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Political Advertorial

Up Close & Personal with Democratic Nominee for County Executive George Latimer

October 21, 2017 by Andrew Vitelli

It has been 13 years since State Senator George Latimer left county government to serve in Albany. Latimer spent 13 years on the county’s Board of Legislators before his 2004 election to the New York State Assembly, including two terms as board chairman. Now the Democratic nominee for Westchester county executive, Latimer calls a return to White Plains, and to a leadership position, a “natural fit.”

“It is the opportunity of an executive job not just to, as legislators do, advocate for ideas and sponsor ideas,” Latimer tells the Inside Press. “But to actually administer a government and to try to shape it in a direction that you think is positive.”

Latimer, a Mount Vernon native who has lived in Rye for 30 years, worked as a marketing executive for companies including subsidiaries of Nestle and ITT before entering politics. He was elected to the Rye City Council in 1987, then to the Board of Legislators in 1991. After four terms in the Assembly, he was elected to the Senate in 2012.

Latimer announced his candidacy for county executive in April, winning the backing of the Democratic committee and in September, defeating county legislator Ken Jenkins in the party’s primary. Now, he looks to unseat County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who has convincingly won two elections in a Democrat-heavy county. While Astorino has highlighted his administration’s record of keeping the tax rate down, Latimer believes the incumbent’s overall fiscal record is flawed.

“What I am going to promise to do is to get an honest set of eyes to look at our fiscal situation,” Latimer says. He plans to ask the state comptroller to do a full audit of the county, he elaborates, and will then create a blue-ribbon commission comprising members of the business community, academia and others to chart a responsible path forward.

“If you think that we can run the county forever and never raise a tax because politically people don’t like taxes,” Latimer says, “then you are going to have to make some decisions about cutting everything and having no services.”

While the tax levy has held steady–even dropping slightly during Astorino’s term–Latimer claims the headline numbers do not paint a full picture. For example, the county has been too reliant on borrowing for recurring expenses, Latimer says, and may now be overestimating projected sales tax revenue in order to avoid a budget gap. Naturally, Astorino disagrees. “I think George has been in Albany so long he now has Albany math,” Astorino quips. (For a deeper look at Astorino’s policies and platforms, see the accompanying article about Astorino: https://www.theinsidepress.com/spotlight-on-republican-incumbent-rob-astorinos-final-bid-for-county-executive/)

Favors Consolidating Services

Latimer says he will look to generate alternative revenue sources or to save money by consolidating services before raising property taxes.

He does not promise to keep taxes flat, saying that he will need to see the 2018 budget and get a deeper look into the county’s finances, but notes that he has no intention of breaking the tax cap. “If we can deliver another 0 [percent increase] that would be good, but I don’t marry myself to any commitment until I know the specifics,” he says.

Similarly, Latimer acknowledges that bringing back every position cut by Astorino is unrealistic.

“On merit, you probably need to restore a ton of it. But the money isn’t going to be there,” he says. His priorities, he adds, are to strengthen the Department of Public Works, police services and the planning department. “Some of the downsizing that [Astorino] has done is probably sensible,” Latimer admits. “The question when you [make cuts] across the board is, are you throwing out the bathwater and the baby?”

In November 2016, Astorino announced plans to enter into a public-private partnership for Westchester Airport. The deal would have seen Oaktree Capital Management pay the county $130 million upfront for a 40-year revenue-sharing lease. Though that plan was stopped by the legislature, the county is now considering several competing plans to privatize the airport, which is located partially in North Castle.

Latimer sees privatization of the airport as more or less a nonstarter. Giving up control of the airport not only cedes a source of revenue, Latimer explains, but gives the county less control over decisions with environmental and quality of life implications.

“I don’t want those decisions on that asset being made by a private sector entity unless there is a reason for it,” Latimer says. “And there is no reason for it except that [Astorino] wants to fill a budget gap.”

Optimism in the Last Stretch

This race, Astorino tells Inside Press, will be his last run for the office he has held since shocking Andrew Spano in 2009. This means, in all likelihood, it will be the party’s last chance to knock off the incumbent, perhaps before he takes another shot at the governor’s mansion.

Democrats were optimistic four years ago when Astorino saw a challenge from New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. Obama won the county by 25 points the previous year, and Bramson looked to keep Democratic voters engaged with a focus on national issues such as guns and abortion. Astorino, focusing on taxes, won with 56 percent of the vote.

Latimer points to a handful of differences between his race and Bramson’s. Bramson, as the mayor of a city, was less well-known than Latimer, who represents a third of the county in Albany. And he notes, around 45 minutes into an hour-long interview, that so far in the conversation he’s spoken only about local issues. But, he continues, “there is the Donald Trump factor.”

Trump received just 31 percent of the vote, five points worse than Mitt Romney’s 2012 showing, in the county. Latimer has looked to tie Astorino to the president–a picture of the two Republicans together features on at least one of Latimer’s campaign mailers, while Astorino’s veto of a bill limiting the county’s cooperation with immigration enforcement was dubbed “Trump-like.”

“Donald Trump, as every day passes by, is giving more people doubt into what it is that he is all about,” Latimer continues. “I don’t know about Wisconsin, but he is definitely less popular in Westchester than he was a year ago, and I don’t see Rob distancing himself at all from Trump.”

Latimer does not seem to be going all-in on the Trump card. His campaign has centered on challenging the incumbent’s fiscal record. But he also does not hesitate to oppose, for example, the county executive’s decision to bring gun shows back to the Westchester County Center.

Latimer recognizes the challenge in taking on Astorino, whom he calls “a very sharp guy” and “a great communicator.” He points out, though, that he has been in tough races before. His 2012 election over Bob Cohen for the Senate seat vacated by Suzi Oppenheimer came two years after Cohen nearly knocked off Oppenheimer, a 14-term incumbent.

His contest in November will be his toughest yet.

Filed Under: Political Advertorial Tagged With: campaign, George Latimer, politics, running

Spotlight on Republican Incumbent Rob Astorino’s Final Bid for County Executive

October 21, 2017 by Jordan Stutts

In his third and final campaign for Westchester County Executive, Rob Astorino sat down with the Inside Press to explain how his administration has held firm on the conservative fiscal policies he brought to office eight years ago.

Every year since 2010, the two-term Republican has requested a county budget of around $1.8 billion, the same amount last requested by his Democratic predecessor Andrew Spano that also came with a 2.9 percent tax levy increase.

Astorino has instead reduced the tax levy by 2 percent. He’s also frozen the county property tax levy, something he’s quick to point out as a major accomplishment for his administration’s goal to “stop the tax madness.” All of this is so middle-class people have a “fighting chance” to live in Westchester and small businesses have a “chance to survive and thrive,” Astorino explained in our interview. He’s now betting his low-tax platform that won the 2009 election will translate into a positive message that says his administration can govern efficiently and effectively without big spending.

“We’ve just showed that you can do it better without having to be wasteful and having to go to the taxpayer every year saying we need more,” Astorino said in the interview.

But State Senator George Latimer, the Democratic challenger for county executive, said there’s more to Astorino’s tax relief record. “He is arguing that he has kept taxes at zero when in fact they levy is not the only thing the county does,” Latimer said.  (For a deeper look at Latimer’s policies and platforms, see the accompanying article about Latimer: https://www.theinsidepress.com/up-close-personal-with-democratic-nominee-for-county-executive-george-latimer/)

Sewer and refuse district taxes have ticked up during Astorino’s administration, Latimer notes, adding “all of a sudden it may not be that you actually paid less.”

Astorino counters that the county’s property tax levy has fallen from $560 million to $548 million under his watch. “Any increases in refuse or sewer district taxes Astorino continued, have paid for the expansion of necessary government services, like the launch of a household material recovery facility at Rye Playland.

The tax-friendly environment Astorino created helped insulate Westchester from New York’s first population decline in a decade, he said, with the county being one of the few to grow last year. It’s also helped 44,000 private-sector jobs in Westchester since he took office, Astorino said in the interview. “We’re inviting businesses to come in, which is making it attractive for people to come to Westchester to start a family, to start a career,” he explained.

Putting assets to work

Lower taxes means Astorino has had to manage the county in a way that finds new revenue and cuts inefficiencies.

He’s cut the government workforce by 16 percent, either through buyouts or “reorganization.” For example, Astorino said a contract he ended for the Planning Department to work on section 8 housing saved the county $1 million a year and put the workers under the state’s purview.

“You’ve got a smaller but more efficient county government,” Astorino told The Inside Press.

He has also hunted for new revenue streams, looking for county assets that can generate a profit with new development. For example, Westchester is allowing the construction of a “biotech village” on 60 acres of vacant land at the Westchester Medical Center campus that Astorino said will create high-tech jobs.

“You can’t sit idly by,” he said. “This is part of our philosophy: if we’re not going to ask taxpayers to pony up more, we still need new revenue to come in. So we’re going to use the assets that the county has and put them to work.”

This strategy led Astorino to announce in November 2016 plans to enter into a public-private partnership for Westchester Airport. Astorino wants to hand control of the airport to a private company for a $130 million upfront payment and a 40-year revenue-sharing lease.

Astorino is marketing the plan as a way to put the airport’s value to use without fully selling it to the private sector. “That’s how you pay for parks and police, daycare and all these other services that people want,” he explained during the interview.

The criticism his plan has faced, including from Latimer, is that the county will receive a one-off payment but lose out on revenue down the road, as well as losing control of airport management.

Another concern is that a private company will want to expand Westchester Airport for greater profit, disrupting the Armonk-North Castle area where it’s located. Astorino insists that no company can “build any major structure without county approval.”

“We want a better not bigger airport,” he said.

One question remaining

Astorino won’t say for certain he’s going to run again for New York Governor. In 2014, he tried to unseat Andrew Cuomo for the position and lost by 14 points. “My thoughts and everything is on election day to run for county executive,” he said. One caveat: “nobody should ever close the door on anything in their future.”

He is feeling confident about the election at hand as well. Throughout his two terms, Astorino has navigated the politics of a Democrat-leaning county. His conservative policies have been in action for seven years now and applied to a range of issues.

What seemed like the defining issue of his administration early on, the HUD housing lawsuit, is now fully in the rearview mirror. The disagreement was never about if Westchester should build more affordable housing, Astorino explained, adding the county has exceeded the federal requirement by building 900 units. “When it was evident that the central planners in Washington were going to try to dictate who lives where in this county and what gets built, that was all out of bounds. That’s what we fought on,” he added.

He said he’s not worried if Latimer tries to tie him to the social policies of President Donald Trump. In the election four years ago, he pointed out, Democrats tried to use Barack Obama’s popularity, winning Westchester by 25 points in 2012, by making the campaign about national issues.

Astorino said voters won’t fall for it this time either. “People are smart enough to realize that neither Obama in 2013 or Trump in 2017 are on the ballot,” he said.

The vision for Westchester Astorino’s bringing to his final campaign for county executive is an “extension” of what got him elected the first time. He said he is confident his version of “fiscal common sense” coupled with the experience of two terms in office will carry him over the finish line once again.

The only question remaining is if voters still want the same thing.

Filed Under: Political Advertorial Tagged With: campaign, County Executive, politics, Rob Astorino, running

Stronger New Castle: Browde, Markels, & Pool

August 26, 2017 by The Inside Press

(L-R): Stronger New Castle’s Gail Markels, Kristen Browde, and Ivy Pool

For a Town You Love to Call Home

Your vote for Stronger New Castle will bring experienced, detail-oriented managers to Town Hall, positioning our town for a resurgence and improved quality-of-life.

We are running for Town Board because we love New Castle and know we can improve our future! We want to live in a community that is resilient in the face of change, welcoming of newcomers and diverse opinions, culturally exciting and safe for our citizens–young and old. After the 2016 elections, sitting back was not an option for us. Collectively, we feel a strong sense of responsibility to step up and do our part to ensure open, honest and transparent governance in our hometown. We bring the skills that are needed and the passion this town deserves. We are Stronger New Castle…for a town you love to call home!

Kristen Browde is a Family Law attorney working in Chappaqua, a trustee of a $2.4 billion dollar pension fund and a director of two Bar Associations. She served on the Town Board of Ethics and helped draft the revised Town Code of Ethics. Kristen sits on the Chappaqua School Board’s Financial Advisory Committee and the Town Diversity Committee. She has two children, including an eighth grader at Seven Bridges.

Gail Markels began her legal career as an Assistant DA. She has served as General Counsel and managed nationwide state and local government affairs programs for several industry trade associations, representing video games and motion pictures. She currently works as a consultant providing government affairs and legal services to trade associations and businesses. She is a co-chair of the Chappaqua Garden Club. Her two children graduated from Horace Greeley High School.

Ivy Pool is a public sector consultant whose clients include Bloomberg Associates and the Obama Foundation. Ivy has managed multi-million dollar projects for the State and City of New York. She earned a Master’s in Public Administration and is an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Ivy is Vice President and Treasurer of the Greeley Hills Neighborhood Association and a Girl Scout Troop Leader. She has two children at Grafflin, where she is active in the PTA.

This is a critical election for New Castle. There are shovels in the ground all over town and there is a new and ambiguous Comprehensive Plan. You have a clear choice: the incumbents favor large-scale development in residential areas. We’ll put your interests over those of developers.

We have the ability and the temperament necessary to work together to bring about the improvements and reforms New Castle desperately needs, and to work cooperatively with the two Town Board members you elected in 2015, Jeremy Saland and Hala Makowska.

Stronger New Castle is endorsed by the Democratic Party, the Working Families Party, the Women’s Equality Party, and Up2Us, the former Chappaqua Friends of Hillary.

Our Platform

The following platform is a practical and financially-sound vision for a town you love to call home:

1. Stronger New Castle Will Bring New Energy, Enthusiasm and Solutions to Our Hamlets

  • Revitalize Downtown Chappaqua.
  • Rezone downtown to allow for expanded and creative uses of existing spaces.
  • Solve structural challenges like traffic and parking.
  • Build a Stronger Millwood.
  • Address top concerns, such as the DOT facility, the restoration of the train station, and the bike lane on Route 100.
  • Install sewers and finish sidewalks.

2. Stronger New Castle Will Enhance Safety and Improve Infrastructure

  • Establish a Truck Safety Unit within the New Castle Police Department.
  • Conduct a full review of speed limits; invest in traffic calming measures.
  • Build sidewalks on Route 117 from downtown to Horace Greeley High School and Chappaqua Crossing.
  • Fix failing sewers in Random Farms, Riverwoods, and Yeshiva.

3. Stronger New Castle Will Protect Your Investment and Keep Taxes in Check

  • Minimize town taxes and maximize efficiency.
  • Actively pursue Federal, State, and Regional grant funding opportunities–no more missed deadlines.
  • Employ project management best practices: eliminate “no bid” contracts and multi-million dollar cost overruns.

4. Stronger New Castle Will Put Residents and our Environment First

  • Ensure a full review of environmental impacts as a precondition to any development outside of existing zoning regulations.
  • Work closely with neighboring towns on projects that impact our shared resources.

5. Stronger New Castle Commits to Open and Transparent Governance

  • Bring respect and civility to Town Hall and our meetings.
  • Honor and encourage the active participation in local government by all citizens.
  • Provide adequate notice of all town meetings, and full transparency on all board votes.
  • Improve access to information by streamlining the town website and indexing Town Board videos by topic.
  • Provide clarity on the priority, sequencing, and measurement of the actions identified in the recently adopted comprehensive plan.

For more information, please visit StrongerNewCastle.org.

Filed Under: Political Advertorial Tagged With: Gail Markels, Ivy Pool, Kristen Browde, New Castle Election 2017, Stronger New Castle

Team New Castle: Greenstein, Brodsky & Katz

August 25, 2017 by Inside Press

(L-R): Team New Castle’s Adam Brodsky, Robert Greenstein, and Lisa Katz

Getting Things Done!

We are a nonpartisan ticket. Supervisor Rob Greenstein and Councilwoman Lisa Katz are registered Democrats. Deputy Supervisor Adam Brodsky is unaffiliated. The New Castle Republican Party is endorsing us because they believe we are the best candidates for the town regardless of party. They are putting the interests of the residents and our community above all. We do the same! We are also endorsed by the Independence Party.

Four years ago, we ran for office because we wanted to change the status quo in Town government. We were frustrated by what we saw: ever-increasing property taxes, unresponsive leadership, lack of vision and little community involvement. There was absolutely no communication from our elected officials. Nothing actually got done and the Town Board made some colossal blunders with the Chappaqua Crossing and Conifer projects.

We all share a core value–we think that local government is about delivering results that residents can feel and appreciate. We are not motivated by political ambitions or ideologies, and believe in nonpartisan leadership.

Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein started the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce. He started the New Castle eNewsletter and the Town’s Distracted Driving campaign. No one works harder than Rob.

Deputy Town Supervisor Adam Brodsky is leading our Chappaqua Infrastructure and Streetscape Project. This is the biggest public works projects in recent Town history.

Councilwoman Lisa Katz led the effort to save the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center from demolition. Lisa has been working tirelessly to make the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center a fabulous amenity for our community.

We promised a new approach, and we delivered! We think the results speak for themselves …

  • Resolved Chappaqua Crossing, the most controversial land use application in our Town’s history
  • Planned and launched a massive infrastructure and streetscape project in downtown Chappaqua–all critical steps towards revitalization
  • Helped recruit DeCicco’s to Millwood
  • Saved over $3,000,000 over the course of the seven-year contract with new garbage contract
  • Saved close to $1,000,000 over the past four years with Workers Compensation premiums
  • Tripled our paving budget without raising taxes.
  • Saved the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center from demolition and turned it into an exciting new venue for music and arts performances
  • Started eNewsletter–a new communication staple in the community
  • Started the Distracted Driving initiative–currently being duplicated in other communities throughout country
  • Adopted a new Ethics Code (last amended in 1989)
  • Implemented numerous sustainability initiatives, including:
    • Reusable Bag Initiative
    • Single Stream Recycling
    • Energize NY Finance
    • Solarize Westchester
    • Westchester Power
    • Adopted new Comprehensive Plan (last revised in 1989)

Created numerous new citizen advisory committees to boost community involvement, including…

  • Mandate Relief Committee
  • Streetscape Committee
  • New Castle Arts & Culture Committee
  • Exceptional People of New Castle
  • Task Force on Health and Wellness
  • Community Inclusion and Diversity Committee
  • Community Preparedness Committee
  • The New Castle Youth Civics Action Committee
  • Downtown Business Development Committee
  • Coyote Management Task Force
  • Coyote Awareness and Safety Advisory Committee
  • Adopted new administrative policies for land use escrows, non-union employee payouts, vehicle use, anti-harassment and discrimination, and equal employment opportunity
  • Revamped Town’s website.

We continue to believe that local government should be nonpartisan. Our public service as local officials should focus squarely on the best interests of New Castle residents, and not politics and political labels. The local issues facing our Town are neither Republican nor Democrat issues.

We will continue to deliver results for our community by …

  • Restoring our infrastructure and revitalizing our business hamlets
  • Saving money and keeping taxes flat
  • Improving services and amenities for residents
  • Continuing to communicate with residents and engage the community
  • Exploring new ways to be a Green Community, such as with solar power and electric vehicles
  • Making our Town a destination for arts & cultural events
  • Paving and repairing our roads
  • Improving safety throughout our community
  • Being tireless, responsive, accessible and proactive

Once again, our nonpartisan, results-driven vision and philosophy is unique. We continue to believe that local elections should not be about politics and voting along party lines. Experience, sound judgment, work ethic and the ability to produce results matter most. The last thing we need here is more divisive partisan politics. We will continue to focus on the local issues that were ignored for so long. New Castle residents deserve nothing less. We are proud of our record of having done more in four years than in the past 25. We have dealt with the challenges we inherited and deliver results. We have the experience and drive to continue our work.

Please support Greenstein, Brodsky & Katz on Tues, Nov. 7th. Read more about our record: teamnewcastle.org

Filed Under: Political Advertorial Tagged With: Adam Brodsky, Lisa Katz, New Castle Election 2017, Robert Greenstein, Team New Castle

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