ISSUES

Water Quality, Farming, Infrastructure, Fiscal Responsibility

I have been an advocate in our community for clean water, a sustainable watershed, and programs that support our shared goal of protecting our most important nature resource. I believe and have worked under the assumption that our goal of a healthy watershed is not in conflict, opposition, or inconsistent with our need to support our farming community. My family comes from a long tradition of farming, and I understand that our local economy is supported by our farms as well as our tourism industries. We need a holistic understanding of how good farming practices, careful ditch management, and intelligent management of our watershed resources benefit us all. An overarching concern is the fiscal planning and management that allows the County to move forward with its plans and initiatives. I have been an advocate and a leading voice for the establishment of capital plans and the creation of the capital reserves to ensure that our roads, ditches, culverts, buildings and general economic developments needs can be met.

WATER QUALITY

Water is our greatest resource. It is vital to our personal health and every aspect of our economic development. Our region is blessed with an abundance of water and natural beauty. We must protect this vital resource with focus and a clear purpose. At the same time, the importance of agriculture to our region must be considered.

I am first generation off the farm, and my wife’s family has owned and operated farms in Scipio since the 1700s. I have worked alongside my brother in-law on his farm and understand and value the importance of agriculture as an industry and as a way of life. Protecting the watershed and the farming industry are not incompatible.

I have worked on water quality issues for more than a decade and have a breadth of knowledge on the key issues. First and foremost, each of us must accept responsibility for stewardship. I support efforts to limit the introduction of nutrients into our lakes through:

• Road side ditch maintenance

• Limits on shore line burning, mowing and disposal

• Septic system maintenance and inspection

• Best practice for golf course construction and grooming

• Use of best practices in all agricultural operations to control and reduce movement of nutrients and soil from the land to the lakes

• In my role as Town Supervisor, County Legislator, Legislative Chair, and Chair of the Water Quality Management Agency (WQMA), I worked to:

• Ban fracking in the Town of Scipio

• Restrict the use of fracking waste on Cayuga County roads

• Develop a working group structure for the WQMA to provide focus and direction for water quality work

• Spark community dialogue on the issues of manure run off in Cayuga County.

• And most recently sponsored a resolution calling on NYSEG to negotiate with the Finger Lakes Land Trust to preserve its Bell Station land

I will continue this record of focus and accomplishment.

INFRASTRUCTURE

If you have driven on our roads recently or read anything about the condition of our water and sewer systems, or the adequacy of our internet access, you know we have huge infrastructure needs. We have made progress, and I am proud of the role I have played, but more needs to be done. I have the foundation of knowledge, network and appreciation of what can and needs to be done and how to do it as we move ahead.

It’s time for all of us, including State, Federal and Local leaders, to get together to develop a solution that includes prioritizing road repairs and developing a meaningful strategic plan for road, culvert, and bridge repair. As Chair of the Legislature, we established a Road Capital Reserve Fund to ensure that we will have the resources we need to fix our roads and to take advantage of State and Federal dollars as we put in place a plan for permanent road and bridge repair. I am and will continue to work to ensure that all of us have affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband access, good roads, safe bridges and an infrastructure that can take us into the future.

Fiscal Responsibility

I am neither a fiscal liberal nor a fiscal conservative; I am fiscally responsible. This means that I work to keep taxes as low as possible. I vote to spend money when that expenditure is needed to promote and achieve our goals. And, I support, advocate and promote good planning so that our future is secure and our fiscal position is sound. My record shows this.

I sponsored and supported funding for our libraries, because I understand the importance of investing in literacy. I sponsored the inclusion of funds for the Community Science Institute’s (SCI) monitoring and testing of water quality on the Cayuga Lake tributaries in Cayuga County, since I understand the importance of tracking and understanding the addition of nutrients into our watersheds. As Chair of the Legislature, I offered (after consulting with the Departments of course) the staff support of County Planning and Environmental Health in the development of the Owasco Lake Watershed update of the Watershed Rules and Regulations, because I understand the critical role a healthy watershed and lake play in our lives. As Chair, I led the effort to establish capital reserve funds to fund our road repair, building renovation and economic development needs, because I understand that it is sometimes important to spend money, to set aside money, to ensure our future and that of our children and grandchildren

I am cautious and questioning with expenditure of your tax dollars, but I am ready to invest in our future.

Rural Character

Ours is a rural community. Most, if not all, of us live here in part because we value living and working close to nature in an environment of open space, farms, and of course our beautiful lakes. This rural character needs to be protected in a way that respects individual rights but understands our common need to protect our local character. I understand and am committed to this vision.