As the saying goes, “all politics is local,” but that’s not really the case if people don’t have real access to their local elected leaders.
In the Assembly, I fought to end shady back-room deals, and when I couldn’t end them I shined a bright light on it to expose the corruption. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
As County Executive, I’ve worked to bring about new era of transparency to county government.
We worked successfully with our partners in the Legislature to:
- Update the county website to make it more accessible and user friendly while making public documents more accessible to the public
- Fund a budget transparency website
- Enhance accessibility to the County Executive’s office
- Host annual constituent forums throughout the county just as I did in the Assembly.
I recognize more work is needed. We must make government meetings and other public information more readily available online to the public. That’s why in March of 2023 I introduced to the Legislature the Taxpayer Transparency Act.*
I work for you, and am held accountable by you: the people of Putnam County.
* To date, the Legislature has failed to act on the Taxpayer Transparency Act proposal introduced at the March 2023 State of the County, but did approve funding for a budget transparency website (a key part of the proposed legislation) in the 2024 budget.