Suppose I Actually Win - Then What?

 

Don DeBar, Write-In Candidate for Ossining Town Supervisor

 

 

As we announced our emergency campaign Saturday, it of course came in the context of the imminent loss of the Ossining Boat & Canoe Club. Town Supervisor Sue Donnelly's actions were the shock that made people, myself included, realize "Unless we act - now - we are going to lose the boat club forever!" Since Supervisor Donnelly was running unopposed, since I have run these kinds of campaigns before, and since friends and supporters of the boat club knew I wanted to help them save it, it made sense that people would ask me to try to do this.

 

But there is a lot more to running a town than simply saving the boat club. Once elected, that's easy - I'll simply call off the dogs, remind the village building inspector that he has no authority over a town-owned building serving a municipal purpose, sit down with the boat club and work out the safety issues calmly and rationally, and then get to the business of properly formalizing their occupancy of the building, long-term.

 

But then what? What about the rest of the operations of the Town, like Parks & Recreation, Town code enforcement, the Highway Department, the Receiver of Taxes office, the Courts, the operation and maintenance of the various Town buildings and properties, and, of course, the BUDGET?

 

If I am elected you will see two changes from the way things have been done in Ossining over the past few years:

 

FIRST, there will be no further empire building. We do not need another Police/Court building that we will build and then sell a couple of years later for less than half the price. Those days will end January 1st.

 

SECOND, there will be no more attempts to build an Imperial Supervisor's office. The Highway Superintendent will remain an elected office. The Receiver of Taxes will remain an elected office. Rather than seek to pull all power towards the center, I will manage the Town in a collaborative way, respecting the will of the voters in dealing with whomever they choose to put in office, and listening closely to those with specialized expertise when making decisions about what resources to budget for and how to support their department's ongoing work.

 

THIRD, there will be no further loss of valuable municipal assets to private interests. No more boat club scenarios. That looting of the public's valuable spaces will end immediately.

 

FOURTH, the Comprehensive Plan will be honored, and all land use decisions will consider the Town as a whole, including the Villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor. Supermarkets, big box drug stores, etc., will be considered in the context of one whole community, not three competing districts.

 

FIFTH, there will be underpinning every action and decision the understanding that real estate taxes are strangling homeowners and tenants, and this cannot be permitted to continue.

 

I know we have a tremendous amount of talent in our community. I want to really draw upon it - not just in form, but in substance. More on this later today...