What I Stand For
Personal Responsibility
Taking responsibility for our own actions is the foundation of democracy and civil society. As a small business-owner, the buck always stops with me. When there’s a problem I can’t blame another department or some other business – I have to take responsibility and fix it myself – or find someone with the skills who can. I bring that same level of personal responsibility to the Broome County Legislature.
Individual Liberty
I believe individual liberty is the basis of a fruitful, enjoyable & productive life. However, without the foundation of personal responsibility, there’s little chance for individual liberty. Therefore, I fight for individual liberty with the assumption that each & every one of us is taking personal responsibility for their actions. For without personal responsibility, individuals begin using the government to control other people. I will work to keep the government as an impartial, fair body, so that we can all enjoy our freedoms equally.
Thoughtful Inquiry
Once we understand personal responsibility and the need for greater individual liberty, the next hurdle is thoughtful investigation. Governmental issues involve everyone of us. They are complex and require many hours of investigation to fully understand both the issue AND the implications of a proposed solution. Far too many "solutions" are made without proper inquiry or understanding.
Take for instance this recent situation: Broome County was running an outdated, insecure website. So, the County put out a request for proposal (RFP) to over 400 vendors. We received proposals from all over the county, state, and region. We prefer to keep the business local, however, the best local proposal came in at $80,000, while a competing bid from Rochester, NY, came in at $30,000. So, while we prefer to keep our contracts local, we also have to be frugal in the way we spend our money. Several other law-makers called the contract flawed because it wasn’t “local.” However, at that price differential, thoughtful inquiry convinced me that the Rochester proposal was better and I supported it. Whether a local business got the job or not, local tax payers had to pay for it, so choosing the best, most cost-effective solution was most important.
Real Jobs
Small business is the backbone of a thriving economy. We rely too heavily on large corporations and their hollow promises. I pledge to work to cut red tape, foster small business, and encourage real jobs.
I generally don’t like preferential tax breaks to “encourage” jobs because it isn’t fair to our community as a whole. Yet, taxes in New York State are so ridiculously out of control that I’m not saying I’d never support a few, however I’m against them as a rule. Like individuals, businesses should take “personal responsibility” for their finances and not pass their burden along to others.
Controlling Taxes
Taxes are killing New York State. The vast majority of these are coming from Albany. In fact, two-thirds of Broome County’s budget goes toward state mandated programs in which our local government has no policy-level control. Broome County is simply required to administer these programs by (and for) the state. I’d love to say that I could change this, but only State and Federal officials can change this phenomenon. In the meantime, I'll do my best to make our government operate as efficiently as possible.
Strong Community
Endwell is a great place to live. It’s centrally-located and full of neighborhood character. People own their homes and take pride in them. However, blight and disrepair aren’t far away. Unoccupied and/or dangerous buildings pose a real threat to the safety and values of our community. I’ll work to demolish blighted buildings and maintain standards on existing structures. One of my primary goals is to strengthen our community.
The Endwell Community Garden project is a great example of the kind of strong community involvement that I value.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. Please feel free to contact me with your own.
Taking responsibility for our own actions is the foundation of democracy and civil society. As a small business-owner, the buck always stops with me. When there’s a problem I can’t blame another department or some other business – I have to take responsibility and fix it myself – or find someone with the skills who can. I bring that same level of personal responsibility to the Broome County Legislature.
Individual Liberty
I believe individual liberty is the basis of a fruitful, enjoyable & productive life. However, without the foundation of personal responsibility, there’s little chance for individual liberty. Therefore, I fight for individual liberty with the assumption that each & every one of us is taking personal responsibility for their actions. For without personal responsibility, individuals begin using the government to control other people. I will work to keep the government as an impartial, fair body, so that we can all enjoy our freedoms equally.
Thoughtful Inquiry
Once we understand personal responsibility and the need for greater individual liberty, the next hurdle is thoughtful investigation. Governmental issues involve everyone of us. They are complex and require many hours of investigation to fully understand both the issue AND the implications of a proposed solution. Far too many "solutions" are made without proper inquiry or understanding.
Take for instance this recent situation: Broome County was running an outdated, insecure website. So, the County put out a request for proposal (RFP) to over 400 vendors. We received proposals from all over the county, state, and region. We prefer to keep the business local, however, the best local proposal came in at $80,000, while a competing bid from Rochester, NY, came in at $30,000. So, while we prefer to keep our contracts local, we also have to be frugal in the way we spend our money. Several other law-makers called the contract flawed because it wasn’t “local.” However, at that price differential, thoughtful inquiry convinced me that the Rochester proposal was better and I supported it. Whether a local business got the job or not, local tax payers had to pay for it, so choosing the best, most cost-effective solution was most important.
Real Jobs
Small business is the backbone of a thriving economy. We rely too heavily on large corporations and their hollow promises. I pledge to work to cut red tape, foster small business, and encourage real jobs.
I generally don’t like preferential tax breaks to “encourage” jobs because it isn’t fair to our community as a whole. Yet, taxes in New York State are so ridiculously out of control that I’m not saying I’d never support a few, however I’m against them as a rule. Like individuals, businesses should take “personal responsibility” for their finances and not pass their burden along to others.
Controlling Taxes
Taxes are killing New York State. The vast majority of these are coming from Albany. In fact, two-thirds of Broome County’s budget goes toward state mandated programs in which our local government has no policy-level control. Broome County is simply required to administer these programs by (and for) the state. I’d love to say that I could change this, but only State and Federal officials can change this phenomenon. In the meantime, I'll do my best to make our government operate as efficiently as possible.
Strong Community
Endwell is a great place to live. It’s centrally-located and full of neighborhood character. People own their homes and take pride in them. However, blight and disrepair aren’t far away. Unoccupied and/or dangerous buildings pose a real threat to the safety and values of our community. I’ll work to demolish blighted buildings and maintain standards on existing structures. One of my primary goals is to strengthen our community.
The Endwell Community Garden project is a great example of the kind of strong community involvement that I value.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. Please feel free to contact me with your own.