Polls will be open from 6 am to 9 pm at both Ward 9 polling places, Sophie Finn School at 94 Marys Avenue, and Redeemer Lutheran Church at Wurts and Rogers streets.

District 1 and 2 voters cast ballots at Sophie Finn; District 3 voters, at Redeemer. If you’re not sure where you vote, contact me at 331-4309 or hayesclement@gmail.com.

Need a ride to the polls?  Contact me.  In your e-mail or Voicemail message, let me know your name, address and the approximate time you need to be picked up to go vote.  If you can be flexible as to when you visit the polls, indicate that, as well.

This has been a long campaign season, I know. But I hope you have found it as illuminating, interesting and (ultimately) as inspiring as I have.

 To the many neighbors I’ve already met, thank you … for sharing your concerns about Ward 9 and Kingston, and for letting me share my own ideas on how we can strengthen our quality of life, our safety and our private-sector job market.

I hope I’ve convinced you that I can play an important part in changing the tone of the Common Council and moving us forward.

More than ever, I am confident that, together, we will get Kingston back on track, and I look forward to playing a part in making that happen.

As always, I deeply appreciate your time, your encouragement, and the opportunity to be your Alderman and advocate at City Hall.

Learn more about this important but under-utilized piece of legislation at a public information meeting I am hosting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1. The session will take place at the Coach House at 12 Augusta Street and will feature 3 guest speakers:

• Gerald Keller, Chief of the Kingston Police Department
• Don Ryan, Chief Civil Officer for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, and …
• Shayne Gallo, Corporation Counsel for the City of Kingston

What is the Nuisance Abatement Law?

The law provides a legal process through which a landlord can be held responsible for the criminal actions of tenants, as reported by neighbors. Bottom line: It means that if you are dealing drugs or creating nuisances in a neighborhood, the landlord cannot knowingly allow you to be a tenant on that property.  Through some very effective use of the law in other wards, the Sheriff’s Office and the Kingston Police Department have resolved a number of citizen complaints and evicted known criminals from neighborhoods.

A critical component of this effort is Kingston Landlord Support, a free website  for landlords that posts the names and addresses of tenants who have been issued warrants of eviction by the court system in Ulster County.  When possible, additional information regarding the circumstances of an eviction is included, drawing from the records of the Ulster County courts, Kingston Fire Department, Kingston Building & Safety Division and the Sheriff’s Office. You can visit the site at http://www.kingstonlandlordsupport.org/

The extraordinarily responsive Don Ryan will be providing his contact information at the meeting, but in case you cannot attend (or attend without a pen!), his coordinates are: 

Chief Don Ryan, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office
(845)334-5593
dryn@co.ulster.ny.us

While not the be-all and end-all solution to quality of life issues in Kingston, the Nuisance Abatement Law is a crucial step forward in this fight, and I urge Ward 9 residents to learn more about it Tuesday night, Sept. 1.

(Note: The participation of the guest speakers does not constitute, nor is meant to imply, any endorsement of  any political candidate.)

I am running to be Kingston’s next Ward 9 Alderman, and I want your support at the polls on Tuesday, November 3, when my name will appear on the ballot as the nominee of both the Democratic and Independence parties.

Why do I want to be your Alderman?  There are lots of reasons but they all boil down to this:

I love Kingston, and I love Ward 9 … and both, I’m convinced, deserve more from the Common Council and city government.

Against the tide of a terrible economy and other pressures, great things are happening in and around Ward 9 every day  – neighbors helping fix the home of an American soldier serving in Iraq; neighbors putting their minds and hearts behind projects like KingstonDigitalCorridor.org and Kingston Victory Gardens; and students in the Kingston High School Jazz Ensemble doing their families and their community proud on stage at Lincoln Center.  The list goes on and on, in ways big and small, every day.  To know Ward 9 and Kingston is to know that we are each fortunate in our choice of home.

I think it’s time for City Hall and the Common Council to turn a page and live up to those examples.

In the coming weeks, I will be knocking on many of your doors, seeking your support certainly, but also something more – namely, to start a conversation about the direction you want to see Ward 9 and Kingston head, and how we can get there.  I look forward to sharing my own ideas with you and, just as important, hearing yours.

• Holding the line on spending:  Unfortunately, the toughest choices are still ahead of us in terms of getting city spending in line with economic reality. I pledge to explore, debate and confront those challenges openly and honestly, regardless of the political consequences.
• Reducing property taxes:  The tax burden now placed on homeowners and businesses in Kingston is, quite simply, unsustainable – particularly in these economic times.  Valuations and tax rates need to be fair, equitable and conducive, not hostile, to economic development.
• Making government more transparent: At a time when state and federal grants play an increasingly critical role in the city’s budget, citizens deserve a bigger voice in determining, early on, how and where such funds should be invested.  I will work to bring you into that process.
• Strengthening our quality of life:  I will work to strengthen our neighborhoods through stricter enforcement of city building codes, increased deployment of tactical police units and creative  use of our existing , but under-utilized, Nuisance Abatement ordinance.  I will also work with Kingston High School administrators to ensure the success of the Closed Campus policy. 
• Responding to you: The job of Alderman, in my view, is as much about listening as it is about talking. I want to hear from you, and I pledge, if elected, to respond to your needs and suggestions in a timely, professional and polite manner.

THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE

• In the private sector: Successful marketing consultant, with clients in publishing, professional sports and other industries. Former executive at Tennis Magazine, HBO and Price Waterhouse.
  Education:  M.B.A., University of Virginia; B.A., Duke University; Marist High School.
• In the community:  Board member, Friends of Historic Kingston, and Bardavon/UPAC Performing Arts Center; Chairman, Kingston Open Door initiative; Volunteer and Fund Raiser, Queens Galley soup kitchen.

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

• We must change the mindset of Kingston politics:  City Hall and all its occupants are there to serve Kingston tax payers, not vice versa.
• We must change the tone of Kingston politics, too:  I am tired of the too-often petty, schoolyard tone of City Hall debate.  As a member of the Common Council, I will focus on the substance of the issue at hand, whatever it is, with one aim:  doing what’s best for Kingston and Ward 9, and working with my colleagues and the Mayor to make the right thing happen, regardless of party lines.  You deserve no less.