DA CANDIDATE SENNETT TAKES HEAT OVER MARIJUANA STANCE

KINGSTON - Does Jonathan Sennett, the Democratic candidate for
Ulster County district attorney, support the legalization of
marijuana? It's not quite clear, but his two opponents don't.

Sennett, an assistant Ulster County public defender, said during a
Freeman interview that he favors "the further decriminalization" of
the drug, but he fell short of advocating its "legalization" as he
apparently had on at least two other occasions.

His opponents, Republican Holley Carnright of Saugerties and
Conservative/Independent Vincent Bradley Jr. of Kingston, say they
heard Sennett, a New Paltz attorney, call for legalization twice -
in September on a Woodstock public-access TV interview, and again on
Oct. 3 at a joint appearance before the Ulster County Police Chiefs
Association at the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center. Bradley was
not present at the Woodstock interview with Carnright and Sennett.

"Did he use the word 'legalization' (before the Police Chiefs
Association)? Absolutely," said town of Ulster Police Chief Paul
Watzka, who, using the Woodstock TV interview as context, posed the
question to Sennett at the police chiefs' "meet the candidates" session.

Watzka said he did not query Carnright or Bradley on the subject
"because I knew how they stood." Bradley and Carnright were quick to
inform the police chiefs they did not favor legalization of the drug.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is now a
violation, which Bradley called "the lowest form of crime," and
subject to no more than a $100 fine.

"I don't understand what (Sennett) means by 'decriminalization.' You
can't get less than a violation. It's equivalent to an appearance
ticket for jaywalking," said Bradley, a former Manhattan assistant
district attorney.

"He can dance all around it and blow smoke, but I think his message
is clear, intended or not, that he doesn't think marijuana is any
worse than tobacco. It is totally inappropriate for a DA to say
that," said Carnright, a former chief assistant district attorney
for Ulster County. "I think it's a bad idea. You can't be the DA and
send out that kind of message. The message, especially to kids, is
(marijuana) is bad for you. Any other message is inappropriate."

Sennett, in a Freeman interview, compared the health risks of
tobacco and alcohol abuse to those connected with marijuana. "The
scientific evidence is pretty solid that marijuana is not more
harmful than alcohol or tobacco," he said.

Sennett, a former assistant district attorney in the Bronx, also
observed that the alcohol and tobacco industries have extensive
lobbies in Washington and Albany to protect their interests while
marijuana does not.

"I don't believe that a substance should be determined to be legal
or illegal in inverse proportion to its lobbying effort. We don't
prosecute people as felons for selling alcohol to kids," Sennett said.

Sennett said it is up to the state Legislature to amend laws
regarding marijuana and that he would enforce whatever laws are on the books.

Watzka questioned that statement. "How could a district attorney who
supports legalization of marijuana prosecute a case involving
marijuana?" he said.

Kingston Mayor James Sottile, a Bradley supporter, called the
legalization of marijuana "a bad idea."

"Here we have a candidate who says we have lost the war on drugs and
gangs (which Sennett denies), and who wants to make marijuana
legal," he said. "We're trying to take drug dealers off the street.
Making it legal would only makes things worse."