St. Lawrence County Democrats Release Their Platform

The St.Lawrence County Democratic Committee recently approved a political platform according to Waddington resident Jonathan Putney, a member of the NYS Democratic Committee. The Democrats are seeking to provide the public with a “roadmap” so that the citizens can observe their goals. “The platform highlights our values. It revolves around initiatives to serve the people well. One of the key goals is to improve the economic well being of our citizens. That involves attracting businesses to the region and supporting the economic engines we already have.”
Dan Girard a county legislator representing Waddington, Louisville and Massena commented on the platform. “It expands upon some of the initiatives that we have been able to bring forward and those that we would like to follow through on. The PLA with the new jail shows how everyone benefits when we can create a square deal between laborers and the county.” Girard stated that the legislature has tried to be mindful of the needs of the public when crafting their budgets. “We have been trying to strike a fair balance. On one hand we want to meet the peoples need for services and a safe infrastructure but we also don’t want to place an excessive burden on taxpayers.”
Greg Paquin the new Chairman in the St.Lawrence County Legislature reflected on the Platform. “In the current economic climate, we need to ensure that St.Lawrence County builds for future economic growth. The opportunity is now to rebuild our infrastructure from the federal stimulus package.” Paquin added that our region benefited from Governor Paterson’s recent visit to Massena in January to sign the power agreement between Alcoa and NYPA. “This was an important step in trying to maintain some stability within the region.”
Putney concluded that the work of the Democrats isn’t finished. He spoke about an effort to bring a 4 lane highway to the North Country. “The county recently passed a resolution supporting a 4 Lane highway which can help bring long term benefits to this region. The vast majority of citizens in St.Lawrence County will gain opportunities from the highway, rather than lose them. In short this is something we should embrace for our future growth and survival.”








St. Lawrence County
Roadmap to a Secure Future
In order to provide a high quality of life for all our citizens.
Goals
1 – To ensure that St. Lawrence County is and remains financially strong and secure.
Objectives
1- Maintain an adequate fund balance annually.
2- Maintain or improve the county credit rating.
3- Resist unfunded mandates from the State and Federal governments.

2 - To Improve transportation in St. Lawrence County
Objectives
1- Effectively maintain the county highway infrastructure
2- Promote and encourage the development of a 4 lane highway
3- Promote and encourage expanded use of the Port of Ogdensburg
4- Promote and encourage rail freight improvement and expansion
5- Assist and promote public transportation
6- Support sustainable passenger air service

3 - To improve the economic well-being of our citizens
Objectives
1- Support economic development initiatives that promote creation and retention of quality jobs.
2- Support initiatives to keep current levels of low cost power available in SL County.
3- Reduce the percentage of County residents living in poverty.
4- Support initiatives that provide essential and fundamental help to those in need.
5- Make broadband available to everyone in the County.
6- Support the agriculture economy; farmers and agribusiness, both big and small.

4 - To build a high performance and diverse county organization and workforce.
Objectives
1- Support training initiatives
2- Support diversity in hiring practices
3- Require annual performance evaluations of county employee performance.

5- Protect and manage our natural resources and environment
Objectives
1- Clean up environmentally blighted property to make it useful and productive.
2- Promote and encourage the development of renewable energy resources.
3- Retain energy resources for regional use.
4- Effectively manage county timber resources.
5- Support State and Federal clean air and water quality programs.

6 – Promote continuous improvement of the general welfare of all our citizens.
Objectives
1- Support strong public safety
2- Promote tourism and encourage expansion of the county tourism industry
3- Support and encourage improvements to the physical appearance of our community.
4- Support public libraries and encourage increased participation and usage of the library system.
5- Support quality of life improvement initiatives for our senior citizens.
6- Support arts and entertainment programs
7- Support sports and recreation initiatives
8- Support and promote public health and public health initiatives
9- Support education at all levels and youth programs