Ed LaVigne is running for a second term as Town Supervisor.  He has been President of the Lansing Community Council since 2007, for the last two years has been President of Lansing Senior Citizens, and has worked with the Lansing Events Committee.  He was the Lansing United Methodist Church rummage sale chair for 17 years, and was the leader in raising the money for the Myers Park playground and the North log cabin in Myers Park, the dugouts in the Lansing ball fields, and the Bob Baker Memorial Barbecue Pavilion.  He was a Lansing Town Councilman for one four-year term, and is currently completing his first term as Town Supervisor.

LaVigne has lived in Lansing almost 60 years, since his parents moved here when he was one year old.  He and his wife Debbie raised their family here.  He is a full time pharmacist at the Lansing Tops.  LaVigne says his experience is in achieving goals, whether it is putting himself through school, solving problems, or municipal goals.

LaVigne's platform is treating everyone equally, being a public servant, giving more than he takes, producing results, and being the "Supervisor of Yes".  He came to the Lansing Star newsroom to talk about why he hopes to be reelected.

 With the power plant closing, there has been a lot of development in the past four years to fill in lost tax revenue.  Is encouraging development still as important, and how do you see it filling in in the town?  This also speaks to what forms of power supply the Town should be advocating/lobbying for.  For example, if the Town wants more renewable energy should it restrict the size of solar farms within its boundaries?

The first part is not just a yes or no answer.  With development you have to have businesses that want to invest in your town.  A lot of times we'll meet and they'll ask "what kind of development do you think will be here that is successful?  And here's my project."  Now they can invest whatever they want, as long as it's allowed in that (zoning) use they can go through site plan review. You can't stop it.

On the other hand, look at Milton Meadows.  Here is a housing development that's affordable.  We have people who just graduated from Lansing High School that want to live there.  We have people who have lived here all their lives who want to live there. It's going to help our tax base.

I keep saying that Lansing needs reliable, consistent power.  I don't care where it comes from.  (Referring to meetings with NYSEG and NYS Public Service Commission representatives about providing inexpensive, affordable electricity to the Town in the face of NYSEG's natural gas moratorium on the town) No one has given me an answer yet because they don't want to give the answer. 

Unless you go with natural gas or something else along those lines you're not going to get inexpensive power.  It's a bridge fuel.  People have shunned away from that, so consequently we have no business that's going to develop here unless it's sporadic.  So you have to change your business model, which means that rather than bring in the business and have people follow, you have to bring in the people and have the business follow. So you have to bring in services: doctors, offices, dentists... for instance Andy Sciarabba's office building project.

Macon left in the Village.  They lost 220 jobs.  100 of them were potential jobs, and the other 120 were already in (the Village of Lansing).  220 jobs... the ratio is one to three.  Every one job supports three more.  880 jobs gone because we can't get inexpensive, reliable, consistent power.

So what happens is residential developments use heat pumps. They use electricity, or they use propane. Propane is like taking a giant step backward.  It's like giving a firefighter a can of gas to put out fires, instead of water. You've done just the opposite of what you want to achieve because you're moving too fast and too hard, and you're not doing -- and this is the big part -- reasonable, obtainable goals.

Consequently developers want to come here and build buildings at full value, like Village Solars, that is market rate and affordable.  Because of that we have been able to stop the bleeding a little bit.  At one point that power plant was assessed at $233 million 20 years ago. Now it's going to be $20 million.

So where does the tax base come from? 


  Some folks have criticized the town government for not doing all it can to communicate with and engage Lansing citizens.  It seems to me that a lot actually is being done, and there have been some improvements, for instance, with videos of town meetings being posted on the Web site for the past three or so years.  Secondly it seems to me that most people don’t choose to engage unless something is upsetting them.  So what is good about current communications, and what should be done to make communication better?

It's a two way street.  Government is an act of participation.  It is not something that you can sit on the sidelines and not be engaged or informed or take action.  So one of the things I tried to adjust was video taping all our meetings.  You can see them on the Web site.  And we have pout in, for instance, Swift911 that alerts people where there are crises.  I've given out my cell phone number to everybody.  I'm accessible on Facebook.  "What are your concerns, Lansing" -- how many times have you seen that!  I ask people when I go door to door, "Do you have concerns?"  You can sign up for emails on the Web site.

At some point it's a two way street.  If people want to come to the meetings, then they can.  At most of our meetings not many people are there.  Because most people feel this town is well run, and if it's well run, that's a big compliment to the whole team.  Not me, but the whole team.

The department heads move in a responsible way and a respectful way to service our community with value, and as we work together with them to empower them you see what the results are.

I'm open to suggestions. If you tape them meetings and they're available, and if people want written copies (of the minutes) they can come in and get them, and if you're on the Web site and you have my cell phone number, and you can message somebody privately, and you can talk to them on Facebook, and you see them in the store -- and I'm out and about in the Lansing community every day -- what else is there that can be done?  I'm open minded to it.

On the other hand it takes two people to have a conversation, not just one.


  I have heard both positive ideas and concerns about how the role of the new environmental advisory board should fit into governmental processes.  I should specifically say nobody is arguing that there shouldn't be one -- it's just a matter of how it's going to dovetail with government processes.  On the pro side, of course, is that the town should be protecting the environment, and this is a mechanism for responsible stewardship of Lansing.  But there is also a concern that I heard from a planning board member in a public meeting about inserting extra and possibly unnecessary paperwork, time, etc. in, for example, the site plan process that would discourage development here.  It’s always a balance.  I am just using that board as an example.  Another example is how much to limit land use for large solar projects to protect prime farm land because it's a balance between encouraging new business and renewable energy but also not to penalize farmers who rent land.  What do you think is the right balance between legitimate town governmental concerns and getting projects approved and done?

They should be balanced.  They should be given specific tasks by the Town Board, such as mapping.  It's going to take a couple of years to do the mapping. Any advisory board or committee can have a positive function. The concern is that they become not a committee, but a legislative body.  What kind of power do they have? Sometimes people's passion gets in the way of their judgement. The next thing you know you have people that may be overly emotional and critical about things when you need to go about (these tasks) in a very methodical way.

The advice is critical, as far as what information they can provide.  It has to be accurate.  For instance the report on lead samples above and below Salmon Creek.  That was excellent information. It told you exactly what was not happening (Editor's note: the report submitted by Councilwoman Katrina Binkewicz found no dangerous levels of lead in the soil samples tested).  That type of information: where are the wetlands?  Where are areas you want to avoid?

We've formed three water districts, and hopefully a fourth one soon.  Your density increases, and the amount of land you use for development decreases.  So your green space is better protected.  Same thing with infrastructure.  If you get sewer and water just imagine what you could do -- it's Village Solars over again.

The environmental boards do play a role. They do not play the role, but they play a role as far as providing accurate information, just as the Water and Sewer Advisory Board does.  It does the same thing.  It answers those questions ahead of time so we can move forward in an efficient manner.  This is a useful tool for more efficient government.

A small example: Salt Point Brewery.  You have five-plus acres. Two of those are wetlands. Now you're down to three-plus acres.  That's useful information. Here's what you can, and here's what you cannot do.  The same thing we do on our Water and Sewer Advisory Board.  We start on a project. Our discussions don't stop when the meeting stops.  All it does is focus on the task that has to be accomplished, what information has to be achieved, how it needs to be shared, how it needs to be ascertained, how it needs to come to a conclusion so that people can move forward.  We don't have to wait until our next meeting for some of these things if we have those conclusions to pass on to different developers.

What was the second part of your question?

  It was about the balance between governmental concerns and getting things done.

Once again, here are the questions that need to be answered.  Here are the experts to do it.  If it's an engineering question we have an engineer to do it.  If it's a legal issue we have an attorney.  If it's a planning issue, here's our planner. Everyone makes a contribution and at the end of the day it moves forward.  If it doesn't move forward it needs a serious look at whether it's necessary to have that board or not.

  The challengers’ platform highlights three key points: Better planning, communication, and spending accountability.  You have already addressed communication.  Specifically, how will you make planning and accountability better than it currently is?

On planning, we have a full time planner.  It kind of takes the argument off the table.  We have a full time planner.  She's excellent.  She is that department head now, so when everyone was concerned about having a full time planner -- we have a full time planner.  So as far as I'm concerned the planning concern has been addressed, just as communication has been addressed.

Talk about accountability -- you talk to the different department heads... We have a 14 year plan for equipment for the Highway Department.  We went through every piece of equipment they have.  I worked very closely with the Highway Superintendent on that, which, I must say, is not the case with every municipality.

What do you need and how do we achieve that for the future?  An example is the grade-all.  This grade-all costs almost a half a million dollars, and it's going to come up soon.  What do we do about that? Well, we had a record year last year for our sales tax revenue, so we could allocate $150,000 into that pot.  We had a record year for our mortgage tax, so we accelerated our payment schedule and put another $150,000 in. So we have $300,000 of the $500,000 right there.  We're planning to do it with more funds as we continue to move forward.

That's been addressed.  The planning part has been addressed.  The plan for equipment for the parks is on a schedule already.  You can read a booklet all you want, but you have a supervisor who actually implements this stuff, and I am knee-deep in reality with positive results.

  Despite disclaimers from board members, the Town Board does seem to vote by party quite a lot.  That means that a supervisor who is outnumbered needs to be an effective leader in order to persuade members of the opposing party in order to be effective.  How will you do that?

I've already done it.  I get a majority of both parties and we move forward.  I had a majority of Republicans when Katrina (Councilwoman Binkewicz, a Democrat) wanted to start the pathway fund. And the answer was yes, because it's not about party -- it's about ideas.  It's about serving the public.  So when she came with that idea we formed that fund.  And by the way, now we're going to put that money toward the pathway master plan that will allow us to apply for more grants from our full time planner, who now will help facilitate all the path and trailways. 

So that's been done.  I get a majority of Democrats and Republicans.  We keep moving forward with how we buy our equipment. We did it with our Web site.  We did it with a variety of other things. We work together.

I'd rather get 80% of something than 100% of nothing.  I look at the idea.  If it's a good idea for the Town I say yes.  If it doesn't I say no.

Look at the record. I don't think you'll see a lot of 3-2 votes.  It's been either 4-1 or 5-0 on most things during my term as supervisor.  I think the voting record speaks for itself.


  What makes you the best candidate?

I don't see this as political. And I don't see this as an agenda for me.  And I don't see this as something I need.  I don't need this money, I don't need this job.  I do it because I see it as a ministry.  What that does is raises my attitude above politics, above the human frailties that people have. When they throw dirt on me I forgive them. I move forward, find consensus, find positive ground so we can develop positive results for the people that we serve.  I take serving extremely seriously.  Not self-serving, but public-serving.

I never intended to be in politics.  When I started working for the Lansing community and I saw that I could do good things... look at all the things I did for the Lansing community before (running for office).  It's not about me. It's about us.  We. You and we, as in community, not me.

My record is about serving the public.  This is just another way to serve the public, as far as I'm concerned. And you look at the results.  People tell me this is wonderful, all the things you do. When I read you on Facebook it feels like you are talking to me.  People say we have this personal connection because I do talk to them.  In every Facebook post I'm talking to someone as if they were in the same room with me, because they have concerns.  My job is to listen to those concerns to the best of my ability to find positive results for them.

It may not be the answer they want, but it's the answer that I am going to have to give them in a realistic world.  And I am very truthful with people.  Unfortunately, it may not be what they want, but I give them what they need.

I am aware of the negativity campaign against me.  I would rather stick to the facts than the perceptions. If we (believe) perceptions instead of facts, if we don't respect our political process, if we don't respect the fact that the vote didn't go one person's way so you try to subvert someone... our democracy is in real peril.  That's my concern.

It's sad, but it seems like Washington (style politics) has come to Lansing, New York.  Here we go, and it's so sad.  I hope the voters will vote Washington, DC out of Lansing, New York and get back to serving the people first.

One of the main objectives we have in Lansing is about value -- how the taxpayers get value for what they are paying.  We pay a lot of taxes here.  Your tax liability is approximately $30 per thousand of assessed value, when you break it all down.  From a town standpoint we look at how we give our taxpayers and our residents value. What does the Town do?  Have they done more than just the norm?  Are they expensive?  Absolutely.  I'm not arguing with that whatsoever.  But if you want good value, you're going to pay.

At the end if you are paying for a five star restaurant you expect to have value.  And that's what we have.  We have given our taxpayers value by going beyond just the normal responsibilities that are required to keep your job. That's what makes Lansing special.  This is why we have one of the best highway departments in the County. We have one of the best recreation departments in the County.  We have one of the best planners in the County.  We have one of the best clerks in the County. We have one of the best bookkeepers in the County.  And the list goes on and on. 

We have a very good, qualified, dedicated group of people that put Lansing first.  That's why I am proud to be their supervisor, and I am blessed to be a supervisor, and, hopefully, I will be for four more years.

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