Tea Time Returns to Fishkill's Dutchess Stadium

On April 15, Todd Harvey, a businessman in Fishkill organized one of many Tea Parties, launched across the nation to protest the government organized bailouts, and the threat of increased taxes. Nearly four thousand citizens joined Harvey at Dutchess stadium. Harvey had no intention of letting his Tea Party be a one-time spasm of protest, and plans to throw an Independence Day Tea Party on July 6. He spoke with the Courier recently.

PCC: Why did you get involved in this movement?

Todd Harvey: I saw [Rick] Santelli, talking about this government waste. And he said someone has to have a tea party again. I saw a couple of other groups, especially the one out of Atlanta, and what they were doing. I said "We need to do it, here in Dutchess County." We're really tired of this out of control spending. Some people say this only started when Obama got into office. But it's not a Democratic thing, or a Republican thing. Bush started these corporate bailouts for GM.

PCC: The people showing up in Fishkill, are they mostly conservatives, or is it more diverse?

Harvey: We get members of all parties. The bulk of them, yes, have been Republicans. But also a lot of members of the Independence party, a lot of libertarians. And we've had Democrats. A lot of them realize you just can't spend these numbers. I think when we finally heard $1 trillion dollars. When you say 1 trillion dollars that gets people to wake people up. A lot of us are businessmen, who understand that we can only spend what we take in.

PCC: What did you make of the media coverage of the Tea Parties on Tax Day?

Harvey: Last time, obviously Fox News did a great job last. Local media was fair. I'm sort of new to this. So I didn't understand how press releases worked. The biggest issue I had so far was the Poughkeepsie Journal. What the Poughkeepsie Journal put out was not what I said, They are trying to make this a Republican event.

PCC: Do you expect a similar turnout this time?

Harvey: That's a tough one. I'd like to say we'd see the same number. Since it's a holiday weekend, I have my doubts. Got a lot of response from some people. It's a tough time to do it.

PCC: What can people expect? Harvey: We start with the color guard presenting the flag. Local girls sing the national anthem, and a local pastor to do the invocation. Last time we had 20 speakers. This time we have 11. We have 2 school age students, a single mother trying to raise a family on her own. And the rest are local businessmen. We got a singer form Carmel, he's got a song "Let's Take Our Country Back."

PCC: The big media outlets often portrayed these protests as full of extremists. Did you see that?

Harvey: Not at all. We had no extremists. We had two people show up with signs that were unacceptable, and we told them to surrender their signs or they would have to leave. We support free speech, of course. But at the same time we are paying for the use of this stadium, and it is a private event. Some people ask why we hold it in Dutchess stadium. They say we should have it in a public venue or out in the streets. I worry about safety. And we want to do it in a controlled environment and have medics on site.

PCC: Do people have a strong memory of when IBM pulled out of Fishkill?

Harvey: Yes. My business, Mountan View Garden Apartments, has 261 unites here in Fishkill. When IBM had their major pullout, we had 30% vacancy rates at that time. We haven't had rent increases in two years. The government doesn't have a problem raising taxes. But as a business owner, I can't raise rent on my tenants. I see people losing their jobs. Our elected officials don't see how real people hurt.