Orangetown Candidate Profile: Kleiner For Town Supervisor

ORANGETOWN, NY — Rockland has several contested races in this fall's election, including in Orangetown. Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Thom Kleiner is running for Town Supervisor. His opponent is Teresa Kenny, deputy town attorney. Kleiner is running on the Democratic, Green, Independence, Working Families, Women’s Equality and Orangetown First lines on the ballot. Kenny appears on the Republican Party line.

Kleiner, 61, lives in Sparkill. An attorney, he is the executive director of the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board and the Hudson Valley regional representative to the NYS Department of Labor. He was the Orangetown Town Supervisor from 1996 to 2009.

Are you running for office in Rockland County? Contact Lanning Taliaferro at lanning.taliaferro@patch.com for information on posting campaign announcements on Patch.

Previously on Patch:

• Rockland Candidate Profile: Wolfe For County Legislature
  
• Rockland Candidate Profile: Low-Hogan For County Legislature
  
• Rockland Candidate Profile: Foley For County Legislature
• Orangetown Candidate Profile: Kenny For Town Supervisor
  
• Rockland Candidate Profile: Diederich For District Attorney
• Rockland Candidate Profile: Walsh For District Attorney

The single most pressing issue facing our community, and what I intend to do about it.

The threat of overdevelopment: Residents are palpably fearful of their quality of life being compromised by the overdevelopment occurring in Ramapo spilling into Orangetown. This is a tangible threat that affects one’s daily living, property values and piece of mind. The town has tools to protect itself which I have released in a 10-point plan (kleiner4Supervisor.com/10pointplan).

Those tools include toughening up our zoning laws and code enforcement, creating better residential notification for land use proposals and protecting vulnerable properties.

All of us must try to address the issues raised by overdevelopment without engaging in toxic and divisive political rhetoric. The town and county Republican parties have exploited this issue for political gain, even though there is very little difference between their position and that of the Democrats outside the Town of Ramapo. Their actions have not helped the situation, rather they have inflamed religious tensions, encouraged anti-Semitic acts, and pitted neighbors against neighbors without offering any tangible solutions to address the issues of overdevelopment.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have had 14 years on the job training for the position I seek and 10 additional years in state and county government that has given me the perspective, professional connections and experience to help run Orangetown. During my terms of service, we acquired surplus land at RPC to prevent overdevelopment there, built the athletic fields and paved the way for the Chase Data Center. We protected hundreds of acres of open space, partnering with state and not-for-profit partners to defray the costs. We produced the lowest tax growth of any town in Rockland during my tenure, despite having to shoulder the cost of the Magee judgment inherited from the prior administration. We delivered a major sewer upgrade that prevented odors into our air and spills into the Hudson. We piloted the Route 303 Sustainable Development Study which started the process of improving safety and aesthetics in the corridor. And I worked across the aisle to get things done with little racor, heated rhetoric or divisiveness.

I want to build on the experience I acquired on the job and afterward to bring the greatest benefit to the residents of the Town of Orangetown. My opponent has not had the breath of professional experience I bring to the position. Moreover, her party is running a relentless negative campaign, distorting and lying about my record, particularly about what the Town Board and I did for the RPC property. She has an obligation to distance herself from these tactics - which she has not yet done.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

The Orangetown Town Board has made strides in proposing legislation to challenge those who would violate our zoning laws and I support those efforts. But despite heated rhetoric and oversize lawn signs, no candidate for office or incumbent Town Board members have actually been successful lowering the tension and fear of overdevelopment. We have to do more. Additionally, the proposed Supervisor's budget would raise taxes over 4%, close the Broadacres Golf Course and eliminate a code enforcement officer at a time when fighting overdevelopment is paramount. At the same time, the Supervisor's salary is slated to rise $40,000 along with additional raises for other elected officials. I support keeping Broadacres open and hiring additional code enforcement officers. I oppose the salary increases, especially given these cuts and tax increases. My opponent supports a raise.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Stay under the NYS tax cap to keep Orangetown as affordable as possible. Attract clean rateables to those properties available for sale, such as the Pfizer/IRG campus, to grow our tax base and keep taxes down. Enforce environmental regulations to stop polluters, such as Aluf Plastics, from polluting our air. Fight to improve rail service on the Pascack Valley line and demand service improvements from New Jersey Transit and the MTA where we are already paying more in taxes than we receive in services.Demand a freeze on TZB tolls until a commuter rail alternative is made available.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

When I was in office, I had the responsibility of supervising over 300 employees and managing a $60 million budget. I achieved the lowest tax growth among Rocklnad’s five towns and increased the town’s bond rating to lower borrowing costs. I saved the Rockland Psychiatric Center from overdevelopment, invested in our sewer system to prevent overflows into the Hudson and odors into our environment and protected hundreds of acres of open space partnering with groups like Scenic Hudson to share the costs. I have the experience, temperament and dedication to give back again to the residents and those who do business in the Town of Orangetown.

The best advice ever shared with me was …

Follow your passion and you will never have a bad day at work.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have spent my entire career fighting corruption - whether it was slumlords who took advantage of tenants by not providing heat and hot water during my time with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, or unscrupulous actors who took advantage of unwitting New Yorkers and tourists with bait and switch schemes during my time at the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs. And when I was Supervisor, I opposed the powerful political forces in Ramapo -when I fought against the chicken slaughterhouse proposed by New Square in a residential neighborhood even though it cost me the 2009 County Executive election; when I was the only elected Democrat in the County to oppose the election of disgraced former Assemblyman Ryan Karben against then county legislator Ellen Jaffee and the battles I fought against former Supervisor Chris St. Lawrence on the County’s Solid Waste Authority and Sewer District. Now we have new threats - those who want to change the very nature of our communities - and we have to fight those threats as well. I am ready to do so.