One thing is certain, the current crop of candidates running to lead Rockland County are out to reshape how the county does business. And there are the proposals to prove it. Whether it’s adding a water district here, shrinking the size of departments there or reducing the number of legislators, or standing tall in the face of gun control, candidates are trying to find policy separation.
The upside to that approach is that each additional stance helps define a candidate. So, out with the old and in with the new.
Last week Democratic candidate David Fried called for the formation of the county’s own water district and yesterday he stood on the steps of the Allison-Parris County Office Building in New Hemstead, campaign signs strategically poised for optimum picture taking, and proposed reducing the number of county legislators from 17 to 11. A onetime legislator himself, Fried said the plan was a cost cutting measure.
“Rockland County can no longer afford to live beyond its means,” Fried said, referring to the county’s $100 million plus budget deficit. “On the first day of my campaign, I pledged that I will immediately cut a quarter-million dollars in senior level executive branch salary costs, including my own salary. The County Legislature must be a willing partner in restructuring county government and saving taxpayers’ dollars.”
Upon taking office, Fried said that he would immediately introduce legislation to eliminate six seats in the Rockland County Legislature, a measure that would save taxpayers $250,000 plus annually in salaries and benefits.
At face value, the proposal plays smart — cut the size of the hungry government beast. But the reapportionment measure would have a few high hurdles to pass, namely the legislature itself and then a public ballot — not to mention NY state law. And which district loses a representative? Currently Rockland’s 17 legislators represent approximately 18,000 people each. According to LoHud writer Laura Incalcaterra, Rockland was originally governed by a board of the five town supervisors, each with an equal vote despite population differences between the towns.
Fried’s Democratic opponent Suffern Mayor Dagan Lacorte said that while he agreed that the Rockland legislature is too big, he stuck to his proposal to attack the county’s fiscal problems by cleaning up the existing body. In a statement Lacorte said:
“A smaller Legislature is a great idea to save $250,000, but Dagan’s plan to reduce the county’s 60 departments, boards, and commissions by 25 percent is the only way to get Rockland out of the $100 million hole that all of his opponents helped dig.”
Additionally, Cristobal Slobodzian, Dagan Lacorte’s campaign manager said, “as an experienced executive, Dagan Lacorte does not need to conduct a public opinion poll to fix Rockland’s fiscal mess, and he won’t govern with his finger in the political winds. As Suffern’s Mayor, he passed a budget under the property tax, and reduced debt service costs.”
Presumptive Republican candidate Ed Day had an immediate response to Fried’s proposal:
“Wherever the source, no matter the party, if I come across a good idea to help the taxpayer, then I will always act on it and pursue it if it is at all feasible, and I will continue to do so,” said Day, “Kudos to Mr. Fried for his independent thinking on this issue.”
Then Day, who currently represents New City and Pomona on the legislature, one-upped Fried by saying that he would not only submit his own proposal to reduce the number of county seats but bring the legislation to the floor for a vote.
Meanwhile seasoned Democratic representative of Wesley Hills Ilan Schoenberger, and Democratic county executive candidate himself, figuratively rolled his eyes at Fried’s proposal. In the LoHud article Schoenberger said:
Under state law, reapportionment can only occur once every 10 years in response to the latest census results, Schoenberger said. Rockland County has already completed its redistricting process for the 2010 census.
It was during public input sessions on the newly drawn districts that concerns were voiced about ensuring equality across all five of Rockland’s towns, in part by not reducing the size of the board any further.
“They believed that would tilt the Legislature more in favor of the interests of a particular town at the expense of other towns,” Schoenberger said.
Rockland County is currently weighed down by excessive debt, an elephant in the room that may prevent much policy movement by a new county executive. Some candidates have been a part of that long fiscal process, voting on budgets and providing patronage. But as the county race heats up, public debate of these issues is a welcome relief — just as a big broom might do the county some good.
