Political profiles

Monroe - On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Democrats in Monroe will choose a candidate for town supervisor while Republicans will decide which of two candidates will run on GOP line in November. The Photos News asked each candidate to respond to a series of questions about his or her background and the issues ahead for the town. The answers from the two supervisor candidates in the Democratic contest appear on this page. The answers from the four people running for the two Republican positions appear on pages 20-23. They appear in alphabetical order. The list of polling places in Monroe can be found on page 19. Bob Purdy: Democratic candidate for supervisor • Background: President SaveMonroe. Married 43 years, three children, two grandchildren. U.S. Marine. Custodian Engineer 30 years. Member Local 891, AFL, CIO. Coordinator in charge of four districts. District Stewards, 160 Custodian Engineers. Involved with contract negations between 891 & NYC. Member of citywide grievance committee between locals 891, 94 & 74. Union Auditor, Union Trustee. Retired 1995 from Aviation High School, EIC. • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? The issues are simple. Look around you, uncontrolled growth, rising taxes, massive traffic, minimum wage businesses, self-interest requests for the construction of a pipeline and annexation. None of the above are addressed in the new master plan. I would re-evaluate the density issue and review the regulations of our residential zoning for the entire town. I would prioritize conservation of our natural resources, wet lands and open space. I would propose incentives to try to entice medium- to high-paying industry to the area so our young people as well as others will not have to live elsewhere. If the trend of out of controlled construction, higher taxes and low paying jobs continues, we can expect the forced exodus of many people. What happens if the market drops and homeowners are forced to foreclose due to high taxes coupled with high mortgages? What will happen if my opponents allow annexation of land and the pipeline constructed with no opposition? When you owe your council seat to a bloc vote, you can never make an independent decision. • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? I would press for a re-evaluation and legally seek ways to change zoning where possible and would insist that existing laws and codes be enforced. I would work to have practical penalties and mandatory restoration imposed for the despoliation of our wetlands. I would work to see growth curtailed significantly and taxes and traffic stabilized. I don't see the KJ pipeline and annexation doing anything positive for Monroe except providing the fuel for excessive building of new single- and multi-family houses. Therefore I am not in favor of either. • Candidate statement: I ask for your support. The main reason to elect my running mates and I is together we will be able to get the job done. We will not be beholden to any special interest group. I have not nor will I ever consider capitulating to any-special interest groups. I will do what is best for all the residents of the town of Monroe. I believe my running mates and I are the candidates that can make these claims and the only candidates that will follow through on our promises. Alicia Vaccaro: Democratic candidate for supervisor • Background: My family and I are 14-year residents of Monroe. I have a Civil Engineering bachelors degree from Manhattan College and 10+ years experience in engineering as a municipal consultant in Hudson Valley, specializing in land use, park development, water and sewer facility evaluation/rehabilitation, and grant administration and as a municipal project manager/administrator with contracts ranging from $50,000 to $5,000,000. My service to Monroe shows my commitment: Planning Board; Master Plan Committee; Girl Scout leader; Food Pantry volunteer; Autism Awareness volunteer; assisted troop in Cell Phones for Soldier campaign; member and past president, Friends of the Monroe Free Library • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? Widespread, unplanned development that has overburdened our town. This problem led me to apply for a position on the Planning Board, and further, to volunteer to be the Planning Board's representative on the Master Plan Committee. Having worked on the town's Comprehensive Plan for 18 months, I have an intimate knowledge of the issues facing Monroe. This plan addresses concerns of land use, town services, taxes, parks and recreation and creates a vision of Monroe's future, setting goals to accomplish this. Our top priority must be to complete this Comprehensive Plan, adopt it, and then implement its goals by revising the Zoning Code, giving priority to eliminating the Sewer Density Bonus, reviewing Land Use based on road capacity, beefing up our wetlands laws with meaningful fines and incorporating clustering to preserve our natural resources and open space. During this time, the town must restrict the number of building permits issued, to slow the rate of growth and allow us to engage in planning for sustainable growth. My training, experience and personal commitment qualify me to achieve these goals. • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? Keeping our taxes down. Monroe must expand its Commercial and Light Industrial zoned properties and develop these corridors. Commercial/Light Industrial businesses, like office complexes, medical arts buildings, storage facilities and warehouses, generate tax revenue far exceeding what they require in services. They also bring higher paying jobs to the area, so people who live in Monroe, can work in Monroe. I will not grant incentives to develop large retail box stores which have increased traffic and provide only low income jobs. This is not the type of development that I want to see for the remainder of Light Industrial land in Monroe. I will work with groups like Orange County Partnership to provide "shovel-ready" business locations and designate Priority Growth Corridors - highly successful practices in Chester and New Windsor. Chester's commercial tax base is 24 percent. Goshen and Woodbury are 32 percent. Monroe's commercial tax base is only 18 percent of our total taxes! Increasing our commercial tax base will enable us to provide the services that our residents demand. A responsible plan for getting our taxes under control, sensible use of our tax money, these are solutions for the critical issues facing in the next five years. • Candidate's statement: The issues that face Monroe are complex and require a person with knowledge and experience to tackle them. I AM THAT PERSON. I take positive action toward making changes that I see are needed instead of only spouting negative criticism. That is why I applied for the Planning Board position. In some instances, I've been able to compel the Town Board to hear me, but this has been too little and too slow. Running for Town Supervisor is the best way for me to use my skills, experience and tenacity toward making Monroe a thriving community. I know how to stabilize our taxes, so our seniors aren't taxed out of their homes. I know how to decrease traffic. I know how to stop irresponsible development. I know how to increase needed services without overburdening our community. I know how to stop destroying our environment. I KNOW that my commitment to accomplishing each of these goals has everything to do with how much I love my husband and three children, my understanding that you love your family as much as I love mine, and that I must do everything I can to make Monroe a Better Place for ALL of US. Don Weeks: Republican candidate for Monroe town board Editor's note: The answers below come from an interview with Don Weeks and Photo News Managing Editor Bob Quinn. The same questions posed to the other candidates were used. Background: A self-described graduate of the school of hard knocks. "All I got is a slogan: My common sense, not your dollars and cents." Chairman of the Town of Monroe's Republican Committee and a member of the Monroe Town Board since 1978. Retired owner of a commercial laundry business in Goshen. He has lived his entire life in Monroe; his grandchildren are fifth-generation Monroe residents. His son and daughter live in houses adjacent to his home on Gilbert Street, and he has set aside property for his grandchildren should they decide to live there when they grow up. Monroe, he said, "is a good town to live in." • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? "Taxes are the big issue. And I'm not picking on the school district here. But people need to read their tax bill. The town portion is under control - our town taxes are the second lowest in the county and that's not just me saying it. But people are also paying for special districts, water and sewer districts. "One of the reasons the town taxes are where they are is that I've brought in nearly $2.5 million in grants to the town (for things such as Larkin Drive, Dial-a-Bus building, carpenter's workshop, part of the Senior Citizen center). And I didn't need a grant writer. If you know these guys pretty good, you can get want you need. To those who criticize me for that, I say if Cornwall can get it, if Chester can get it, I want my share of it. "But I want to make this clear: It's not one person. Nothing is accomplished without the support of the board members." • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? "Government works slowly. There are guidelines that tie your hands. You have to understand that. We estimated it would cost $300,000 to bid out the work at the dog shelter; the bids came in at $600,000. So we have to figure out a different way to finance that. "Right now we are well-off financially. Two-three years ago, we estimated that we would receive $500,000 from the mortgage tax; we took in $800,000. Last year, we estimated we'd take in $500,000; we took in $1.5 million. Already by this July, the town has taken in $800,000. "Some day that money will dry up. That's why when we bought three large chunks of property for parks, we put money down and we'll pay them off in five years." • Candidate statement: "I chew on a cigar, so it's easy for them to say I'm a crocked politician. But everyone knows where I have breakfast every morning. And if more than two people from the town board come in, I get up and leave or tell them we have to walk across the street (to town hall). (A quorum is created when at least three of the five members of the town board are in a room together; that, in turn, creates a public meeting.) "The only reason I am running is that I couldn't take what I was seeing. They brought me up on ethics charges (a town panel later found that he was not guilty). But this is not personal. No Weeks has ever sued anyone. "I've been Republican chairman for 26 years and we've never had a local primary. We've always settled our differences within the committee. "We have got to learn to work together. They come to the town board meetings, shouting, clapping - it throws you off base. We need to talk - we might not solve it, but there's no one sitting down negotiating. And it's a shame that we have to have a state trooper sit in the back of the room. "When I first came to the board, I asked for the appointment of my opponent - Charlie Finnerty - to the Planning Board - and he's now the chairman. John DeAngelis was supervisor and he and I started the Meals-on-Wheels program when you picked up the meals that were cooked at Tuxedo Hospital in a station wagon. What made that work was the volunteers who delivered the meals. But no one has a list to check whether you are Republican or Democrat. "Monroe is a good town. It has excellent schools, a good police force, it's a good place for your family. We are not backwoods - we're within 50 miles of the financial capital of the world, of the world - and they found out about us and that's why they are buying up here. "I'm here to stay." Theresa Budich: Republican candidate for Monroe town board Background: My husband and I moved to Highland Mills in 1975 and subsequently moved to Monroe in 1983. I have four children, ages six to twenty-five. I was a founding member and past president of the M-W Special Education PTA (SEPTA), the first such organization in Orange County. I have spent most of my adult life advocating for children and families I chaired the Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Fund, and since 1994 have served as an elected volunteer member of the M-W Board of Education. I am an active member of several school-based organizations and committees. My professional career has spanned more than 30 years in wholesale and retail sales, marketing and real estate. I am a member of the Gladney Center for International Adoptions. • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? Monroe is faced with many critical issues, including over-development and the traffic it brings, soaring property taxes, the KJ pipeline and the possibility of land annexation, preservation of our green space, and protecting our recently purchased land for parks and recreation. These issues may seem insurmountable, but I believe I can begin a process that would stabilize development thereby improving our quality of life. Our current town board now has a precedent of re-zoning light industrial properties to urban residential and multi-family, as exemplified by Meadow Glen and Bald Hill. I would stop this practice immediately. I would ensure that our current zoning is enforced and that we increase fines to a level that would effectively deter anyone from the further destruction of our protected wetlands for development purposes. I would ask that the recently released Master Plan be re-visited. This document was meant to be a road map for Monroe's future. Unfortunately, it falls far short. Although it gives an excellent history of where Monroe has been, it has virtually no recommendations for Monroe's future. High taxes are forcing many of our neighbors out their homes. I see this throughout the county and state. Admittedly, school taxes make up a large part of a homeowner‘s tax bill. I have lobbied and will continue to lobby on a state level for tax reform, but until that happens I would investigate the feasibility of offering incentives to businesses and light industry. I have looked at other towns that have faced the same challenges and have found that some have been able to attract a light industrial base to offset their taxes. As a town we need to address the KJ pipeline and land annexation and the effects it will have on our town and neighboring municipalities. • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? Monroe needs to begin a process of long-term planning. Many of the issues that Monroe will face are also regional issues. We need to work collaboratively with our neighboring towns and with our county representatives to find ways to deal with these issues effectively. Any and all long-term planning must include our community's input. This can be as simple and inexpensive as placing a questionnaire on the town's Web site. We need to review and modify the Master Plan and compare it to our present zoning. We may have to make zoning changes within the confines of the law, and we need to look at traffic as a countywide issue. The residents of Monroe have lobbied for additional parks with swimming facilities and a community center for years. We need to finally start the process, develop a timetable and then adhere to it. Monroe will have to address affordable (workforce) housing. This will not be a "quick fix," but will require long-term planning to ensure that Monroe receives considerably more grant money than it has in the past. Other municipalities have been very successful at this. • Candidate's statement: Over the past three years I have been witness to an inexorable deterioration to the quality of life that first attracted me to Monroe more than 20 years ago. During this period I, and like-minded citizens, have continuously stated concerns and sought explanations from the Town Board's entrenched incumbents about their decisions and a multitude of issues that threaten that quality only to be mislead, deceived and summarily ignored. This cannot continue. This contemptuous governing body must be uprooted. People should vote for me because Monroe's constituents are entitled to forthright and accountable councilmen and women who will be responsive to the needs of all of the town's and its villages' citizens fairly and equally. People should vote for me because my eleven-plus years as an elected volunteer of the M-W school board, committed to the future of our children, supports my qualification that I am devoted to the good of the community. Peter J. Martin: Republican candidate for Monroe town board • Background: My wife, Claudia, daughter, Sarah Anne, and I moved to Monroe in 1984. In the late 80's while I was president of the Pine Tree Homeowners Association, I became engaged in the fight against Applecross - 750 units were planned where Mansion Ridge is today. Attending Planning Board and Town Board meetings and serving on the previous Master Plan Committee, I became involved in local issues and was elected to the Town Board in 1990. I received my Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. I am employed as an Information Technology Consultant. • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? The Draft Master Plan Comprehensive Update was presented in a public hearing on June 30. The committee will now decide what corrections and/or additions must be made to the draft. My priority for 2005 is to present the Master Plan Comprehensive Update to the Town Board for approval. This will allow the Planning Board to begin addressing land use changes to the Town Code. I believe the most critical issue for the Town of Monroe for 2006 is to continue taking action on the Master Plan Comprehensive Update. As chairman of the Update Committee, I am very well prepared to help the Town Board address issues presented in the plan and to act as a liaison to the Planning Board to help expedite the process. My priority for 2006 is to complete changes to the Town Code that are related to land use and to open the dialogue on providing affordable housing in the Town of Monroe. This is a necessary resource for both our community workforce and our senior citizens. Our children and our parents deserve the opportunity to remain in the community that they call home. It is vital for our community health that we find a solution to this problem. • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? The Master Plan Comprehensive Update will be used to support the many important future decisions that are vital to our community. Detailed information has been included on a myriad of topics including natural resources, transportation, open spaces, recreation, social resources, and affordable housing. The town can resolve many of these issues. Open spaces and parks, for example, are already being addressed. We are solving our local traffic issues through the planning process with solutions such as the Rye Hill Collector and turning lane improvements that are being provided by developers. I believe that regional traffic problems are our most important long-term concern because we cannot resolve these issues on our own. Regional issues require inter municipal cooperation. I attend the meetings of the Southeast Regional Traffic Task Force. Recently, with the help of Congresswoman Sue Kelly, federal funding has been designated for improving the Routes 32 and 17 interchange with the Thruway and a transportation study for the extension of Larkin Drive to County Routes 208. This is a demonstration of the power of municipal cooperation I will continue to work for inter municipal cooperation with this group to ensure the success of current projects and to help resolve future regional traffic problems. • Candidate's statement: On the evening of my first Town Board meeting in 1990, I presented an Updated Code of Ethics Local Law that is Chapter 4 of our Town Code. Since that first day in office, my actions continue to demonstrate my belief in open government that respects and is fair to all residents. Being fair is a two-way street. It requires examination of both sides of an issue. Being fair does not always result in a popular decision. Being a councilman is not and should not be about being popular, it must be about being fair. Over the years I have been very much involved with the budgetary process. I am proud that my suggestions have resulted in tax savings for our residents. I will continue to work as hard in the next term as I have in the past to maintain the stable tax rate that we have enjoyed for the past 15 years. I very much appreciate the effort and commitment of the Master Plan Update Committee and am very proud of the document that we produced. I am anxious to continue this work by crafting local laws and policies to make the recommendations of this document a reality. Kathy Parrella: Republican candidate for Monroe town board • Background: I've been a member of this community since moving here as a child in 1973 and I've witnessed the many changes that Monroe has experienced throughout my life. Four years ago I co-founded The Preservation Collective, a community planning organization, committed to raising public awareness and involvement in local issues. I serve on the Board of Directors of Orange Environment Inc., where I'm involved in protecting the environmental health of our county and our region. With a professional background in Information Technology and as an experienced project manager, I believe I possess the skills needed to execute a timely plan for addressing our future. • What is the critical issue residents of Monroe face in the next year, and what can you as a member of the town board realistically do about it? I believe the most critical issue Monroe faces is growth and the effects of growth on our quality of life. We can see this in our daily lives as we try to drive through town or as we watch land cleared for yet another housing development. This growth is not just in Monroe, but in our neighboring towns and villages as well. It is a regional issue, not just a Monroe issue and that's why this problem needs regional solutions. Monroe does not exist in a vacuum and should not continue to act as if it does. I propose as a member of the town board that I would reach out to the towns and villages around us (especially those within the M-W School District) and put a plan in place to work together to address the growth we are all experiencing. Only together, can we begin to control and manage the growth that affects us all n be it in rising taxes, increased traffic, or the irreplaceable loss of our surrounding landscape. • What will be the critical issue facing residents of Monroe five years from now, and what can you as a member of the town board begin to do about it? I believe we face two major issues in need of positive leadership. First, having a strategy to manage future growth is the key element of any plan. Even if managed properly, our community will grow. Facing that fact and planning for it is crucial. Having an updated Master Plan is a first step, but it must have a clear vision. More importantly, the laws and codes to implement this vision must be adopted in a timely manner. This is what will protect us five, even ten years, into the future. This town cannot continue to have haphazard and infrequent changes to our zoning law if we are to effectively address this issue. These decisions and their implementation need to be a top priority. Secondly, as we have grown, and will grow, this town needs to foster its own sense of community. Bringing our residents together with adequate recreation facilities and fostering a community center are ways to bring this about. In a town referred to as the "lake region," it is inexcusable that we have only one public access area to our numerous scenic lakes and no swimming facilities. Development of a waterfront recreational area should be explored. Grant money should be investigated and used effectively to accomplish these types of goals and offset any costs to the taxpayer. • Candidate's statement: Five years ago, I became involved because I was very concerned about the direction that my hometown was headed in. I began attending town meetings, public hearings and contacting people who had been active in their communities trying to make a difference. This opened up a whole new world for me - a world of land use regulations, comprehensive planning, conservation and environmental protection. Not to mention the workings of our local Monroe government. It has been a very educational process. However, while this education opened my eyes even wider to the problems facing Monroe, it also confirmed my determination that I had to try to do something about it. That is what I have been doing as a community advocate for five years. That is why I'm committed to working to enhance and protect this town that I love, where I grew up, and where my husband and I are raising our family. There is still so much that can be done for Monroe, if we have a government dedicated to putting community interests first. I would be honored to have the opportunity to do so as your council person.