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...

STATEMENT BY DON DeBAR, WRITE-IN CANDIDATE FOR OSSINING TOWN SUPERVISOR

I have decided to announce as a write-in candidate for Ossining Town Supervisor this coming Tuesday (see "How to Write-In" instructions below).

The immediate reason for doing this, and the reason for this very late announcement, is the shuttering on Friday of the historic Ossining Boat & Canoe Club (OBCC) by the village building inspector at the instruction of the Town of Ossining, and the announcement by the Town Supervisor of her intent to demolish it.

 

Over the past 20 years, I've been actively involved in efforts to protect the Ossining community from bad decision-making by our local government officials. Since my primary area of professional expertise rests in real estate and land use matters, I've focused on calling attention to the potential negative impacts to the community of various development projects as they worked their way through the local boards and, where it seemed necessary, helping to organize a community response to the proposals.

The biggest problem I've encountered in these efforts has been the sense of impunity and the attitude of official arrogance that, sadly, is the trademark of our local government officials. It is this that needs to change in our community, and what happened this past week only served to drive home the point that the time to change it is now!

Earlier this year, I watched with interest as the residents of Croton organized themselves to resist an attempt by their local officials to tear down their local boat club and build a luxury restaurant in its place. Club members there were told that, due to revised FEMA regulations after Hurricane Sandy, there were insurance issues with their building that could not be remedied without a demolition and new construction, and that the only way they could afford to do this was to rent out the main part of the building to a restaurant, leaving some - albeit reduced - space for the club upstairs.

When the people of Croton refused to allow the eviction of the club and demolition of the clubhouse, a new proposal came forth: leave the club as it was, and build the restaurant next door. This, to all watching, demonstrated the true nature of the proposal, which had nothing to do with FEMA, insurance, or any other municipal or public concerns, but was, rather, an attempted giveaway of a precious community space.

I was therefore horrified to learn that a similar proposal was being considered for the Ossining Boat & Canoe Club, one of the last public outposts on the river in our community. Since I first heard of this over the summer, I've watched it wind its way through the town government with concern, but was told by friends at the OBCC not to worry. They believed the Town was acting in good faith, and that a fair accommodation would be reached preserving the historic boat club building and addressing the concerns of the Town. I expressed my doubts, given the history of the behavior of our local officials over the past decades, but held my piece and left it to them to try.

This past week, arrogance and impunity again took center stage. Members found the club padlocked, with a notice posted of violations of various codes. Clearly, urgent action is necessary, or the OBCC is a goner.

Town Supervisor Susan Donnelly is the primary mover of this project. In a healthy political climate, she would face opposition in this Tuesday's election, which would give voters a choice, and an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction by voting for her opponent. But Ossining does not harbor a healthy political climate; rather, it is customary for local politicians to run unopposed. This leads, inevitably, to a sense of impunity that simply does not exist where there is a healthy political debate, and a choice of candidates on election day. That is a larger problem that needs to be solved if we are to avoid continuous replays of this particular crisis.

Meanwhile, if I am elected. I will put an immediate end to this proposal, direct the reopening of the club, oversee the rational remediation of any safety issues in the building, and work with the members to re-engineer the relationship between the Town and OBCC in a way that provides long-term stability and protectts this valuable community resource from any further political mischief by future officials.

How to Write-In

With the New Voting Machines, A Write-In Is Easy.

Now that New York State has switched to the computerized card reader style of voting method, doing a write-in vote couldn't be easier.

As you sign in to vote, you will be handed a voting ballot card that contains the various offices that you will be voting for. Take this ballot card over to a table that has partitions on it to keep your choices secret.

On the ballot card, each office being contested has the list of candidates along with a circle next to each name.

 

At the bottom of the list of candidates you will find the word "Other" with a blank line next to it.

 

Write in Don DeBar in this space, and fill in the circle next to the space for that name with the pen/pencil/whatever instrument is provided.

MAKE SURE YOU WRITE THE NAME IN THE SPACE UNDER THE HEADING OF THE CORRECT OFFICE YOU ARE VOTING FOR - TOWN SUPERVISOR.

If you did it wrong, ask for a new ballot.

When you are finished, take the card up to the election inspector near the voting machine and give your card to him/her. They will run your card through the machine which will record your vote.

If you  have any problems or have any questions while doing a write-in vote or voting in general, the election inspectors there are being paid to help. Just ask.

Don't worry about the machine being able to read your handwriting, just do your best to write clearly. All of the cards get reviewed back at the County Election Office where the write-in vote is tabulated.