Vote Tuesday, November 5
2019 ROCHESTER VOTING GUIDE
Growing the New Town Economy by Greta Baker Everyone is aware of the great divide between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. It has polarized our country and made it difficult to agree what our nation’s problems are, let alone how to solve them.
www.rochesterdemocrats.org
Elect forward-thinking county and town leaders We believe that local government exists to serve local people. We are committed to a collaborative process of open government that gives voice to everyone in the community. INSIDE THIS ISSUE MEET YOUR COUNTY AND LOCAL CANDIDATES Pat Ryan • Lynn Archer • Dave Clegg March Gallagher • Mike Baden • Erin Enouen • Adam Paddock • Jeff Frey Elaine LaFlamme
County executive Pat Ryan (left) and legislator Lynn Archer (far right) visited Long Season Farm as part of a Town of Rochester farm tour earlier this fall to learn how county government can better partner to support local agriculture and help dynamic growers in our community expand their businesses.
TOWN OF ROCHESTER DEMOCRATS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY OPTIMISTIC. We believe that people can talk about the important issues confronting our town, county, state, and nation and find common ground through calm, rational, respectful, and informed discussion. This is not a silly idea. In a recent experiment, 523 registered voters from all over the country with diverse points of view gathered in Dallas, Texas, to spend a weekend considering and discussing immigration, health care, the economy, the environment, and foreign policy. At the end of the weekend, there were vast shifts in policy opinions across the political spectrum. Republicans shifted left. Democrats shifted right. There was more space for agreement, for collaboration.
We have seen this in our own community. Over the past 12 years, Democrats in our town government have worked with town residents and elected officials at all levels to develop and implement plans to support job creation in our community. These workable and pragmatic solutions are the result of listening and talking rather than yelling, screaming, and name-calling.
The big issues in our community are job creation, economic development and quality of life. Since the late 1980s, our region has suffered a devastating elimination of high-paying jobs from large employers like IBM, Schrade, and other manufacturers, and has seen a sharp decline in the jobs in tourist resorts. But in the past eight years we have seen an uptick in the creation of new small businesses.
Our town’s model is simple: develop zoning codes that encourage new business initiatives that also protect resident rights and the natural environment which is fundamental to our quality of life. Visitors to our community now see a vibrant economy and a workfriendly township. When they decide to move here, they bring their investment capital and ideas about how to make a good life for themselves, their families, and the many people they employ. Examples of businesses created in this way are Catskill Native Nursery, the Hudson Valley Seed Company, Country Wisdom News, Arrowood, Long Season Farm, Hollengold Farm, Westwind Cidery, RavenWood, and the Arrowhead Agricultural Center, which specializes in niche farming. Representatives from our town and county governments are actively seeking ways of supporting our agricultural sector. County executive Pat Ryan and county legislator Lynn Archer
JUDICIAL CANDIDATES FOR COUNTY AND NYS SUPREME COURT Bryan Rounds • Justin Corcoran • Michael Lynch • John Egan TOWN GOVERNMENT—WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? ABOUT VOTING IN THE TOWN OF ROCHESTER NEW! NINE DAYS OF EARLY VOTING ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TOWN OF ROCHESTER WHY VOTING LOCAL MATTERS
toured farms in Rochester on Friday, September 20. They met with farmers at Saunderskill Farm, Kelder’s Farm and several of the farms that have begun operation at the Arrowhead Agricultural Center (formerly Davis Farm). The discussions centered on increasing support for grant writing and business plan development, countywide expansion of farmers’ markets, and a centralized process for obtaining information and assistance with farm-related services. Elected officials can help make those ideas a reality.
The Town of Rochester and many of our neighboring communities in Ulster County have become an epicenter for a rural progressive movement in New York State. We are not only growing and expanding our agricultural economy—we are also rebuilding our democracy—town by town, farm by farm. Living in Rochester, we are watching a new rural political landscape emerge and firmly take root. Local growth like this gives us hope for our nation.
Local Elections Matter DON’T SIT ON THE SIDELINES VOTE NOV 5
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