Take Action: Local Political Questionnaire
Your executive committee is distributing the following Questionnaire to local political candidates. Contact us to see how the candidates in your local race answer, and then check our website later to check our endorsements:(First, please give your Name, Address, Party, Office(race), District.)
- List any environmental organizations to which you have belonged and when, as well as your top environmental accomplishments. Who is your environmental adviser?
- Do the towns in your district have open space plans? What planned growth policies, land use techniques, and incentives for preserving open space and avoiding suburban sprawl do you support?
- What would you do to strengthen regional planning? [NYS has a strong tradition of municipal home rule, but this makes any regional planning difficult. At present a local town planning board can overrule a decision of the county by a simple super-majority vote.]
- How can you help local and organic farms? Do you advocate zoning and tax incentives or other techniques to protect farmland and forest land?
- How would you support expanding the use of sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar power in New York state? Do you support requiring government use of these sources, and providing tax incentives for private citizens to use them? Do you support sustainable building practices such as use of alternative building materials?
- What are your thoughts about residential versus business development, and on public transportation? Would you promote a pedestrian/bicycle-friendly environment?
- Do you believe the Pesticides Neighbor Notification Law is satisfactory in its current form? Do you believe that government should decrease its use of non-agricultural pesticides and herbicides and increase its use of low-impact landscaping? Would you ban the use of herbicides on highway rights-of-way?
- How can you help prevent over-development on aquifers and wetlands (such as along Rt. 299 in the Town of Lloyd outside of New Paltz)? How can you help protect wetlands and watersheds of any size?
- What is your position on the proposed development for Belleayre and other projects of this type?
- What is your position on the "Bigger Better Bottle Bill" (which would require a 5 cent deposit on containers of bottled water, iced tea, juice, and other non-carbonated beverages, and return the unclaimed deposits to the State to be used for environmental protection programs)?
- Do you support a mandatory private well-testing law? Why or why not? What should be done to locate contaminated wells in the state? Do you believe that renters should be notified when their building or place of business has vapor intrusion issues?
- List any environmental issues which are at the forefront in your district or community and state your position on them.
- Basically, how would you help bring your district or community more clean air, clean water, and open space, and less sprawl and pollution? How do you envision making your community more liveable?