Democrats Release 2013 Platform
Today the Hudson Democratics released their 2013 platform, adopted on Wednesday, July 31, by the Hudson City Democratic Committee. The first plank in the platform is taxes. The democrats call the current tax burden "too high and unsustainable in the long run" and declare their support for initiatives that "increase housing density to help drive down taxes."
Historic preservation is also included in the platform, although among the dozen planks, it is at the bottom. The platform articulates the position that the rehabilitation and maintenance of historic buildings "enhances neighborhood pride and stability" and that rehabbing buildings "represents labor-intensive activities that bolster our local economy and increases our tax base."
The other planks in the platform address economic development and jobs, government transparency, diversity in employment at all levels of city and county government, waterfront development that follows the principles of smart growth, reducing and mitigating the impacts of truck traffic, preserving the city's natural resources, promoting community policing and recruiting officers who reflect the city's diversity, balancing the weighted voted, greater protections for tenants, and enhanced public services.
Next Sunday, August 11, the Democrats officially open their 2013 campaign headquarters at 6 South Second Street with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The candidates will be present, and refreshments are promised.
I'm hardly shilling for the local GOP - far from it - but Common Council President Moore promised transparency years ago and then never delivered. Where secrecy is concerned, he's a routine offender. So as long as the party is endorsing Moore its promise of "transparency" is totally hollow. They should have avoided the issue.
ReplyDeleteMr. Moore's lack of transparency is at the center of the failed LWRP (he's obliged to inform his constituents, whereas Roberts hasn't any). The Local Waterfront Revitalization program was never submitted to the state for authorization. Today we're informed that the Democrats will revive "the Waterfront Development Plan." The WDP? What's that?!
Rather, what's stopped the Democrats from reviving the LWRP already, right now? And exactly who would the Democrats be arguing against to revive the LWRP? Themselves? It's an embarrassment, and it should have been left out.
The Democrat's proposal to split the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) will increase the toxicity and amount of stormwater run-off into the city's South Bay. The Republicans boast the identical plan, which doesn't "decrease" but actually INCREASES stormwater run-off. Do any of these people even understand the issue? (Victor Mendolia was wise to leave this out of his own press release.)
Notice how our two different "truck traffic" issues - the state route and O&G's one-way use of the streets below 3rd - have been conflated into one issue. There's a sneaky reason for doing that, and it's working against a poorly-informed public. (At the crux of this sneakiness: Cheryl Roberts, who's both a Democrat and Republican appointee.)
Do the Democrats really support policing? They might get the Common Council to support Chief Moore's approach of paying attention to "the small things."
What branch of city government decided to install a pet waste station at the waterfront park where dogs are forbidden from entering? (See: §70-4A(11)). Maybe it's the mayor's bright idea, I don't know. But it's a contradiction between policies and laws that would be typical of our lawmakers. What does it tell the HPD and residents about the city's seriousness concerning the "small things" if the code book is chugged with meaningless ordinances which the aldermen themselves don't even pay attention to?
This platform should have been a first draft. It's not a very promising start.
I thought that Victor's was good though, for those who've had a look.