קרית יואל טוישט פון רעפובליקאנער צו אינדעפענדענס

One little-noticed development in the Monroe elections last month was a sea change in the party affiliation of a certain voting bloc. For years, Kiryas Joel Mayor Abraham Wieder and his supporters formed a reliable Republican voting bloc, faithfully filling the voting columns of the GOP candidates on the Monroe Town Board and in Orange County offices.

A subtle-but-important switch this time: They supported their usual Republican pals, but cast their votes this time on the Independence line, a cross-endorsement all their favored candidates had gotten. Of course, those incumbents easily won.

Hmm. Their county legislator, Michael Amo, went Independence in October. Now, their majority voting bloc is voting with that party. Could this be a message to their fair-weather friends in the county GOP?