Pine Plains Candidate Profiles 2009

PINE PLAINS

Name: A. Gregg
Pulver (Incumbent)

Position running for,
term length:
Town Supervisor, two years

Political party:
Republican, also endorsed
by Hometown Party

Age: 49

Town: Pine Plains

Years lived in town: 46

Occupation: Farmer

Marital status, children: Married to Tonya Pulver, one child, Claire, 18

Names of boards served
on during last five years: Pine Plains Town Board.

Explain what you think is the biggest issue facing your town and how you plan to address that once in office.

The implementation of our new zoning ordinance: As this is Pine Plain’s first zoning ordinance, we need to make sure that it is implemented fairly and equitably. As with any new law, it will take time to fully understand the ramifications and make the necessary adjustments.

The budget: This may be the toughest budget in my 10 years a supervisor. We are seeing revenue shrink and more unfunded mandates passed down to local towns. Additionally, I applied for and received over $750,000 in grant money for the town of Pine Plains in the last 10 years.

Community Center: We are very proud that this year marked the opening of our brand new library/community center. We hope to expand the programs and offerings within the community center.

What kind of role can you play in helping to revitalize the town?

I believe that the job of town government is to provide opportunities for new businesses that equate to new jobs for the town. I believe we have facilitated this by providing the road map for the revitalization of the hamlet area in the new zoning ordinance. The zoning ordinance also provides for the expansion of that business district if, and when, that need arises. We have also provided, in the last 10 years, new infrastructure in the forms of new water mains, sidewalks and street lighting. The board has always provided sound fiscal strategies for the town to keep taxes in check, and when elected I will continue to do so.

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Name: Richard Butler
(Incumbent)

Position running for,
term length:
Town Council, four years

Political party: Republican, also endorsed by
the Hometown Party

Age: 52

Town: Pine Plains

Years lived in town: 49

Occupation: Service technician at Pine Plains Tractor & Equipment

Marital status, children: Married to Linda Butler, one child, Meghan

Names of boards served on during last five years: Pine Plains Town Board

Explain what you think is the biggest issue facing your town and how you plan to address that once in office.

Town Board and Planning Board experience has taught me there is no single issue that should dominate any board’s time or deliberations. Following re-election, I will continue to make decisions on finance, public health and safety, and cultural and social issues before the board using the same open-minded and fair approach that has served both the community and myself well in the past. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and eager to continue.

What kind of role can you play in helping to revitalize the town?

The enactment of zoning provides defined structure and clear benchmarks for potential entrepreneurs and commercial developers, as well as anyone wishing to expand an existing business. This is in contrast to a site plan review process that could be less well defined and cumbersome at times. We can provide incentives for the creation of new business that includes new job opportunities within the town.

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Name: Sandra
Griffin David

Position running for,
term length:
Town Council, four years

Political party: Democratic

Age: 64

Town: Pine Plains

Years lived in town: 23

Occupation: Artist, weaver and former teacher

Marital status, children: Widowed with one grown daughter

Names of boards served
on during last five years: Chair of the Special Committee to Review the Pine Plains Comprehensive Plan of 2004

Explain what you think is the biggest issue facing your town and how you plan to address that once in office.

 The most important issue facing Pine Plains is how to grow the economy and revitalize the town center without forsaking our rural character. I believe that the board needs an infusion of new thinking to deal with this issue. I will ask the people of Pine Plains for their ideas and approach the issue creatively. I will encourage the board to sponsor town forums to give the citizens an opportunity to express their ideas, and I will listen to them. I will push to have the town Web site be more informative and interactive. And I will be a strong negotiator when an NND is proposed. I will challenge anyone who threatens our rural character, our town center, or only looks backward for economic models for our town.

What kind of role can you play in helping to revitalize the town?

I believe the revitalization of the economy of Pine Plains should be based on its wonderful assets. We have been a farming community for centuries and are only 100 miles from New York City. There has been much talk of the new future of food, eating local and organic foods and we need to capitalize on these trends. We need to be proactive in providing farm-friendly policies in our town and encourage new approaches to farming. Pine Plains also has spectacular natural beauty and recreational possibilities. Promoting recreational and agricultural tourism as well as encouraging complementary businesses would bring in needed dollars while keeping our rural character.

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Name: Rosemary
Lyons-Chase

Position running for, term length: Town Council, four years

Political party: Democratic

Age: 60

Town: Pine Plains

Years lived in town: 54

Occupation: Part-time professor of English at Columbia-Greene Community College, partner in Chaseholm Farm

Marital status, children: Married to Barry Chase, three children, Farley, Rory and Sarah

Names of boards served on during last five years: Pine Plains Central School District Board of Education

Explain what you think is the biggest issue facing your town and how you plan to address that once in office.

The lack of balance on the Town Board weakens our town. Presently, the members agree, and very little dissent is heard. I will bring a fresh voice to important issues, a dialogue.

I believe that we must have economic growth to maintain our town’s vitality. Our strong sense of community is clear in celebrations such as the recent ag day parade, our parade of lights at Christmas, and our Memorial Day parade. It’s clear in the Lions Club, in our revitalized town recreation program and in church programs such as our Methodist Church thrift shop. We see it in our firefighters and our rescue squad. We want growth yet we want to protect our identity.

What kind of role can you play in helping to revitalize the town?

I agree with my colleague, Sandra David, that we must promote local tourism, especially recreational tourism, which can flourish in our rural trails up Stissing Mountain and around Thompson Pond, in our village restaurants. We should also support small-scale farming efforts, such as vegetables, sheep or goats, flowers or herbs. Why not support a green market in Pine Plains? We should campaign to encourage support of local businesses. Buy local and support local business should be our town motto. I want to explore grant options for these projects.

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Name: Dorean M.
Gardner (Incumbent)

Position running for,
term length:
Town Council, four years

Political party: Republican, also endorsed by the
Hometown Party

Age: 56

Town: Pine Plains

Years lived in town: 56

Occupation: Self-employed, Earle M. Gardner Trucking, Inc.

Marital status, children: Richard Waldorf, life partner, daughter, Tonya Pulver

Names of boards served on during last five years: Town Board

Editor’s note: Gardner answered both questions with a single response.

Explain what you think is the biggest issue facing your town and how you plan to address that once in office. What kind of role can you play in helping to revitalize the town?

I think the biggest issue facing the town right now is the zoning issue. Perhaps we have actually developed an acceptable form now. It has been well over 20 years in the making, and since the occurrence of 9/11, one that is needed. I realize that we cannot please everyone, but we have tried to address major concerns while keeping this new law defensible. We must let business come to Pine Plains so that we can ease the tax base burden so that Pine Plains stays affordable for our young people and our seniors alike. How this eventually works out seems like a very large task right now in this economic climate, but who can come to Pine Plains and not like it here? I have traveled across our great country twice and have not found a place I liked better. This is and will always be my home, and I will try to keep it a place where I can live, and be proud of, and can afford to stay.

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