Patch 2011 Elections: District 14 County Legislators

Patch has asked your candidates a set of questions. Check back each day for their answers. This week, we're looking at county candidates and next week we'll look at town candidates. Check out this for the line up this week. Today's District 14 candidates are Aney Paul and Hank Stewart. District 14 encompasses the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown: Nanuet, Spring Valley, Chestnut Ridge and New City.

Party Lines:

Aney Paul: Democrat, Working Families, Independence

Hank Stewart: Republican, Conservative

1. What community do you live in?

Aney Paul:  Nanuet

Hank Stewart: Chestnut Ridge

2. How long have you lived there?

Aney Paul: 24 years

Hank Stewart: 13 years (I was in Tappan 5 years prior to that, for a total of 18 in Rockland County)

3. How old are you?

Aney Paul: 59

Hank Stewart: 52

4. Family?

Aney Paul: Husband, Augustine Paul and three daughters who all attended Clarkstown Schools (Bardonia, Felix Festa, South High)

Marina Paul: Chemical Engineering from University of Pennsylvania; PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton

Shabana Paul: BS in Finance from Stern, NYU; MBA from Stern, NYU

Natasha Paul: BA from SUNY Albany; MPH from SUNY Albany

5. What is your education background?

Aney Paul: I am a nurse at Nyack Hospital

BS in Health Administration from St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn

Masters in Nursing with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Lehman College, Bronx

Masters in Public Health from New York Medical College, Valhalla

Hank Stewart: BA from the University of North Carolina

6. Why do you think you are qualified for this position?

Aney Paul: As a Nanuet resident for 24 years, a wife, a mother, a home owner, a taxpayer, community leader, Clarkstown Democratic Party committee member, an educator, and a nurse at Nyack Hospital, I have the benefit of understanding the values of our community as well as the challenges we all  face together.

Hank Stewart: I have the ability to listen to all sides of a situation, then think creatively about finding solutions. As a small business owner, I do this every day. I also know the importance of fiscal responsibility, and what it's like to sit in budget meetings and make difficult decisions--the kind a County Legislator has to make (especially in times like these).

7. Why are you running for this elected office?

Aney Paul: I am running for legislature, because I  feel a great debt of gratitude to my community where I live, work and raise my family. I believe, the best way to serve all the people in my community is to represent them in our County government.  Hillary Clinton says, “It takes a Village.” I want to be part of that village.

Hank Stewart: I'm running for office because I care about the well-being of my community, and I want to serve my community. I have believed this throughout my adult life. That's why I became a volunteer firefighter. That's why I joined the Chestnut Ridge Zoning Board of Appeals, volunteer with Helping Hands and coach Little League. I believe it's important to make a positive contribution to the community in which you live--to "pay rent," if you will. Running for County Legislator is simply a natural extension of that commitment.

8. What are the three issues that most concern you?

Aney Paul:

1. Excessive taxation

2. Wasteful spending

3. Quality of life of residents especially our senior citizens and volunteers

Hank Stewart:

1. The county budget deficit

2. Maintaining our supply of safe water

3. Term limits

9. Explain your proposed approach to managing these issues.

Aney Paul: Cut spending. We learned from our own experience, my husband lost his job, we have to manage with what we have. The  only way we could do was to cut our expenses.  We need to do the same thing with the County's budget.

Consolidate and avoid dupliation of services.  We need to consolidate and avoid dupliation of services between County, Towns and Villages.  For example, merging the highway departments into one under the County or transferring the County Highway Department's work to each town highway deparments .

Attracting more business.  Attracting more business will provide jobs and revenue to our County.

Hank Stewart: 1. Start to close the deficit. We have to begin to shrink the budget deficit immediately. It's costing a lot of money for us to service the debt. I look forward to seeing the budget the County Executive brings to the Legislature in the coming weeks. I will evaluate what he proposes at that time.

Sustainability. Addiditonally, I would like to bring sustainable technologies to existing county assets. For example, I would like to put solar panels on every county facility where it makes sense to do so. This will help reduce the costs of running county government, as well as create jobs and put less carbon in the air. A win-win-win.

I would also like to create a county owned and operated biodiesel facility to help fuel the county's buses and trucks. Again, this will mean reduced operating costs, additional jobs and less carbon. Ditto implementing water-saving technologies in county facilities. 

2. Stop the Patrick Farm development in its present form. I am not against development, but building 497 homes on top of one of the county's largest aquifers is irresponsible at best.

Put a hold on the desalination plant. Someday we may need such a facility, but building it today is unnecessary, and could cause our water rates to rise by as much as ten-fold.

Cut county government water use by 15%. This would mean a significant savings to the taxpayers, and demonstrate leadership on a critical issue.

3. I will give serious consideration to any term limit legislation that may be introduced. Furthermore, if elected, I will not serve more then two terms myself. Eight years is enough for the President of the United States, it's enough for me.

10. Have you held elected office before?

Aney Paul: No

11. What organizations do you belong to?

Aney Paul:

• Currently, I'm serving as President of the New City Library Board
• I’m the Founder-President of the Indian Nurses Association of New York
• a member of NAACP, where I am the Chair for Health and Wellness Program
• Jewish Community Center in West Nyack where I volunteered as an instructor for new parents
• a member of the Jamaican Civic and Cultural Association
• NYSNA
• The Haitian American Nurses Association
• Nanuet Rotary
• Nanuet Lions Club
• the India Cultural Socity of Rockland

Hank Stewart:

• Brewer Fire Engine Company Number 1
• Firemen's Association of the State of New York
• Hungry Hollow Coalition
• Drug Free Home Foundation (National Advisory Board)
• Rainforest Alliance
• National Trust For Historic Preservation
• New Victory Theater

12. Election website?

Aney Paul: aneypaul.com

Hank Stewart: www.callmehank2011.com