Erik Hiaght, the Republican Commissioner at the Board of Elections, is known amongst republican circles for many reasons, one being he that allegedy coerces elected officials to puchase insurance from his or run the risk of being blacklisted as well as having the reputation of being somewhat of a 'weasel.'

Now we can add whitewashing to that list with the latest scandal to arise out of the defunct Dutchess County Board of Elections...the tampering of absentee and write-in ballots that were in a supposedly 'secure' room.
Ballot Gate story

But according to Mr. Haight, the tampering with a sealed ballot bag isn't really that big of a deal as he stated, “Nothing is out of order. No materials are mising. No additional matterials have been added,” Haight said.

What this story didn't print was the circumstances in how the tampered bags were found. When the room containing the ballots was sealed, both commissioners handed off their keys to the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department. The next day the door was found ajar, which leads to the question of how and why it was opened. We have heard that Mr. Hiaght is blaming this on the cleaning crew, however the staff did not have access to the secure location, which leads the writers to deduce that it may be an inside job amongst republicans, Erik Haight included. We must bear in mind that many of the politically connected republicans have a bias towards Stephen Saland. Erik Haight even outwardly supports Stephen Saland according to his Facebook page when he 'attended Primary Day/Saland for Senate.'  Noted is that he doesn't 'like' Neil DiCarlo for Senate.

Whomever Mr. Haight holds a personal preference for, as a commissioner he is the one ultimately responsible for ensuring that proper procedures are carried out at the BOE, however, like many in the republican political machine in Dutchess county, he will most likely get yet another get out of jail free card. The conclusion is that he failed at his duty to ensure that the door to where the ballots were held was secure.
Not Erik!
9/18/2012 11:14:23 pm

Haight does not enjoy a reputation for honesty being one of his attributes. Most Republicans do not trust him. He is perceived as Ken Stenger's little puppet who is devoid of the ability to diffentiate between right and wrong. It would behoove the Republican Committee to start looking for a replacement for this little coward. Most think he is not capable of doing the job at hand. Neither is his stooge, Chris Biano.

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Bill Sarjo
9/20/2012 10:55:11 am

I know Erik personally and I also know he likes sausages and scotch. But I dont think he would cheat or lie. He is an upstanding member of the community who just happens to like greasy food and 12 yr old single malts

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Not Erik!
9/20/2012 09:47:03 pm

Obviously Bill Sarjo doesn't know Haight very well. I am of the opinion that he is far from upstanding. I find Haight's behavior to be "greasy" and Sarjo's assertation that Haight likes 12 yr old single malts does not qualify him for not being a cheat or a liar. As far as anything 12 yr old goes, I would not be the least bit surprised if that quality applied to 12 yr old children.

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No sausage fan
9/21/2012 03:19:58 am

What does the fondness of 12 yr single malt scotch and sausages have to do with the price of tea in china? This is precisely why friends shouldn't be charachter witnessess for their friends...because they have a tendency to overlook the character flaws. Talk to the scores that have been in one way shape or another have burned by Mr. Haight if you want to get a more insightful opinion.

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Dutchess Dem
9/21/2012 09:01:44 am

Haight and his deputy Biano have destroyed the morale and the integrity of the BOE. He's no better than a street thug in his methodoly of deal with people. Stenger taught him well.

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Where is the Truth
10/1/2012 01:12:55 pm

Did Haight tamper with the ballots? I wouldn't put it past this little sleaze. He is not what one would call honest.

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