Candidates Face Resident questions

Senator Vincent Leibell and County Legislator Mary Ellen Odell. Diana Culhane In a debate that placed candidates before an audience of eager, answer-hungry residents, issues like term limits, attracting and maintaining local commerce, and taxation were cause for lively and sometimes prickly discussion.

Co-sponsors and moderators, The League of Women Voters, called the forum, held on Tuesday evening, one of the most “spirited” debates they’ve hosted. Seated before a packed VFW Hall in Carmel, were candidates from Legislative District 9, Tony Fusco and Anthony DiCarlo, who was absent due to a family emergency (his son, also Anthony DiCarlo, made the opening statement); County Executive, Mary Ellen Odell and Vincent Leibell; County Court Judge James Rooney; 99th Assembly DIsitrc, Steve Katz and Jim Borkowski; and 40th Senate District, Mary Beth Murphy and Greg Ball.

After Fusco stepped off the platform, Candidates Mary Ellen Odell and Vincent Leibell took their seats to much audience applause. In his opening statement, Leibell began expressing how thrilled he was to be coming back to Putnam County. “What an unusually great place that Putnam County is. Having said that, we have some great challenges in front of us,” he said, noting the failure of leadership and unsatisfactory tax structure.

Odell also opened with the problems facing the county, her comments harping on the out of control spending coming from Albany. “We asked for reform in Albany and they gave us nothing,” she said. “The spending in Albany is out of control, much of it is self serving. We cannot afford Albany in Putnam County.”

When opened to audience questions, one resident from Carmel came forward requesting an explanation from Leibell regarding the $300,000 that was given to his own foundation and trusts from 2008 to 2009. Leibell quickly denied that they were his foundations. He urged residents to come see what the housing projects have done for the county. “The commissioner of housing has said that we probably have the best housing projects anywhere. And I might add that you’re well familiar with what happened in Westchester County and how the federal government hit them. I think it’s a sign that we’re building our own, and that we will not be sanctioned by the federal government.”

Odell seized the opportunity to thank “mindful” citizens for looking into these issues. “I don’t understand why elected officials think its okay to take public funds for private or land development projects. I think there’s an inherent conflict of interest there,” Odell continued.

In issues of small business and attracting new businesses to New York, the MTA tax was cited a major obstacle and deterrent. Odell said it was paramount to create new jobs. “Everybody’s leaving,” she said, referring to businesses. “And they’re leaving because Albany has out-taxed them, not Putnam County; we didn’t out-tax them, Albany outtaxed them. There’s no incentive for them to be here, they’re going down South. And now with the MTA tax, it’s even a bigger struggle.” She went on to call the MTA tax brutal to our economy.

However, Leibell faulted county government for the lack of economic development. “As long as I’ve watched in Putnam County, we have the short end of the stick. We have not had a county government that has been aggressive. We have not had a county government that is out there seeking to bring good, clean businesses into Putnam County. They’re going all around us, from Northern Westchester to Danbury, Connecticut to Dutchess County. They skip right over us, and there’s a reason for that because those that have been in charge in county government haven’t cared.”

When Jim Borkowski and political newcomer Steve Katz began their discussion, the topic quickly went from dealing with illegal aliens and the Second Amendment, back to attracting new businesses to the state. Borkowski, who was first to respond, empathized with local, small business paying “through the nose” in taxes. “Unfortunately New York State is one of the most business unfriendly states in the United States. New York State is a tax hell, and the latest tax which is punching our businesses is the ridiculous MTA tax.”

Katz referenced Empire Economic Zones, which encourage new business to move into a specific area because of lower taxes and incentives, as a solution. “I say, turn the entire state into an Empire Economic Zone. Why is it that you have to move to East Brooklyn in order to open a business, when you have a beautiful Hudson Valley here,” he explained.

For candidates of the Senate’s 40th District, Assemblyman Greg Ball and Somers Town Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy, subjects ranged from the enormous tax burden on residents, to a more heated matter of citizenship for children of illegal aliens. But the final question of the debate addressed another one of the reoccurring topics: term limits. Both acknowledged that term limits were absolutely necessary. While Murphy agreed, as did all the evening’s candidates, she also mentioned that there are often objectives that take time to meet.

“I believe that it does take a certain amount of time to really get work done,” Murphy said. “I know that from my role as supervisor that often to really get something important accomplished it can take two or three years to get the job done, but I do support term limits.”