For Strong
I am thrilled that Pat Courtney Strong is running to be our next County Executive.
I have known Pat for more than 20 years and have firsthand knowledge of her business skills, her wide experience working with local governments on alternative energy issues and, most importantly, her character.
As County executive, she will cost-effectively steer our county to even greater heights. I urge voters to visit her campaign web site, get involved and back a real winner; Pat Courtney Strong.
Glenn Gidaly
New Paltz
Ryan promises Green New Deal
Climate change is the biggest threat facing our planet, and Ulster County can be a leader in fighting back. With the Trump administration gutting the Environmental Protection Agency and undermining key regulations like the Clean Power Plan, it’s up to our local government to act.
That is why, as a Democratic candidate for County Executive, I’m calling for a Green New Deal in Ulster County. This is a game-changing set of policies that is gaining momentum on the national level, but we can’t wait for Congress to start solving this problem. We can be a leader in the state and in the country on this issue. As County Executive, this will be my #1 priority.
What does a Green New Deal for Ulster County look like? As County Executive, I will immediately transition 100% of the county government’s energy production to renewable sources. I will create a Green Jobs Program in partnership with organizations like SUNY Ulster, Ulster BOCES, and local businesses to train residents with the skills to get jobs in alternative energy production. I will work to block dirty energy projects, including the Glide Path fracked-gas plant and achieve 100% Clean Power across the county by 2030. And I will create an Ulster County Climate Action Council, tasked with making the county carbon neutral by reducing emissions.
Some might say that these goals are too aggressive, but we simply cannot wait to act. Scientists recently reported that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record, and without policies to address this crisis, we will likely see irreversible changes in many of our lifetimes. Ulster County is already a leader on this issue, and a model for other communities of how to both protect our environment and grow our economy. Let’s build on this momentum to fight back against climate change and create good-paying jobs right here in Ulster County.
Pat Ryan
Gardiner
Support Pat Courtney Strong
One candidate in the Ulster County Executive race has worked on climate change for more than a decade, helping businesses and municipalities convert to alternative energy. One candidate has a proven track record of building consensus and bringing people of diverse backgrounds and opinions to the table to get things done. One candidate has co-founded the Business Alliance of Kingston and the Made In Kingston arts expo to help revitalize the city and create jobs. One candidate helped establish a program to find housing, employment and services for ex-offenders returning to Ulster County. That person is Pat Courtney Strong — businesswoman, environmentalist, social justice activist and candidate for Ulster County Executive. I’m for Pat Strong because she doesn’t just talk about ideas, she makes them reality.
Ruth Levine
Woodstock
Ryan the perfect candidate
I am the senior class president at New Paltz High School, a student activist and an avid runner, but I am still scared of my school day turning into a shower of bullets. At first I did not know how to speak out, until I spoke to Patrick Ryan at one of his congressional events. I told him how scared I was on a daily basis. He hugged me and immediately started a passionate response on how he was going to tackle this terrifying issue. A month ago I heard Pat was running for Ulster County Executive! As a high school student and an active member of our community I believe that his candidacy has the potential to bring a more youthful and progressive face to Ulster County.
Pat called for a Green New Deal as his first major policy initiative, a platform championed by liberal Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His proposal would hire hundreds of people in Ulster County to build green infrastructure, a program that would stimulate our economy and help our environment. Pat’s powerful progressive language when calling for a Green New Deal speaks to his best quality, standing up for what is right even if it is a tough fight.
Pat decided to boldly speak against gun violence like no other candidate in the county. While serving in Iraq, Pat held the weapons of war that many progressives want off our streets today. He launched his congressional campaign to directly speak out against gun violence and advocate for reforms. He held forums, published videos, and gained a following of student activists who directly feel the threat everyday in their classrooms. He took a hard stance in his congressional campaign and stuck to it.
Pat founded a small business and grew his company from 5 to 150 employees with a multi-million dollar budget. Pat Ryan is the only candidate in this race with the proven experience that is needed to be the Ulster County Executive
In every way Pat is the perfect candidate for Ulster County Executive. His progressives ideals fused with his experience as an executive and candidate make him uniquely qualified for the office of County Executive. Pat joined the army because he felt a call to service for his county, Pat ran for Congress because he felt a call to service for the Hudson Valley, Pat is running for Ulster County executive because he feels a call to service for everyone in this community
Evan Holland-Shepler
New Paltz
Who decides about art?
Do we need an arts commission who will ultimately pick the winners and losers in the field of the arts? Will this commission ultimately recommend/decide which pieces of historical displays remain and which are no longer significant; for example as we see many statues of former military officials or confederates now being removed even though they are part of our nation’s history?
Will the members of this commission get paid or receive a stipend or get taxpayer funding for their expenditures? Rather considering the idea of an artist’s union would be better than this notion of trying to control yet one more thing — now the latest being freedom of expression in the arts.
Gaetana Ciarlante
Saugerties
No ‘dumbing it down’
With the continual dissemination of media coverage related to government operations and politics, some of what is being reported as factual, truthful and/or accurate is not. There are numerous reasons why one cannot always trust or believe what is being presented to us. Sometimes political candidates will fabricate fictitious problems that do not exist in the level of government that their desired political office operates within. When this happens, voters are tricked into believing that fictitious problems can be solved by simple solutions. In reality, governmental operations are very detail oriented, and solutions are quite often sophisticated and not simple. Unfortunately, another reason why the information presented to us about politics is not always accurate is because far too many people running for political office do not know what they are talking about on multiple levels. Disturbingly, far too many of these types of politicians actually get elected to office!
In reality, the laws that govern federal, state, county and local government(s) are specific and detail-oriented in how levels of statutory laws supersede one another and under what circumstances such superseding processes apply towards regulating governmental procedures and policies. Certain areas of law are multi-layered, and far too many elected officials do not understand how these laws and regulations supersede one another.
As an elected official, it is quite shocking to me how many local-level politicians lack a clear and correct understanding of these home rule-based processes determine which laws govern specific processes within governmental, municipal and election law(s). Far too often, statements made by local-level politicians demonstrate how they do not understand how these processes work within the framework of governmental processes. A lack of understanding on how such processes work is one of the things that separates some local-level politicians from more well versed politicians on the state and federal levels. While I served as an elected official, I was often told by hundreds of voters that I should run for state or federal office, because they were so impressed with how much knowledge I shared with them about governmental operations and processes.
When I first ran for office and began publishing letters in this publication, I was told by several political insiders that my letters were too long, and that I needed to “dumb it down for the voters.” When a friend told me that she was so proud of me for running for office and that she “couldn’t wait to vote for me,” I replied, “Some people are telling me that my letters are too long, and I need to dumb it down for the voters.” In response, she strongly said to me “don’t listen to them Chris, they have been dumb-ing it down far too long for us, keep doing what you are doing.” I will never dumb it down for the voters, as you always deserve truthful and accurate information!
Chris Allen
Saugerties
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