Peter D. Elder: Ballot Delays and the Public Trust

The Next Steps Show — Episode 732 Transcript

Peter D. Elder: Ballot Delays and the Public Trust

Original broadcast: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 1:00 p.m. Eastern | WYSL/WLEA Voice of Liberty Network

Lightly edited for readability from the supplied broadcast transcript. Original transcript timecodes are approximate; automatic speaker identification may contain errors. Station advertisements and off-air material have been omitted. The views and allegations expressed by speakers belong to the respective speakers.

Opening: Liberty and the Statue of Liberty anniversary

[00:00:23] Program announcer: In a world that seems to change daily, what will you do next? Welcome to the Next Steps Show with Peter Vazquez, a starting point for discussion.

[00:00:35] Peter Vazquez: You're on? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is exactly where we're heading, ladies and gentlemen. See, and I'll tell you, I'm gonna just right off the bat let you know. I have the GOP committee, county chair. I've got the commissioner for the Republican Board of Election guy. Lines are open. I'm on social media, ladies and gentlemen. Let's have a conversation today, Peter, because there's so much going on.

[00:01:01] Peter D. Elder: There is. There's... It's a really busy election season. You're absolutely right.

[00:01:05] Peter Vazquez: It's busy. You know, it... It's a little eye opening for me. I think it's defining the work that we had... Have ahead of us, and I don't mean just as a party or as a party chair. I mean, as Americans, because there's things going on in this nation that I'm still scratching my head wondering, how is that happening? We see what's happening in France, and we've got a direct attack on American liberty

[00:01:28] Other voice / caller: Yeah.

[00:01:29] Peter Vazquez: On our two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of this nation. And, though, Peter, I do wanna not really go into politics real quick because today is also the, the hundred and fortieth anniversary, the... Of the, Statue of Liberty given to us

[00:01:47] Other voice / caller: us Mhmm.

[00:01:47] Peter Vazquez: Or where we accepted it. I think it was, 10/28/1866, president Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France, which is interesting because my experience in France, they did not like Americans very much or at least military.

Editorial clarification: The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

[00:02:02] Peter Vazquez: I don't know if it was just all Americans, but it was an interesting time that I had while I was there.

[00:02:06] Other voice / caller: But, you

[00:02:07] Peter Vazquez: know, I wanna bring that up a little

[00:02:08] Other voice / caller: bit, not only because it's an... You know, an anniversary for that and it's a

[00:02:11] Peter Vazquez: two fiftieth anniversary, But that's kinda foundational to what we're fighting for. I mean, we've got this statue that another nation gave us, the torch. Right? Liberty enlightening the word... The world. The tablet was the, what is it? The American independence, the declaration

[00:02:29] Peter D. Elder: of independence right on there.

[00:02:31] Peter Vazquez: Yes. Broken chains of freedom, the crown, the liberty that reaches again across the world, a beacon of hope. And I don't understand why we're still seeing voter turnout the way it is, why we're still seeing rhetoric coming from... Well, really, from from from both sides, but a lot from the left. This embracement of the democratic socialist, of this nation, this whole possibility of there, you know, even being a restructuring of our constitution as a result, Peter.

[00:03:00] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. It's... It is a little, it is a little scary in a way, but it also almost makes sense to me looking back historically because people, look at the terms like socialism and they almost see see them as theoretical.

[00:03:14] Peter D. Elder: It's almost as if you have to... Like, I... Well, I spoke to Luis Martinez about this one time. It's almost like you have to experience it to understand it. And once you understand it, you never want to experience it.

[00:03:24] Peter Vazquez: But the problem is once you experience it

[00:03:26] Other voice / caller: Yes.

[00:03:26] Peter Vazquez: The... That experience will never go away.

[00:03:29] Peter D. Elder: No. It's just

[00:03:30] Peter Vazquez: a rid of socialism.

[00:03:32] Other voice / caller: I

[00:03:32] Peter Vazquez: mean, at that point, you're you're... You lost your nation.

[00:03:35] Peter D. Elder: Correct. And that's the that's that's the real thing we have to fight against is we have to we have to actually try to convince people to understand something that they've never known. And I would just... To me, instructive is look at a society like Venezuela Mhmm. Which was the most... Which at one time was one of the most prosperous countries in the Western Hemisphere that fell to socialism, and they can't even really produce their own oil now.

[00:03:56] Peter D. Elder: So it's like, you know, it's just a very, you know, and we look at Cuba. You know, Cuba in in Hemingway's day was the was, was the place that he went to write his novels. The beaches are the best in the world. The economy was booming. It was a it was a great place. And then look what happens. Yeah. So it should it should be these these case studies that are just next door to us, literally.

[00:04:15] Peter D. Elder: Like, real... Right next door to our country should be something that people can look at. But somehow somehow people always say, well, if we just did it differently, it will work out better. No. It won't. It'll work out just like that.

[00:04:26] Peter Vazquez: Well, you know, the thing is, though, what what you described is what we recognize as terror. It's what we recognize as communism and Marxism. I mean, we could see it. We know it. We feel it. Back in 09/11, right, many, many decades ago, this nation was hit hard. And from there, the, you know, those people that continuously chant death to America said that they're gonna destroy us within. Seeing what I see happening now, I mean, we've seen it.

[00:04:54] Peter Vazquez: I've seen a video of what's happening in Texas now where we've got, like, a million Muslim march again or something like that, and there's actually a big push going on there. So the realities are here. We've got El Sayed who's campaigning, the last that I look campaigning at almost every single, mosque out there, right, trying to get people that may or may not even be Americans.

[00:05:17] Peter Vazquez: That's the concern. See, I don't think that's the, socialism or the attack that peep... I don't think the attack in the nation has anything to do with what we saw, like, happen in Venezuela. This is, in my opinion, an attack from Islam, specifically, because they said they were going to. They said they were gonna destroy us within, and they're using our own processes to do it, Peter.

[00:05:39] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. Well, it's certainly something we have to be diligent of. I always have, I always... I'm always cautious about vilifying a whole group of people. But certainly being diligent is something we should always be.

[00:05:49] Peter Vazquez: So You know what? And I'm glad... And we're not gonna spend the whole show talking on this. But, again, we gotta stand to a liberty that means something. Yes. Right? And it's been there for, what, a hundred and forty years at least.

[00:05:59] Other voice / caller: Right.

[00:06:00] Peter D. Elder: Right. Keep keep in mind, she's stomping on those chains. And that statue was given to us by France in commemoration of the fact that we abolished slavery. Yeah. People don't remember very well what that statue represents. She's standing on broken chains. Their liberty she's talking about is the freedom, that The United States had fought four years and suffered half a million deaths to get to.

[00:06:23] Peter D. Elder: So I just wanna point out that's that's actually the symbol of that statue is is the triumph over slavery.

[00:06:30] Peter Vazquez: Oh, we're we're we're right. But they're signing freedom, which is interesting because, you know, I always found France and some of our European allies more of a of a quasi freedom technicians. But, you know, that's a an exploration for another day. And I'm glad you pointed that out because, see, right now in these elections and elections that I can remember, the left has a habit of using slavery, using, you know, the race that came from that or the racism that they claim.

[00:06:57] Peter Vazquez: All these other things to, well, suppress votes. So, Peter, I'm gonna pose a question to you. I'm gonna pose a question to our listeners because lines are open. (585) 346-3000. Are Americans still honoring the principles of liberty, the principles of individual responsibility, equal rights, and limited government? Everything that made this nation that we are today, that station may have...

[00:07:21] Peter Vazquez: Or that statue may have symbolized, you know, the end of slavery, which, again, you listen to the left, you'd think we'd still have slavery in this nation. But it also became... Check this out, Peter. This is all the research I showed that for immigrants, it's a beacon of hope. Sure.

[00:07:39] Peter D. Elder: So that's many times the statue they saw when they were first coming in New York Harbor. Right? So Yeah. As you went to Ellis Island or any other, port of entry, you would have seen that. And so, of course, it would have been something they would have welcomed, and it's a massive statue if you've ever been there. So it's easy... So it's very easy to see and to hold on to. I gotta tell you. So I have...

[00:07:56] Peter D. Elder: My my father, fought in the in the Korean War, and I... And he was so much service. Yeah. Thanks. Well, it's his service, really. But he he, you know, he always told me to be wary of people who think about the nation is going downhill because he said there's so many of us, and there's so many people out there who do the right thing. Society would grind to a halt if 90% of us were were were doing the wrong thing.

[00:08:18] Peter D. Elder: So I absolutely think, again, we have to be diligent of people doing things they shouldn't do. People... System can always be made better. But I wanna I wanna recognize the men and the women who go out there every day, work hard, and make this country work because they're the ones that keep us on the right track. And they've been doing it for an awfully long time.

[00:08:37] Peter Vazquez: Senator Elder, republican commissioner at the board of elections of Monroe County, New York and chairman of the Monroe County Republican committee. Lines are open, ladies and gentlemen. Just a quick biblical biblical reflection if I can understand. Yeah. Right. Because Galatians five verse 13 says, for you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Only do only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Yes.

[00:09:07] Peter Vazquez: Sir, this is a concept that the left likes to beat the right on all the time because they use these words like compassion. They use these words like, well, you know, I know your your gas bill, you know, your RGE bill, all that is is so high, so we're gonna send you some money. Forget about the fact that they caused the raise to begin with in their policies. Right?... Lower taxes. Right. But that's what we're running up against, Peter.

Election questions and early voting

[00:09:30] Peter Vazquez: And today, we're gonna, you know, highlight some of the bigger races, obviously. Our our national treasurer, Senor Sabaj, is on his way down now to her now. He's gonna be meeting with the mayor there and our next, New York state governor, Bruce Blakeman, which is why you don't see him today, out out there doing great things. You know, I do wanna talk to you a little bit about what it would mean or what it means to be moderate.

[00:09:53] Peter Vazquez: Okay? And I think this is important because some of the feedback that I've gotten, at least during my races, was that people didn't think I was too conservative enough. And it trips me up because, Peter... I mean, that's part of my problem. I think I'm too conservative even for the Republican party sometimes. And this is obviously before you. I know where you stand in some of these things.

[00:10:14] Peter Vazquez: So when I hear words like conservative Republicans and moderate together, that's almost like an oxymoron. And I think that leads a little bit to people being confused. So I wanna talk about that too. Okay. Actually, why don't we start off? What is moderate in comparison to conservative and Republican?

[00:10:30] Peter D. Elder: Is... And I get... The first question I would... I kinda were to ask you the question is, is there really anybody that really is moderate? I mean, people will think of themselves as being independent, but when you look at polling and you actually talk to people, use anecdotal evidence, you know, that people have people have, very, very, political and the very, you know, steadfast views on each side.

[00:10:53] Other voice / caller: Lorraine.

[00:10:53] Peter D. Elder: So there may not necessarily be a situation where you can define someone entirely by being a republican or or, I mean, by a conservative or a liberal, but you... But people are... Very rarely are they noncommittal about things. Right? They feel strongly about issues one way or the other. So what it really means is the parties themselves in The United States especially have a broad spectrum of people in them. So... But I do think we have core principles that we...

[00:11:16] Peter D. Elder: That both parties adopt. Right? And you know that because when we've run together, we... I think I mentioned this last time I was here. When I first became chairman, I looked at all of the literature from last year's candidates, and they're telling me we had to have a common message. Well, we did. Mhmm.

[00:11:30] Other voice / caller: But it

[00:11:30] Peter D. Elder: was sort of by accident. No one organized it, but all the candidates are republican, and they sort of expressed the same general message. And that's the point of a political party.

[00:11:38] Peter Vazquez: Yeah. 100%. And I wanna get back to that. But first, we have Lorraine. Lorraine, thank you for calling the Next Steps Show, ma'am. I appreciate it every time you call. You know, she's pushing 90 or overnight, and she loves Wow. God, country, and family, and she won't stop. I'm gonna have her on the show soon.

[00:11:54] Peter D. Elder: Good.

[00:11:54] Peter Vazquez: Lorraine, thank you for calling in.

[00:11:57] Lorraine (caller): Oh, thanks, Peter. I have four comments, none of which is very long. Two are about Blakeman, and one is about how Lee Zeldin... Well, I'll start with Lee... Lee Zeldin might have actually come close to winning and nobody followed up on it at the time, but boy did they ever later. And then Leticia, who's a very, very questionable at best attorney general, put, what's that? Something in stop.

[00:12:31] Peter Vazquez: I'm not sure.

[00:12:33] Lorraine (caller): But she's in business. She put an order against the people who had found, many dead people, many,

[00:12:41] Peter Vazquez: And why New York? Citizens, for COVID. Yep. Yep. Well, when they were... Because they did an audit of the twenty twenty elections, and then, you know, the numbers look good, and they took it to the cops. Everybody's like, yeah. There's an issue, and then they get a cease and desist order. Lorraine, I am running

[00:12:57] Lorraine (caller): short on time. What was your next question? Oh, please. Please. I gotta

[00:13:01] Other voice / caller: say something.

[00:13:02] Peter Vazquez: Yeah. Go ahead.

[00:13:03] Lorraine (caller): Go ahead. Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I'm having trouble.

[00:13:07] Peter Vazquez: Gary will be next.

[00:13:08] Lorraine (caller): I haven't seen one for him, and it's very... It's not easy to get them from him this time. And we're right up there. I voted already.

[00:13:16] Peter Vazquez: Oh, we'll have to fix it. Loreen, I appreciate you, ladies and gentlemen. Lines are open. Listen. We got the chairman here. We got a commissioner here. Lines are gonna be busy. Call, and I'll tell you what. Ask your questions. Share your comments. We'll be right back right here in the next steps. You'll see with the honorable Peter Elder, the republican commissioner at the BOE and, chairman of the Monroe County Republican Party right here on the Voice of Liberty.

[00:13:41] Peter Vazquez: See all the next hour with the lines open. We'll be right back with Peter Vazquez on WYSL, WLEA.

[Station advertising break omitted.]

[00:14:58] Peter Vazquez: You're on. Hi. See, let that stress go. You know what? It's a great day to be happy because it's beautiful outside because check it out. We live in a country that at least for the moment still says, god, country, and family lead the way. Welcome back here to the next step. Showing me the a big shout out to yfcrochester.org because check it out, man.

[00:15:26] Peter Vazquez: They're saving lives where politicians, and the left especially, are saying, I need to throw them money so that they don't rob the rest of us. How's that for capitalism, Peter? Yeah. Yeah. Gary, thank you for calling the Next Steps Show, sir.

[00:15:41] Gary (caller): Hey, Peter. Hey.

[00:15:43] Peter Vazquez: Peter Holder. Peter Vazquez.

[00:15:46] Gary (caller): Up in Greece.

[00:15:47] Peter Vazquez: Gotcha.

[00:15:48] Gary (caller): And, when I walked in, this was the procedure. They pointed me over to a couple ladies sitting at the table. They asked me what my name was, and I gave it to them and spelled it out. And then she went through her file there, and she said, do you live at such and such an address? And I said, yes. And she said, is this your birthday? And she... I said, yes. And she said, okay. And checked me in.

[00:16:16] Gary (caller): So I said, well, how do you know I wasn't lying? And she said, well, I don't, I guess. I said, doesn't it make more sense when I give you my name that then you ask me what my address and my birth date is?

[00:16:30] Peter D. Elder: Yes. It does.

[00:16:32] Gary (caller): And she said yes. And I said, well, why don't you do it that way? And she said, well, I started that way, and then they told me to do it this way. Well, actually That's the problem.

[00:16:44] Peter D. Elder: Honestly, I don't wanna gain say our own inspectors, but some of them, you know, are... The train... Sometimes the training doesn't take as well as we'd like, but they are but they are instructed to do exactly what you just said. They're instructed to ask someone the name, ask them their address, and then use the birth date as a further identifier. Honestly, most of the time, the name and address will work because there's only one Peter Vazquez at the address.

[00:17:07] Peter D. Elder: But the, but, yes, you are you are correct. They didn't do it right. And as soon as I get back to the office, we'll call Greece to make sure they are.

[00:17:15] Gary (caller): Well, she said

[00:17:16] Peter D. Elder: I'm glad you're on a show.

[00:17:17] Other voice / caller: Doing it. The

[00:17:18] Gary (caller): woman told me originally she was doing it that way, but she was corrected and told to do it the other way.

[00:17:24] Peter D. Elder: Nope. It's exactly opposite.

[00:17:25] Peter Vazquez: Hey, Gary. I appreciate the call. The lines are are are... The calls are lining up. I'm gonna have to let you go, Bob. And I appreciate that. Peter, though, can I tell listeners? And you can give them a number or whatever. Keith. When people experience something like that or what they would consider a voter or an election integrity issue, who do they call?

[00:17:43] Peter D. Elder: Just call the board of elections, the 75... This is the easiest way to call... Board of elections at this point is 753, 1550, and we will then address it. And as I said, I... We will go... As soon as you tell us something like that, our immediate response is we have our staff, we have people assigned directly to sites for this very reason. We'll go out and remind the inspectors their training and make sure they do it correctly.

[00:18:07] Peter Vazquez: Thank you. Keith, thank you for calling the Next Steps Show, brother.

[00:18:11] Peter D. Elder: That's the thing.

[00:18:12] Peter Vazquez: Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:18:13] Keith (caller): I'll keep it short. The... A lot of the damage has already been done to our country. Progressive forces

[00:18:19] Peter Vazquez: 100%.

[00:18:20] Keith (caller): Have all been riddled through our society for decades And until our side realizes the extent of that damage, which they don't, as as you already stated, the bad guys will continue to use our country's freedoms against us and advance their own agenda.

[00:18:38] Keith (caller): And whether it's your guest or anyone in the audience, until our side wakes up to that point, we really are losing this. And who knows what's gonna take us when it's not good? There there are all kinds of enemy fit columns in our country, and we're gonna have to find a real sturdy way of fighting back.

[00:18:56] Peter Vazquez: Yeah. Do you have any response? Thank you, Keith. I appreciate the call.

[00:19:00] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. You know, the key issue is that, we have to have a concerted effort and turn out and make sure that the Republican conservative voters out there are getting out at every election. I know sometimes there's enthusiasm issues. Let me tell you right now, Keith. You just you just put your finger on exactly why everyone, should always be enthusiastic about every election. People should never ever... Just because they say, I'm not happy with

[00:19:25] Peter Vazquez: David.

[00:19:26] Peter D. Elder: Particular politician or the other, their enthusiasm should never wane because if they do, if you let down your diligence, then someone else is gonna make the decisions for you.

[00:19:35] Peter Vazquez: 100%. And the thing is, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a nation where the decisions can't come from someone else. That's called the representative republic. Don't let those people on the left fool you. Hey. Check it out. We have a someone calling in who you know. He's a supervisor in our local town. And, actually, after break, we're gonna be spending our conversation on local races because even though all races are local, people, I haven't heard him.

[00:20:01] Peter Vazquez: People need to know who they're running in these villages. Yes. David Dunning, Chili Town supervisor. Sir, thank you for calling the Next Steps Show.

Local leadership: Chili Town Supervisor Dave Dunning

[00:20:11] Dave Dunning: Peter, thank you. I'm glad to be here and, and certainly, spend a few minutes with our great commissioner also.

[00:20:19] Peter Vazquez: Absolutely. You know something, guys? Because because Dave was gonna come in today. Just so you know, I kinda pushed him to bring you in. And not... And, David, not that he's more important than you, but he definitely has a different perspective that I wanted to make sure we got in before election.

[00:20:33] Dave Dunning: Oh, no no worries with that. You've got a great person there, Peter Elder, sitting with you, both our chairman and our commissioner. That's a great job for all of us in both of those positions. And, you know, I certainly, don't feel slighted in any way, shape, or form.

[00:20:48] Peter Vazquez: Super. And Dave

[00:20:49] Peter D. Elder: is one of the best supervisors of Monroe County. Let me tell you right now. People... He is an example of the kind of public service and the private public servant you want in your town.

[00:20:57] Peter Vazquez: You know what's great though, guys? David, is that your opponent acknowledges that.

[00:21:03] Other voice / caller: Yeah.

[00:21:03] Peter Vazquez: I mean, she on her website says, hey. I'm not running because I've got any issue with what's going on. I just, you know, what about tomorrow? I'm like, well, wait a minute. If Dave Dunning is doing great now, he's been there for a while. I have to assume he's gonna do well tomorrow too. Right, Dave?

[00:21:18] Dave Dunning: Well, I will do great tomorrow and well beyond. You know, I'm committed to the people at Town of Chili. I always have been since day one, and, we'll just continue to do all the good things. And I was I was really glad to receive her endorsement. It was it was wonderful. I welcome it.

[00:21:36] Dave Dunning: And, matter of fact, I just put a piece out on Facebook, today, to kinda show that and, and kinda highlight that endorsement as well as, dispute some of the things that she's, claiming that she's going to be able to do, over the...

[00:21:51] Dave Dunning: Or if if she's elected. So, yeah, I was I was glad to receive that endorsement. And you know what? TriNet's TriNet's a great community. And what I... What what I've tried to focus on with a lot of people is there are newer people in our community. They're the only one we live here two, three, four, five, six years, maybe even ten years that came into our community and said, wow. What a great community to be in.

[00:22:14] Dave Dunning: Well, that... This community's boot was built under my leadership and the way we have it today. Prior to me coming in, this town was a mess. There there was, the political scene was was awful. The supervisor was not well received by the community. They weren't doing anything. We've gotten so much done

[00:22:33] Other voice / caller: Three.

[00:22:34] Dave Dunning: So many things to the town of Chili over the years, that people who are newer to the community, they only see that now. It's there. They didn't see the building and how this all came to be.

[00:22:45] Peter Vazquez: That is Dave Dunning, Chili Town Supervisor.

[00:22:48] Peter Vazquez: Dave, just so you know, I have a son, I have a brother, and I have a swash of friends, close friends that live in Chili specifically because of the way Chili is run, because of the way Chili deals with, criminal justice and public safety in general, because of the way Chili responds when they go to a community event and it smells like pot, you know, because the state governor decided to say that they wanna keep everybody high in the state, but you cleaned that up as well when they started getting out of hand, sir.

[00:23:21] Dave Dunning: Yeah. And you know what, Peter? It really is all about public service and listening to what people are concerned about, and it doesn't matter. I really don't care. I don't check your voter registration when you walk in the morning, you show me or share me an email. I really don't care what that registration is, and it's all about taking care of the issues people have. Sometimes you can...

[00:23:39] Dave Dunning: You're successful at it, and sometimes there's things you just are out of your control and you can't help them with. And I've always been upfront and honest with people, let people know that, look. You've got an issue. We'll try and address it. We'll try and get it done. We've had a lot of success with helping people and getting things done in the town, but every once in a while, there's the one that you just can't get done.

[00:24:00] Dave Dunning: And, unfortunately, not not only just me, but no one can get done. So And

[00:24:06] Peter D. Elder: you've But you've gotten a lot done just to be clear.

[00:24:09] Peter Vazquez: Yeah. Yes.

[00:24:10] Dave Dunning: Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished over... And this is my nineteenth year, as supervisor of the town, and I'm extremely proud of what we've done. And I wanna continue to help this town grow, help our residents, get what they need, and just, just keep this community going in the right direction.

[00:24:34] Peter Vazquez: Dave, I'm down to the last, like, ten seconds. Can you say your website in about ten seconds?

[00:24:40] Dave Dunning: I do not have a website.

[00:24:42] Peter Vazquez: Oh, man. But I'll tell you what. If they do what I did and type in David Dunning, LA town Supervisor, they're gonna get a lot of great information. David, thank you for calling.

[00:24:51] Dave Dunning: Wikipedia and everything else to help you out.

[00:24:53] Peter Vazquez: May may god bless you, the town of Chili, and continue to bless the work that you do. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Voice of Liberty, WYSL, WLEA's The Next Steps Show c with Peter Vazquez. Don't go nowhere. Don't change that dial. Pick up that phone and give us a call. We'll be right back.

[Station advertising break omitted.]

Community priorities and Cleanda Florent

[00:30:51] Peter Vazquez: Hang on. You're you're on. Go ahead. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. We're back here in studio. See, ladies and gentlemen, I always promise you todos Diaz that we're gonna have. We're gonna talk about direction. You know why? See, because there's a lot going on in this nation that so many of us have been bamboozled. Do you remember me saying that? And I gotta make T shirts, Peter Elder.

[00:31:15] Peter Vazquez: In studio, I have this guy called Peter Elder, some guy, right, who happened to have been around for my entire time involved in politics. You've guided me. We've been mad at each other. I think at one point, I'm sure you shared a few cuss words with privates against me and No. And me against you. Oh, really? Come on. You say that with a red face.

[00:31:35] Peter D. Elder: I have never done that.

[00:31:36] Peter Vazquez: You know, listen. I'm a pain in the I'm a pain in

[00:31:38] Peter D. Elder: the Okay. No. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna gainsay on that one. But you're... But you know what? You always had the party in the community's best at heart. So that's the key.

[00:31:46] Peter Vazquez: Listen. I have one goal, and that is that no person, especially no person living in any urban center in this nation that looks like me, falls into the, what I call, the Vanbōōlzalness Crisis that I fell into, which is radio...

[00:32:03] Peter Vazquez: Things are beyond my reach. You know, Peter, I would have done radio and actually finished high school if I had a guidance counselor that said, Peter, you're worth something more than what you see. But that's not what they told me. Every single person that I associated with in the city of Rochester growing up, except for my parents, because they told me I was worth something, told me what I saw in front of me was all that I had.

[00:32:26] Peter Vazquez: Mhmm. That... That's not a racial statement. That's... And that's happening today.

[00:32:31] Peter D. Elder: Right. That's a that... Yeah. That's a that's a that's a that's a subcultural statement. Right?

[00:32:35] Peter Vazquez: Very much so. Which is why talking local elections is so important. Cleanda Washington running for a local office in one of our suburbs. What suburb are you running for, Cleanda Washington? No. No. No. Keilinda, Washington because you are Keilinda. Cleanda, do we have you?

[00:32:53] Cleanda Florent: Yes. I'm Cleanda Florent.

[00:32:55] Peter Vazquez: Hi. Oh, Florent. I'm sorry. I was given the wrong name. You are beautiful too, ma'am.

[00:33:01] Cleanda Florent: Yes. Thank you. Yes. Cleanda Florent, for the 136th District, around the Clay Freight in in the Northeast part of the city.

[00:33:11] Peter Vazquez: I thank you for calling. How are you?

[00:33:15] Cleanda Florent: I'm doing very well. And yourself?

[00:33:18] Peter Vazquez: No. No. No worry. Oh, I'm doing great. I'm doing super duper great. You know why? Because you called.

[00:33:25] Cleanda Florent: I'm glad to be on with y'all.

[00:33:27] Peter Vazquez: I'm sorry for your loss, first and foremost.

[00:33:30] Cleanda Florent: Thank you.

[00:33:31] Peter Vazquez: So talk talk to us. How are things in the city of Rochester and in the rest of the district in the 136? You have your your your commissioner here. You have your chairman here. You have callers that are ready to call in after you. Talk to us, senorita.

[00:33:47] Cleanda Florent: Well, been on the road to just continuing to uplift our community and remind them of their civic responsibility, but also to hear from them about why they're disconnected, in the 136, but also understanding why parent choice, education, and public safety remain the top three issues that all of the one thirty six that I've talked to, have shined a light on.

[00:34:14] Cleanda Florent: So I have been, like, beating the drum about this and, looking to continue to do the work that I've already been doing in the community around, education and how can we change that.

[00:34:27] Cleanda Florent: Because all of that ties into everything we're seeing within the community, ties into the lack of literacy, education, and public safety.

[00:34:37] Peter Vazquez: 100%. Mhmm. 100%.

[00:34:40] Other voice / caller: And she

[00:34:40] Peter D. Elder: has done an outstanding job. By the way, her campaign has been really, really good. Very grassroots. I attended a fundraiser around the corner of West Ridge Road and Lake Avenue. I was astounded by the turnout. You know, we've had a we've had a great great amount of people that have that have rallied to her cause. And, Cleanna, you're just a great candidate, and I'm very, very proud that we've able to run you this year.

[00:35:02] Peter D. Elder: You know, the Republicans this year, we ran the most women candidates we've ever run, and the most candidates of color we've ever run. And, you are just an outstanding representative of our party. So thank you so much for what you've done.

[00:35:15] Cleanda Florent: No. And I thank you so much, for what you continue to do. And I am very appreciative of this time just for listeners to understand that we do have a choice on the ballot. There is education on the ballot. There is public safety on the ballot, and there is, parent choice on the ballot. So if anybody would like to learn more about, what I stand for, what it is that I'm looking to do, visit friendsofcleandaflorence.com.

[00:35:45] Cleanda Florent: If anybody would like to speak with me, there's a way you could leave a message. And I would love to hear from you because we have six days left to get out and voice our choice. And this is a very important election, and we cannot sit out, and we can no longer just allow what has been going on every day to continue. We can change the tie, and it'll start with each and every one of us.

[00:36:11] Peter Vazquez: That is Cleanda Florent. Ma'am, I truly, truly appreciate you calling. I truly appreciate you doing what you're doing. You're working in an area that's not easy for somebody who believes in god, country, and family, which is bizarre because our community believes in god, country, and family. So that's the bambooziness crisis. Ma'am, I'll leave you thirty seconds. Anything else you'd like to share? Like, why should people vote for you? What differentiates you?

[00:36:42] Cleanda Florent: Why people should vote for me is, one one, sound thing is that you want to choose someone who is already in the community doing the work, not someone who is selling you a hope and a dream.

[00:36:55] Cleanda Florent: We want someone in this space, in this place to take the people with them. And that's what I've been doing as an educator for over twenty years. That's what I've been doing as, a nonprofit organizer around family literacy. I am being the change that I wanna see. And what we can do with me in Albany is to expand that to where everybody is able to see that we cannot just throw dollars at a problem and think that is the magic wand to fix everything.

[00:37:28] Cleanda Florent: We are dealing with a organization in education who's gotten an increase of a billion dollar budget to $1,360,000,000. And we have got to stop thinking that this way of doing being is going to save our community. It's not. Yeah. So vote Cleanda Florent, New York State Assembly, 136 District. Be the change that we wanna see because we're being the change right now.

[00:37:56] Peter Vazquez: Thank you so much again for calling. I appreciate

[00:37:58] Cleanda Florent: it. So much for having me. Have a wonderful day.

Party accountability and local elections

[00:38:01] Peter Vazquez: Likewise. God bless you and the work you continue to do, and let's get lit. You know, I love her. I think she's doing phenomenal work out there. But, you know, what gets me, though, and I think she sees what I see sometimes is that once you identify your values being God, country, and family in the city of Rochester, And the thing is, I don't think it's because...

[00:38:23] Peter Vazquez: Again, our... I just think people have been bamboozled. I think people have been given a line of, of hope that isn't real. Peter, though, the problem is this, though. We think logical. We look at something and we're like, oh, okay. You know, we know how to fix it. Mhmm. These are the rules. Mhmm. We're gonna fix them, but our opponents don't ever play within those rules. Malcolm X said it better. He said, listen. You know, the left and the right are both racist.

[00:38:51] Peter Vazquez: Absolutely. But, you know, at least the right has the decency enough to say, yeah. You know what? Check this out. You are whatever I think you are. You are this and that, and they'll speak bad about you. But then they'll look at you and say, but listen, though. You gotta make money too because if you make money, we all make money.

[00:39:09] Peter D. Elder: Absolutely. Absolutely. Though I think one... We already talked talked about the... One of the distinctions between the parties. And, one of those is that I think Republicans are a lot more focused on results. We want we want... We see what things need to be and we wanna implement them. We're not

[00:39:23] Peter Vazquez: That is a problem.

[00:39:24] Peter D. Elder: We're not satisfied with intentions.

[00:39:26] Other voice / caller: No.

[00:39:27] Peter D. Elder: You know, the intent to do something, the virtue signaling, Those things just don't appeal to Republicans, and I don't think they help our society or our people at all.

[00:39:35] Peter Vazquez: I had a pastor here, who was at that big shooting that happened in the city of Maplewood Park.

[00:39:42] Peter D. Elder: Yep. K.

[00:39:42] Peter Vazquez: And this was a young man who was in Rochester, who was caught up in all that, a little deeper than I was. Right? And then he he he did the jail thing, all this other stuff, and he's a pastor today. And after that shooting, he went out and he started knocking on doors just asking, hey. Can I speak with you? Can I help you talk with you? But you know how much how much resources are offered to him?

[00:40:06] Peter Vazquez: Zero. You know why? Because the city says, no. No. No. No. No. No. You talk God.

[00:40:10] Other voice / caller: Mhmm.

[00:40:11] Peter Vazquez: And you make God bigger than politics. Mhmm. And we can't have that. The Republican Party says, oh, wait a minute. We are who we are. Yes. And I think we all agree on

[00:40:20] Peter D. Elder: our side. And I think many Americans agree this doesn't have to be a Republican thing necessarily. I think many Americans understand that things like natural rights, they come from God. Mhmm.

[00:40:28] Peter Vazquez: They don't

[00:40:29] Peter D. Elder: they don't exist. The government doesn't doesn't give you the right to free speech. Those things come from a higher power. The government's the government's sole authority there is to protect those rights.

[00:40:38] Peter Vazquez: And every single... This is easy to cut. This... It is... It's easy to grasp. Every single nation without the opportunity or at least without the ability for its citizens to say, Mira, Peter Elder, I don't like you as a commissioner. You gotta go.

[00:40:53] Peter D. Elder: That's right. That's right.

[00:40:55] Peter Vazquez: It is a non Christian, a non republic. They are all democracies. Yeah. Every single one of them. Cuba's a democracy. They... I mean, I mean, maybe I'm right. You know history better than me, but I went to their website. It is Cuba described itself as a democracy.

[00:41:12] Peter D. Elder: Yes. They were all... In in the cold war, they were all called People's Republics.

[00:41:15] Peter Vazquez: So does republics. So does so does, Afghanistan. Mhmm. One of my best friends was was killed in Afghanistan, because he was part of the team trying to bring swimmers into the Olympics, and they stayed in Afghanistan after they finished their military tour.

[00:41:33] Peter Vazquez: You know how long that lasted? Mhmm. Like a day. Wow. Isn't that something? It is something.

[00:41:38] Peter D. Elder: It's something. Yeah. No. You're absolutely correct. It's the... We... I... You know, I've gone to many, many, you know, presentations with with people out in the community. And one thing I always say to people is don't don't think poorly of your Americans because something people are like, well, they don't participate. They don't... I'm like, here's the thing. We elect everyone. We are a unique country.

[00:41:56] Peter D. Elder: We elect everyone from your village mayor to the superintendent of highways. We elect people in our garden clubs. We are an election based representative based people, and it... It's so ingrained in us. I think we sometimes even forget it. It's just it's just there.

[00:42:11] Peter Vazquez: Real quick. Ten seconds if you can. Why don't we have a DA running in the Republican line this year?

[00:42:16] Peter D. Elder: We did everything we could to attempt it once. I'll tell you it's because no one... There was no K and As to get.

[00:42:20] Peter Vazquez: You had a perspective at one point. A guy who I thought would be a great DA.

[00:42:24] Peter D. Elder: He was. I think he would have been a great DA. I will say that, it just it just was... It was a frustrating experience for me.

[00:42:31] Peter Vazquez: I can thank you. You're a chairman. We'll be right back right here in WYSL, WLEA, the Voice of Liberty, chairman, a commissioner, Peter Elder. Don't call no word. Lines are open. (585) 346-3000. We'll be right back. Right here with Peter Best.

[Station advertising break omitted.]

Ballot delays and voter questions

[00:44:06] Peter Vazquez: You're at You know something, ladies and gentlemen? I do what I do because I love you.

[00:44:12] Other voice / caller: I do what I do. I do my great support.

[00:44:15] Peter D. Elder: You know,

[00:44:15] Other voice / caller: I mean,

[00:44:16] Peter Vazquez: the scene, our national treasure who's out there right now talking to great people, right, like the mayor of Wernell, Mayor Buckley, and who walk on Bruce Blakeman, our next New York state governor.

[00:44:29] Peter Vazquez: He's gonna be here Monday too, I believe.

[00:44:31] Peter D. Elder: He is. You're you're almost the first to know this, but he is, he's going to be here on Monday at Monroe County, at 02:30. And looks like we're doing it at the town of Gates Town Hall, for a press conference, and, you're welcome to come out. I am welcome. Anyone who wants to be there, there'll be more information on, the Monroe County Republican Committee's website and our Facebook page. But, yeah, we're excited to have him here on the day before election.

[00:44:55] Peter D. Elder: It's gonna be great.

[00:44:56] Peter Vazquez: What's the website for the Monroe County Republican system?

[00:44:59] Peter D. Elder: Gop.com... Or Webster. I'm sorry. Pam. It's Monroe County. It's, monroecountygop.com.

[00:45:07] Peter Vazquez: And in the Town of Gates, how appropriate. You... You've got a town supervisor there, and I gotta get him in someday. I've had your police... The police chief from the Town of Gates here several times. He is even guest host to my show for me at one point, which was phenomenal. But Cosmo Agunta is your republican conservative candidate

[00:45:25] Other voice / caller: Yes.

[00:45:25] Peter Vazquez: Who is currently the incumbent is doing great things.

[00:45:28] Peter D. Elder: He is doing great things. He has a he has a deep, deep connection to the town of Gates. He was the former town clerk. He knows Gates like the back of his hands. He understands the town. He cares about its people, and he's been, he's really been one of those people who is... You know, you talk about, public safety and the sense of community, the sense of supporting events and services. He's the guy. He is... He needs to stay in office.

[00:45:51] Peter D. Elder: He needs to be the person representing the town of Gates in the next two years.

[00:45:54] Peter Vazquez: You know, I'll tell you, there's so many candidates. Pam. We talked about, we talked about Dave Dunning. We talked about Cosmo. You know, there's a couple more I wanna hit if we have time before we go because we got great towns that are doing great things all over the place. And people need to know that, but we gotta call her. Right? We have Pam on the line, and Pam would like to know about absentee ballots. And, Peter, this has been an issue.

[00:46:19] Peter Vazquez: Mercedes Vasquez in the Democrat side also has experienced an issue to, Pam, thank you for calling the next step. Shelby, Benita.

[00:46:29] Pam (caller): Okay. My experience is I've been a permanent, absentee voter recipient, and I still have not received mine. But yesterday, I went... A friend took me to the to the polls, and I did vote. But I think it should be investigated whether that it's being, somehow... I called the board of elections and they said it was a vendor issue. But I think it should be investigated whether it is aimed at a single party.

[00:46:56] Pam (caller): And because since you're registered to vote, they could get that information very easily and somehow not send out your ballot. So I... This whole thing is really very bad.

[00:47:06] Peter D. Elder: Well, any any issues with the ballots are... We're reviewing those with our... With our... With the vendor, and I will tell you that, both the, democratic commissioner and myself are reviewing that contract. We are... You know, we, we're... We know the ballots were delayed getting out. We're we're not happy with that. The... We... There's no law was broken, but it does not mean that there was a problem in the... In getting those out. We expect them to go out on time.

[00:47:29] Peter D. Elder: Absolutely. Why do we expect to go out on time? Because we were on time. Our data was to the vendor when it was supposed to be. So I will tell you that, when we're doing our job and then the person we hire, is delayed in doing theirs, we're gonna, of course, review that.

[00:47:44] Pam (caller): And I guess the post office can't inter... Intervene in that either.

[00:47:47] Peter D. Elder: Well, that's the other thing, that's the other thing, Pam, is that the post office themselves is only guaranteeing us about four days to get, things to voters. For instance, tomorrow, I think, is the last day they're guaranteeing mail will get there by election day. So I... You know, it is, again, the post office is very busy, so I don't wanna say anything bad about them.

[00:48:05] Peter D. Elder: But it's just the system itself is, has certain impediments in it that need to be improved in the future, I think. That's really what it boils down to. So... Or or the other one is you can always come to the board of elections to do this in person. And so... And you can also do what you did the other day, which was, just go to the polling site if you have the ability to do it and, and vote then vote there.

[00:48:29] Peter Vazquez: Pam, thank you for the call. Peter, I'm... This wasn't on my agenda, but Pam brought up a good point. Mercedes Vasquez running for the, one thirty seventh.

[00:48:40] Peter D. Elder: Seventh. Yes.

[00:48:41] Peter Vazquez: It brought it up. Tracy DeFlorio running for the one thirty eighth in the Republican line. I saw a Facebook poster. Peter, we got a significant problem. And the thing is to see, The, the regular voter, the common person, right, you know, the person that's not paying attention like you and me, sees these Facebook posts that says, you know, things like Pam Shear.

[00:49:06] Peter Vazquez: Right? Because this is all over Facebook as well. The experience is too with reaching out to the board of elections. At one point, I even commented because I had a Mercedes campaign in here to talk about it. I had said, well, you know, what if the individual receives two ballots? Because one of the responses they got from the BOE was that they would have a... Another ballot in... Or mailed immediately.

[00:49:26] Peter D. Elder: Yes. So we've done that.

[00:49:28] Peter Vazquez: Two ballots going out. Peter, people are concerned. Right now, my my social media is getting blown up, by people asking BOE questions that I'm not intentionally ignoring. Just today's assent. No.

[00:49:39] Peter D. Elder: No. No. No. No.

[00:49:39] Peter Vazquez: But I can't. But how do we mitigate that? Because... Listen. November 3 is gonna come. And any of the issues that you had with molly... With email voting or or getting to people on time in their return isn't gonna matter after November 3. There's potentially people out there whose votes aren't gonna matter.

[00:49:58] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. Well, let me... I get... That's that's a two parter, but let me just do the It is.

[00:50:02] Peter Vazquez: It's hard. You know? It's how it goes, but it's important.

[00:50:04] Peter D. Elder: No. The first part the first part is that we... The second ballot issue, there's always been second ballots or third ballots issued. It's in New York state law. People have a right to request It's

[00:50:12] Peter Vazquez: a law. Okay. I didn't know.

[00:50:13] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. It's in the election law. They're allowed to request additional ballots if they... If the one doesn't get there because there's a recognition that things happen.

[00:50:20] Other voice / caller: Okay.

[00:50:21] Peter D. Elder: What we do at the board of elections is we reconcile, and then and the second ballot is the one that counts. So we know when Peterson Vasquez is sending in ballots, we can tell. They are they are organized in such a way as that we can tell there's a duplicate, and then we take the second one. Okay. Or the latest one if you want it that way. So that part is is long established. It's been around for decades.

[00:50:41] Peter D. Elder: Okay. The, the part that you just talked about, I think I can let people know. I analyzed... I know I run numbers. You know that. I analyzed all the ballots. You do. You're good at it. Yeah. I analyzed all the ballots that were coming in. It is not affecting a particular party or the other. It's not a particular community or the other, a particular town or ZIP code. They literally were just slow in sending them out.

[00:51:00] Peter D. Elder: And I... That is not that is not an excuse, just to be clear. We Three. Make sure the ballots get to people, and they have a responsibility to fulfill their contract, but that is the explanation.

[00:51:12] Peter Vazquez: So You know, Peter Elder, commissioner, at the board of election on the GOP side, you're chairman of the, Republican party. I'm excited to have you on. I'm excited to call you a friend. We're down to the last few minutes of what you've talked so little.

[00:51:27] Peter D. Elder: Can you just have a second hour of your show?

[00:51:29] Peter Vazquez: Well, you know what? I'll tell you what. Do me a favor. Call call call Bob Savage. Right? Okay. And tell him this. Alright? You're you're gonna take notes? Yeah. Tell him this. Say say, Bob Savage, I am gonna sponsor a second hour of the Next Steps Show. Send me the bill.

Final thoughts and local races

[00:51:44] Peter D. Elder: There you go. Alright. I'll ask him.

[00:51:46] Peter Vazquez: And listen. You know what? I'm sure Bob will work with you. I would love a second hour. Actually, I told Bob, put me at 06:00 in the morning, and I can take, you know, a couple

[00:51:55] Other voice / caller: hours there

[00:51:56] Peter Vazquez: and do it every day because I do gotta pay bills. So I gotta be careful with

[00:51:59] Peter D. Elder: how many

[00:52:00] Peter Vazquez: hours I spend and what I do. We have, a lot of races throughout our county. Two to spend a lot of time. But is there any one town racer in the last couple minutes that we have in today's interview that you wanna highlight?

[00:52:13] Peter D. Elder: Well, there's, one town. They're all gonna kill me if I say this.

[00:52:17] Other voice / caller: So I know.

[00:52:17] Peter Vazquez: I put you in the hot hot seat. But listen, though. There are districts that matter something the other based on real numbers, and you're a numbers guy.

[00:52:24] Peter D. Elder: Right. I mean, I... We wanna see Webster come back. Webster was lost by 60 votes last year. It's near dear to my heart. It's something that can be won back if you're a if you're a Republican, if you're in Webster and you believe, any any of you, any party that, that the current supervisor is not doing a good job, this is the election to elect Sean Hanna. And one more.

[00:52:43] Peter Vazquez: Oh, real quick. Sean Hanna, same one in the assembly?

[00:52:46] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. He's the one that used to be in the assembly years ago. Yes. And then the other one is, I guess, I had to highlight by not talking about Cosmo or the Grease Wars.

[00:52:52] Peter Vazquez: No. We already mentioned it. They're all great.

[00:52:54] Peter D. Elder: Bill Smith. Bill Smith has done an outstanding job in Pittsburgh. He is the embodiment of what it is to be a Pittsburgh resident. Elect him again. Let him be your person that guides Fitchard into the future because he will do it, and he will do it successfully.

[00:53:09] Peter Vazquez: Luis Martinez did something that I never thought he would do. He he he made a social media post and said that both... Right? He he described the breakdown of the different demographics politically and otherwise in Pittsburgh and said, we are all united Mhmm. In voting for Bill Smith. That's right. Sir, you got ten seconds to tell us how to get a hold of you or any message you wanna share. You can do it quickly.

[00:53:33] Peter D. Elder: Yeah. It's info@MonroeCountyGOP..com, and, it is, you know, please give me a call at at 546-8040. I'd be happy to

[00:53:43] Other voice / caller: do that.

[00:53:43] Peter D. Elder: We still have Blakeman signs left if you're looking for those. The election is coming up.

[00:53:47] Peter Vazquez: So if

[00:53:48] Peter D. Elder: you have any questions, let us know.

[00:53:50] Peter Vazquez: Peter Elder, ladies and gentlemen. God bless you in the work that you do, sir.

[00:53:54] Other voice / caller: Thank you.

[00:53:55] Peter Vazquez: Ladies and gentlemen, it's this simple because it is up to you. Peter can only do so much or so little. Be a leader. Be a leader. Be a leader. God bless this United States Of America, and don't let a second go by where you are not a voice for liberty in America. Go out and vote.

End of Episode 732 transcript.