bargain hunting for Fendi handbags, and the only detail she was a stickler of, was knowing the teachers union contract inside and out to avoid disciplinary action by the School Administration for her exceedingly high absenteeism.
First off, I thought the County Executive "oversee's" the county budget not Vivian Fisher, she merely votes on it, not manages it.
Secondly, Fisher was right in using “overseas” as she was actually referring to the fact that she is overseas when she in enjoying visits to her billionaire friends situated on the north side of Conscience Bay in Setauket. So she is technically overseas, I just think it was a subliminal slip on her part.
As far as Vivian being a former three village school district english teacher and stickler for detail. Well, the only english Fisher ever cared about teaching was the finer points of bargain hunting for Fendi handbags, and the only detail she was a stickler of, was knowing the teachers union contract inside and out to avoid disciplinary action by the School Administration for her exceedingly high absenteeism.
A typo. That's not the issue.
The issue is that Judy Pascale has never taken a civil service test, never been elected by the citizens of Suffolk, yet she has been a political hack for 20 years, leeching off the taxpayers. While the rest of the citizens have to take standardized civil service tests to work for the county, or have to be elected by the electorate to serve the county. Pascale's mishandling of the Clerk's office allowed our Social Security numbers to be listed on the Clerk's website for the world to take, risking identity theft, a vicious crime. Pascale's husband recently was the longtime President of the William Floyd School District, where millions of dollars have been stolen from the taxpayers. And political contributions approved to be given to Ed Romaine, Pascale's boss in the Clerk's office.
Legislator Viloria-Fisher is a 6 time elected official, winning by the highest percentage of votes across this county. She has been endorsed by County Executive Steve Levy, who is campaigning for her as we speak. She is known for her hard work, her commitment to protecting the environment, our children, our health, to name a few. She will protect our documents and identities when she is Clerk. Legislator Viloria-Fisher is heads above her opponent in what she will bring to the Clerk's office.
The first blogger who attempts to criticize Legislator Viloria-Fisher for a single typo ..... can't even spell correctly. The correct spelling is "oversees", not "oversee's".
The blogger must be a current County Clerk employee.
First off, I thought the County Executive "oversee's" the county budget not Vivian Fisher, she merely votes on it, not manages it.
Secondly, Fisher was right in using “overseas” as she was actually referring to the fact that she is overseas when she in enjoying visits to her billionaire friends situated on the north side of Conscience Bay in Setauket. So she is technically overseas, I just think it was a subliminal slip on her part.
As far as Vivian being a former three village school district english teacher and stickler for detail. Well the only english Fisher ever cared about teaching were the finer points of bargain hunting for Fendi handbags, and the only detail she was a stickler of, was knowing the teachers union contract inside and out to avoid disciplinary action by the School Administration for her exceedingly high absenteeism.
As Steve Levy said in the newspaper today "Vivian Viloria-Fisher has an exceptional record of service and a reputation forprotecting the taxpayer... that's why we need her in the Clerk's office"
A typo is not the issue.
The issue is that Judy Pascale has never taken a civil service test, never been elected by the citizens of Suffolk, yet she has been a political hack for 20 years, leeching off the taxpayers. While the rest of the citizens have to take standardized civil service tests to work for the county, or have to be elected by the electorate to serve the county. Pascale's mishandling of the Clerk's office allowed our Social Security numbers to be listed on the Clerk's website for the world to take, risking identity theft, a vicious crime. Pascale's husband recently was the longtime President of the William Floyd School District, where millions of dollars have been stolen from the taxpayers. And political contributions approved to be given to Ed Romaine, Pascale's boss in the Clerk's office.
Legislator Viloria-Fisher is a 6 time elected official, winning by the highest percentage of votes across this county. She has been endorsed by County Executive Steve Levy, who is campaigning for her as we speak. She is known for her hard work, her commitment to protecting the environment, our children, our health, to name a few. She will protect our documents and identities when she is Clerk. Legislator Viloria-Fisher is heads above her opponent in what she will bring to the Clerk's office.
sour grapes?
The facts
game-set and match
I guess she is not that big a hack since Judy Pascale was endorsed by Newsday and Suffolk Life. And oh yeah, Vivian's hometown newspaper, Times Beacon Record, also endorsed Pascale. Vivian's the only one who doesn't realize she is a loser.
Well, I must say - reading through this blog has been an eye-opening experience. I have known Vivian on a professional level for several years and so wanted to check out comments being made about her run for County Clerk. Really, a typo is the main focus of bloggers?? Has anyone ever read through Newsday's or the New York Times's articles checking for typos? (And before anyone sneers at the extra s for the possessive Times, let me assure you as an English teacher and former award-winning journalist, the extra s is required.) There are people paid very high salaries whose primary job is to proofread and ensure no typos slip by; yet they do. Why isn’t your focus on how Vivian supports education? How she is a force in her community? How she is a voracious advocate for young people? How she strives to improve the environment? Vivian is not an absentee politician. She is active and visible in her community. She has been instrumental in arranging for local school districts to share resources to develop meaningful and valuable programs for better preparing teenagers to enter the world beyond high school. She has taken eager young teens into her office and provided long-reaching internships for them to learn first-hand about the political arena. So there was a typo. Get over it. Focus on what is most important. Vivian works tirelessly for her constituents because she has a genuine interest in them. She is focused and cuts through unimportant, superficial issues and directs her energies where they can best be utilized to improve the lot of the people she was elected to represent. And in case you’re wondering – I’m not even a Democrat. I’m a registered Republican, but someone who votes with an open mind for the candidate best suited to the task. Having worked closely with Vivian on a number of issues, I know she is the one for whom I’ll pull the lever on Tuesday.
the way the typo was handled by ms. fisher is the issue....