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Health & Fitness

What's The Upcoming Election All About?

Linda Kabot, WRITE-IN candidate for Southampton Town supervisor, details some of her viewpoints on various policy issues.

In essence, the 2011 race for Southampton Town Supervisor boils down to two things: CHOICE and TRUST.

I am running as a WRITE-IN candidate to provide voters with a CHOICE.

I am encouraging voters to WRITE-IN my name on the Election Day ballot as a REAL CHOICE and alternative to current Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst.

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Because it is past the deadline for me to get my name on the ballot, I NEED YOU to print my name in the WRITE-IN box at the bottom of Column #15 for Supervisor. 

I need you to stand up for me, like I stood up for you – the taxpayers. 

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In her campaign ads and speeches, Anna Throne-Holst quotes the February 2010 Moody’s analysis on the Town’s bond rating which was actually issued a mere six weeks after she took office as Supervisor.  The Moody’s review encompassed the years 2008 and 2009, when I was supervisor and all the actions I spearheaded to correct the numerous fiscal problems that I brought to light from the past. Moody’s credited my administration with swift, effective leadership and all my initiatives to fix the financial mess, safeguard our credit rating, cut millions in Town spending and institute tighter controls.  THE FACTS DON’T LIE.

The record reflects that I was the one who took responsibility in 2007, 2008, and 2009 to confront the financial problems head on and right the ship. Despite her claims to the contrary, Anna Throne-Holst did NOT do the heavy-lifting.  I led the charge, marshaled the resources and worked with key Town administrators successfully bringing the financial mess under control and through the necessary restatement process to put our Town back on the right track with sound fiscal management.  Read the actual Moody’s reports from February 2010 and August 2010; review the comprehensive audits that I initiated and the strategic financial management plans that I implemented, as well as the audited financial documents that span the years 2008, 2009, and 2010. Those are the years that I crafted the operating budgets, corrective actions, slashed government spending and improved fund balances to ensure fiscal stability. 

I ran in a primary in 2007, and upon election as Supervisor, I kept my promise to do away with misleading budget practices, wasteful spending, and excessive patronage of the past.  As Supervisor, I provided the leadership necessary to address budget deficits and hold the line on property taxes.  I worked tirelessly for you, through December 31, 2009 to enable Southampton Town to have a brighter future.

Despite her political posturing, Anna Throne-Holst cannot lay claim to these accomplishments. The truth is that in 2009 and 2010 she was busy building coalitions and cozy relationships and endlessly criticizing me when she served as Councilwoman.  The truth is she is masterful at manipulating the facts.   Some people are experts at spin, others are skillful at getting things done.  DON’T BUY INTO HER FALSE CLAIMS THAT I HAVE A REVISIONIST HISTORY.   THE FACTS DON’T LIE.

As President Abraham Lincoln wisely stated: “You may fool all of the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

WHO CAN YOU TRUST to provide strong, independent leadership?

WHO CAN YOU TRUST to do the right thing?  Bring back a KNOWLEDGEABLE Supervisor who knows how to get things done and done right. 

RESTORE HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND CAPABILITY to the Supervisor’s Office. 

Write-In Linda Kabot for Supervisor to bring back COMPETENCE AND CIVILITY.

People know that I am hard-working and truly care about our community. 

As a property owner and taxpayer, I can provide BETTER REPRESENTATION as your Town Supervisor.  As a lifelong resident, I know every corner of our Town and am conversant on the issues that are important to community members throughout Southampton Town, from Eastport to Sag Harbor, from Flanders to Sagaponack.

You know that I have been a leader over the years in closing zoning loopholes, working tirelessly to complete hamlet studies to update comprehensive plans and implementing more stringent requirements to protect community character and facilitate our local economy.  I will ensure proactive code enforcement because it is important to protect the quality of life in our neighborhoods, maintain our property values, and public safety.

You know that I have been an advocate for the environment, for our seniors, our disabled, our community youth, volunteer fire and ambulance emergency responders, and for our local businesses.  If elected Supervisor, I will continue to champion the causes that are important to the people who live and work here in Southampton Town.

I am truly grateful for the support of so many people from all walks of life, from all political stripes, throughout our Town. 

For me, it’s about service above self.  Southampton needs a person at the top who won’t do you wrong, won’t lie to you, mislead you, and get all wrapped in  ego.   Unfortunately these “conduct-related issues” provide a view into the dark underbelly of the political scene and what is unfortunately going on in our local government.  This “negative background music” is an undercurrent that is pulling Southampton Town in the wrong direction.

I will bring about positive change as Town Supervisor.  I will ensure that office-holders remember that it is their duty to work in the public interest and that government officials ought have respect for other points of view.  Public servants should not be dismissive towards constituents and create a chilling effect on Town Board meetings.   All Town residents should be able to feel that their opinion counts and that they have an important say in local government.   Town officials and employees should not engage in ego-centric conduct and other inappropriate behaviors. 

As Town Supervisor, I want to change that and put Southampton Town back on track.   For protection of our small town way of life and to keep partisan politics out of Town Hall, I am asking voters to support my Write-In Campaign on Election Day.

It’s about GOOD GOVERNMENT and serving the people with HONOR AND INTEGRITY.

I will continue to be an independent voice for all of Southampton.  I will provide balanced representation.  Over the years, I have demonstrated that I am a dedicated, hard-working public servant who is knowledgeable and responsive to our community needs.

I will provide voters with proven leadership you can count on.   I have and will continue to fight for greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency in our local government.  I will not allow communication lines to break down with residents and taxpayers, or direct that only “a positive spin” be fed to the media.  Informing the public about what is really going on in the Town is essential.  Public Officers Law states: “A free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of government actions.  The more open a government is with its citizenry, the greater the understanding and participation of the public in government.”  This is clearly not the case under the Throne-Holst administration.

I am proud to offer my strength of character, courage, and credentials to the voters to provide you with a CHOICE for the position of Supervisor.

SEND A MESSAGE FROM THE PEOPLE THAT SOUTHAMPTON TOWN NEEDS:

  • VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP
  • HONEST GOVERNMENT
  • SOUND FISCAL MANAGEMENT
  • BETTER REPRESENTATION
  • REAL RESULTS

 

On Tuesday, November 8, WRITE-IN Linda Kabot for Supervisor at the bottom of Column #15 on your Election Day ballot.

LET’S MAKE HISTORY IN THE TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON!

It would be my honor to serve you once again as Town Supervisor.

 

HERE’S WHERE I STAND ON SOME OF THE ISSUES IMPORTANT TO YOU:

On Property Taxes and the Town Budget:

  • Hold the line on property taxes by controlling government spending, eliminating waste, improving efficiencies; Continue the “Hiring Freeze”; Safeguard the Town’s Credit Rating
  • Provide sound financial management and structurally-balanced budgets with conformity to State Tax Cap Laws and Town Fund Balance Policies
  • Provide more effective communication to taxpayers and concerted efforts to advise of tax relief programs; Work with State lawmakers on providing additional exemptions for permanent Town residents to cap annual property tax increases, particularly for seniors on fixed incomes
  • Present an “Honest Budget” to support Town government operations and address community needs; Fully disclose how tax rates were achieved – particularly if one-shot revenues are used; Ensure clarity and transparency in all budget documents and audits

 

On Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability in Local Government:

  • Ensure periodic review of the Ethics Code and control policies over Town government resources, working with Town Administrators, the Audit Committee and the Ethics Board
  • Routinely solicit competition through Request for Proposals (RFPs) for Town consultants (and evaluate the use of outside consultants to root out inefficiencies), and enact local preferences when bidding out for good and services so as to bolster the local economy
  • Restore civility to Town government meetings: Encourage positive cooperation on local government matters and set priorities to achieve objectives in an open forum with all the Town Board members

 

On Environmental Protection, Affordable Housing, and Strengthening Town Codes:

  • Protect our small Town way of life – in particular – environmental treasures, historic resources, scenic qualities, and archeologically-sensitive areas; Consider use of Special Overlay Districts and façade easements for historic resource protection
  • Ensure tighter regulatory control over building construction activities and a renewed environmental focus and ensure appropriate mitigation of impacts of new development
  • Balance our preservation agenda with economic development and meeting housing needs for our workforce, emergency responders, and the next generation of local families and business owners; Establish a Community Land Trust for affordable home-ownership opportunities and work productively with the Town Housing Authority, the Southampton Business Alliance Housing Initiative, and Habitat for Humanity to achieve results
  • Provide opportunity for mixed-use development in downtown areas for workforce apartments; Complete a Town-Wide Housing Plan – Update to the Comprehensive Plan – that is hamlet-sensitive, recognizing that some communities have borne its “fair-share”
  • Advance Community Preservation Fund purchasing power for land preservation and protection of agricultural resources in a more fiscally-conservative approach when leveraging while interest rates are low & land prices are less expensive (not a $125 Million Bond Act that would overexpose the Town’s General Fund and property taxpayers!)

 

On Code Enforcement and Quality of Life:

  • More vigorous enforcement of “Rental Housing” regulatory controls and “home improvement contractor” licensing requirements
  • More concerted efforts to crack-down on over-occupancy of single family homes and certain multi-unit complexes, while ensuring such is accomplished in a fair and balanced approach and to more forcefully address repeat-offender landlords
  • Proactive code enforcement to address blight and deterioration of quality of life in certain neighborhoods is essential for preservation of property values and public safety

 

On development paying its own way and mitigation measures:

  • Establish a site plan review and inspection fee schedule commensurate with the costs of providing necessary Town services for commercial developments, PDDs, condominiums, apartment complexes, and similar intensive development
  • Update the site plan objectives to include walkable community goals and pedestrian linkages to proposed new and infill development; Consider intermodal connections to bus and rail for commercial development, where appropriate and ensure ADA-compliance and access to all – including those with mobility restrictions
  • Require transfers of development rights to be from within the same school district or hamlet boundary for commercial developments, consistent with objectives already in place for residential development
  • Ensure that community benefits are on par with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, no zoning give-ways or inappropriate “horse-trading” deals
  • Implement Special Overlay Districts in environmentally-sensitive locations for greater waterfront protection needs where studies have shown a disturbing trend of sewage impacts from housing oversaturation and population density increases
  • Require developers to mitigate impacts to transportation resources and community services, including fire protection and ambulance services; Use the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process where appropriate to determine appropriate mitigation measures and performance standards for land development applications;  Example:  Require traffic control plans for residential subdivisions and installation of new traffic control devices (such as stop signs) with onus on the developer, not the Town.  Require all new traffic signals and existing traffic signals that are tinkered with to allow increased commercial development to be equipped for pre-emption capability as a part of the developer’s responsibility.

 

On facilitating economic development and bolstering the local economy:

  • Explore ways that town government can streamline processes for permitting, licensing, and consider fee waivers and other incentives in exchange of local job preferences
  • Implement comprehensive plan strategies for targeted redevelopment sites through use of incentive packages, for example in Riverside Economic Development zones
  • Facilitate economic development at Gabreski Airport Hamptons Business Park to attract larger corporations to establish workplaces locally thereby generating jobs and in keeping with our Master Plan goals to not compete with Main Street’s small businesses

 

FOR MORE INFO, please visit www.LINDAKABOT.com or call (631) 219-7218

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