Danby Democrats - Danby, NY

Danby Democratic Party Platform

Working Together for Danby

As Danby residents, we value the character of our neighborhoods and the lifestyle made possible by our rural setting. Our town is blessed with an abundance of wildlife and natural and historic beauty.
We seek to protect our environment, natural resources, and neighborhoods while encouraging compatible economic development.
We recognize that this is not an easy objective and pledge to tackle difficult issues, such as concerns about natural gas companies, rather than avoid them. We pledge to cooperate and assist county, state and national legislators to ensure that Danby's homes, roads, wells and land are protected from damage and unnecessary expense related to natural gas exploration and extraction.
We promise to work to reduce the Town's carbon footprint where possible through:
1) mass transit, bike routes, retrofitting older homes, and making the Town's buildings as energy efficient as possible;
2) promoting efforts to buy locally and eat more healthfully; and
3) careful development of local alternative energy from wind, solar, and biomass. By investing locally, we enhance our ability to adapt to change, both gradual and sudden. A resilient town is well-positioned to face the future, whatever it may bring.

Emergency preparedness is a critical issue. We are committed to working with our Town government, Fire Department and related county and state agencies and other communities to better prepare Danby for any emergency.
We are concerned about increased traffic volume and speed on our roads. We believe that towns should have the authority to set speed limits on town roads and will explore this matter.

The Finger Lakes Region and Tompkins County attract a wide variety of people. We value tolerance and diversity within our Town. The Town Hall is home to concerts, a community library, and cultural events for people of all ages. We applaud the efforts of the Danby Community Council, which has been responsible for many recreational and social services.
We support development of a community center at the new Danby Park, the food pantry at the Danby Federated Church, and participation in the Tompkins County Council of Governments.
We will seek to maintain and expand the range of cultural, social, and recreational activities so that residents are better served and to promote Danby's sense of community.
We will work diligently to preserve Danby's natural and architectural beauty and to preserve its historical heritage, thereby increasing and promoting pride in our Town.

Democratic government requires open communications between people and their elected representatives. We are committed to a process that is transparent and inclusive at all times and strives for genuine consensus in implementing change. To achieve this, we will continue to encourage more Danby residents to participate in town government decisions.

We are committed to using public monies in the most cost effective manner to provide necessary services and to meet mandated obligations.
State and Federal grants are currently helping to reduce fiscal pressures. We will continue to take advantage of these grants and will pursue any and all available means to keep taxes as low as possible.