Burke seeks seat on county legislature

To the editor: I am Dan Burke of 11 Rye Hill Road. The Monroe Democrats have nominated me for Orange County Legislator for District 7. I am asking Monroe voters to send me to Goshen to represent them in the Orange County Legislature. We need a new majority in the legislature that will be willing to lead county government in taking on the real issues. We need the Orange County Legislature to check and balance the private club created by the present county executive. The real issues are overdevelopment, taxes and open government. The county executive has raised $500,000 to get himself re-elected. Many of his biggest donors are developers. How can he stand up to overdevelopment? The county’s master plan calls Monroe a primary growth area. We need a representative in Goshen who will protect Monroe from overdevelopment. The county executive and his majority in the legislature added three quarters of a per cent to the county take from the sales tax and they are now accumulating a surplus. My opponent recently voted to extend that increase for another two years. Now they are looking for new ways to spend the surplus instead of returning it to the taxpayer. How can these big tax takers defend us from staggering school taxes? The county executive and his majority refuse to look at the school tax issue. I have looked at it and I have a plan that will help share and reduce the burden. We all want open government. The county executive met with N.Y.C. officials regarding Camp LaGuardia and excluded all other elected officials. No one but he knows what was discussed. He started a police academy without talking with his own majority in the legislature. He dismissed two years of committee work by my opponent as a “fool’s errand.” He muscled his own financial person into the county employees’ savings plan without employee input. Instead of an open government, the county executive is running a private club.To further open government to Orange County voters, I will fight for an end to partisan redistricting. I want a non-partisan commission drawing district lines that do not look like salamanders or crabs. Politically engineered districts deny to voters a true choice. Please help me make these changes. Visit www.monroenydems.com and volunteer to help in our campaign. On Nov. 8, come out and vote and send them a message. Dan Burke Monroe