Mayor West Calls for 15% Tax Cut

Mayor Jason West New Paltz village residents will see their property taxes slashed by fifteen percent under the 2007-2008 budget proposed by Mayor Jason West. And yet, services will continue at their current high level and the village infrastructure continue the steady improvement that has marked the last four years. “I have been able to craft a budget that not only continues delivering high quality of life, but allows village residents to reduce their tax bill,” said West. “This is the result of four years of sound fiscal management and this budget maintains my commitment to a strong financial foundation the village can continue to build upon.”

West said the budget allows the village to continue making progress improving efficiency and services, use smart planning to alleviate long standing infrastructure issues, and move forward with a commitment to environmental policies that are steadily moving the village toward a more sustainable footing.

With the tax cut, the village of New Paltz is almost unique in the Hudson Valley, where town, school and county taxes steadily rise.

The tax cut is part of a series of strong policy and financial initiatives undertaken by Mayor West since he took office in 2003. These policies include shifting the financing of $2.2 million in water system improvements from USDA loans to serial bonds after a drop in interest rates, a move predicted to save taxpayers nearly $1.5 million in interest payments alone.

Since elected Mayor West’s administration has accomplished:

• Built the first phase of a reed bed system to turn our sewage into compost rather than mix it with toxic chemicals and ship it to landfills. We plan to expand our program to deal with almost 90% of our sewage on-site with the reeds, at an estimated cost savings of $30,000 per year.
• Installed a solar panel array on the public works garage which has generated 15,333 kW of electricity, saved taxpayers $2,299 and has kept 16,743 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
• Are looking into building a 500,000 gallon per year biodiesel fuel facility which could supply every public works truck, fire truck and school bus with a non-toxic, biodegradable fuel with 80% fewer emissions, while generating thousands of dollars in revenue each year.
• Commissioned two studies of wetlands and watercourse in the Village. Based on those studies, and the work done in the Town, we have just recently finished writing a pair of laws that will protect wetlands and watercourses; one law defining what is protected and how, and a second creating an overlay district which precisely maps which properties may have wetlands or watercourse on them.
• Fought hard for student, youth, women’s and human rights, establishing committees to improve landlord-tenant relations, a Youth Commission, anti-war actions, support of pro-choice events and performing the only same-sex marriages to ever occur in New York State. We continue to engage an anti-racist, anti-hate ideology after facing bigoted protests and neo-Nazi activity. We continue to work towards social justice and equality as we discuss legislation to extend protections to transgendered people facing harassment in the community.
• Presented a budget to the village board that cuts taxes for the second year in a row – an 8% cut last year, and a 15% cut this year. When the first draft of the budget was finished, it came with a 22% tax cut; a cut both the Village Treasurer and myself were uncomfortable with, due to the sometimes volatile nature of municipal budgets when unfunded mandates come down from the state, or when health care costs skyrocket. The 15% is a conservative tax cut, one that leaves us with enough money in reserve to meet unexpected costs, while at the same time allowing us money to set aside to leverage into more money through aggressive pursuit of grant funding.

Jason is running for reelection May 1, 2007 and you can access his web page at: jasonwest.org

West confirms bid for second term

By Alice Hunt
Poughkeepsie Journal

NEW PALTZ — Village Mayor Jason West has confirmed he will run for re-election in May, despite often criticizing the position’s salary.

In December, West said he might not run for re-election because he simply couldn’t afford to.

Now, West said, he will find a part-time job to supplement the mayor’s $25,000 annual salary.

“I love the job, and there’s been a lot I’ve been able to start, and I want to see those things through to conclusion,” the Green Party member said.

Those projects include affordable housing legislation, the creation of a biodiesel refinery in the village and environmental protections like the proposed wetlands law.
West has advocated raising the mayor’s salary to $40,000 with full health benefits. In December, the village trustees granted West health benefits but have not agreed to the $15,000 salary increase.

Unified ticket formed

West, along with trustee candidates Shari Osborn, a Democrat, and Richard Steffens, an unenrolled voter, will run as a unified ticket despite the various party affiliations, or in Steffens’ case, lack thereof.

The variety of party affiliations is appropriate for the progressive village, Steffens said.
“This is a pretty representative ticket of who the village is,” he said.

Osborne is chairwoman of the village’s Shade Tree Commission. Steffens is a lifelong New Paltz resident who owns several real estate companies. He served as a village trustee in the early 1980s.

Trustees Julia Walsh, a Democrat, and Rebecca Rotzler, a Green Party member, will not run for re-election.

West was first elected in 2003 at the age of 26 as part of the “Innovation Party” along with Rotzler and Walsh.

When Walsh, who had been unenrolled, switched to the Green Party in late 2003, New Paltz was one of the nation’s few governments with a Green Party majority. Walsh later switched her party affiliation to Democrat.

The trio gained international attention when they performed about two dozen same-sex marriages in 2004.

No other village resident has come forward to run against West, Osborn or Steffens.
Petitions for the village election will be officially available next week.

Candidates must receive 100 signatures from village voters before qualifying for election.

The election will be held May 1.

Village trustees and the mayor serve four-year terms. Trustees Terry Dungan and Michael Zierler will be up for election in 2009.

NY Minor Party Madness

[From Capitol Confidential]

Minor Party Madness
November 8, 2006 at 10:05 am
by Elizabeth Benjamin

I just called the state Board of Elections to get the skinny on which gubernatorial candidate won how much on the minor party lines.

This, as you all know, is the make-or-break number when it comes to official status and — more& importantly — a ballot line, which is New York is like gold since we’re one of the few states that allows cross-endorsements and combination final tallies.

Here’s what I was told:

Independence Party/Eliot Spitzer: 146,456 (4 percent)

Conservative Party/John Faso: 128,007 (3 percent)

Working Families Party/Eliot Spitzer: 126,797 (3 percent)

Green Party/Malachy McCourt: 40,346 (1 percent)

Libertarian Party/John Clifton: 14,799 (0 percent)

Rent Is Too Damn High Party/Jimmy McMillan: 13,712 (0 percent)

Socialist Workers Party/Maura DeLuca: 762 (0 percent)

Based on these numbers, it appears the current ballot line-up, with the Independence Party on Row C, Conservatives on Row D and the WFP on Row E, remains the same, and WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor may owe state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long a round of golf.

The paper balllots haven’t been opened yet, though.

In the meantime, the Green Party is threatening a lawsuit in hopes of getting its party status back. The reasoning is that three of its candidates — Howie Hawkins for U.S. Senate, Rachel Treichler for AG and Julia Willebrand for state comptroller — all won more than 50,000 votes, and thus, in the party’s eyes, demonstrated adequate support to be ballot line-worthy.

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2006 Green Party Election Results

Winning Races 2006

Green Party Elections Database
Complete results for every Green candidate in the U.S. (as the results are submitted).

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Green Party of NY’s Peace Slate

GPNYS Peace Slate
Top row: Howie Hawkins, Julia Willebrand
Bottom Row: Alison Duncan, Malachy McCourt, Rachel Treichler
Photo by Deyva Arthur

Malachy McCourt for Governor
Malachy McCourt is the author of ‘A Monk Swimming’, a New York Times bestseller. “Peace is not just the absence of war; peace is where we are safe and secure in our lives and privacy,” said Mr. McCourt, who supports demilitarizing the National Guard by bringing them home from Iraq and converting them into a civilian environmental corps.

Alison Duncan for Lt. Governor
Alison Duncan: “New York’s disadvantaged should not see the military as their only option for an education and an honest job. As Lt. Governor candidate, I will be campaigning for free public higher education and strong economic development initiatives for our state.”

Howie Hawkins for US Senate
Howie Hawkins will challenge Sen. Clinton over her support for the war in Iraq, and will call for immediate return of U.S. troops and impeachment of President Bush. Mr. Hawkins, a member of the Teamsters Union, will also challenge the two major parties for failing to respond to global warming; he supports major investments in energy conservation, efficiency, and investment in renewable energy sources, which will create new jobs in New York.

Rachel Treichler for Attorney General
Rachel Treichler: “Illegal barriers to voting and ballot access have allowed money to trump democracy in government decision making.”

Julia Willebrand for Comptroller
Julia Willebrand said, “I will use the power of the Comptroller as sole trustee of $115 billion in retirement investments as an instrument of peace, joining other states efforts to end the genocide in Darfur by divesting from companies doing business in Sudan.”

GPNYS chooses Peace Slate

Malachy McCourt meets with Green Party supporters at the NY Green Party's convention in Albany NY. (Photo, Deyva Arthur )

May 21st, 2006 Albany, NY – On May 20, 2006, the Green Party of New York State chose the following candidates as its Peace Slate:

Malachy McCourt for Governor
Alison Duncan for Lt. Governor
Howie Hawkins for US Senate
Rachel Treichler for Attorney General
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller