Boyd Calls for CDTA/County/School District partnership to alleviate School Bus Driver Shortage
On Wednesday, September 13th, Gordon issued a press release calling for Saratoga County to partner with the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) to help address a county wide shortage of school bus drivers.
“A CDTA/County/School District partnership would also save hard-earned taxpayer dollars. We could use the over $40 million we spend annually on public transportation—most of it on school buses—more efficiently and effectively,”
Click here to read the full press release.
Supporting the backbone of the Saratoga Track–the Backstretch workers.
Gordon stood up with Gilberto Mendoza, the lead organizer from IBEW Local 1430, Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino and others from the City’s Democratic Committee, to support the Backstretch Workers efforts to unionize. He was featured in a number of media stories. His quote from the Daily Gazette says it all: “. . . in the long run, the dignity and democracy that comes with union representation is really what these folks need, so they can have the dignity and the self-esteem of being able to have some control over their terms of employment. You’re talking about a 19th century business model here that needs to jump all the way into the 21st century.”
Read more about the issue in the Times Union, the Daily Gazette and the Saratogian.
“I believe the important problems we face in Saratoga County can be addressed through one or more of these values, and in a pragmatic way. Pragmatism is my go-to approach for solving problems. Partisanship, ideology, bigotry and racism are impediments to pragmatic solutions.”
Gordon’s cammpaign is about three basic values:
Democracy. Fairness. Safety.
You can also contribute by check.
Please make your check out to Friends of Gordon Boyd and mail to 1 Victoria Lane, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
Gordon discusses the issues he’s running on during this Look TV interview from early June.
Democracy
Everyone should have an equal voice both in the voting booth and in any representative government. But the Board of Supervisors rules make representation unequal and unfair. When the Board votes as a body, there is weighted voting—the votes of our two Saratoga Springs Supervisors have more weight in the final say on an issue than say a Supervisor from a small town. Given that we have a Board of Supervisors and not a County Legislature with districts defined through apportionment, weighted voting is quite fair. However, it’s not the same on the Board’s committee where the actual work gets done.
On the Board’s various standing committees, a Supervisor from, say, the Town of Day, population 819, has the same voice as a Saratoga Springs Supervisor, who represents 28,000 people. The real work of the Board is done in committee and nothing gets to the full Board without first passing through one. In order to maintain an equality of voting based on the population size represented, committee votes should also be weighted and equalized. Our current situation is almost as unfair as the Electoral College or the U.S. Senate in terms of UN-equal representation. The best ideas will get nowhere at the Board of Supervisors without reform of the Board’s rules. If elected, I will do everything I can to change the rules so that every citizen in Saratoga County counts equally, no matter what town they live in.
Fairness
Everybody needs a place to live. But our county’s housing prices and rents are making it difficult for working families and individuals to find affordable homes. The diversity of our community is diminishing. Solutions I will advance include:
- Reform of zoning laws to increase the overall housing supply.
- Level the playing field to make Short Term Rental owners pay their fair share of taxes.
- Funding for supportive and transitional housing for those in need, especially Code Blue.
- A major expansion of public transportation to make the housing we have more accessible to the jobs people want, help our seniors meet their needs, and save millions of dollars of taxpayer money.
Safety
All citizens and visitors deserve to be and feel safe, so they can enjoy our unique and historic community to the fullest. I will join other Supervisors in supporting our capable First Responders and law enforcement with a fair share of fiscal resources. In addition, we need to acknowledge that comprehensive public safety also includes providing a robust, fully integrated re-entry program to formerly incarcerated citizens of the county. . We are the only county in the region that does not have such a program; and the State will pay for it. In America, nearly everyone gets a second chance, and the county should build a program so these individuals don’t return home only to have difficulties and end up back in jail, at added pain and cost to new victims, taxpayers, families and individuals. Having a re-entry program will make us all safer, do the right thing for the people involved, and save money as well.