Debbie for Supervisor

My experience

<img alt= "Debbie talks with Congressman Pat Ryan" src="hq.jpg">

I’m your Deputy Supervisor. I’m a founding member of the Town’s Communications Committee. I have served on the Rhinebeck Democratic Committee and worked on Pat Ryan's campaign to highlight his pro-choice position. I told my own story in one of his video ads.

<img alt= "Debbie marches in a parade holding a Beckhook Pride banner" src="hq.jpg">

I am a co-founder of Rhinebeck’s first Pride organization, BeckHook Pride.

<img alt= "Debbie sits on a white chair with her two cute pugs" src="hq.jpg">

I am friendly, strive to always be kind, and stand up for my principles. I’m a consensus-builder, a good listener, naturally curious, I enjoy learning, and I’m in love with my three pugs.

<img alt= "Debbie holds a sign that reads NO MORE FASCIST ICE" src="hq.jpg">

I’m a community organizer and activist. I’ve worked with Starr Library as a volunteer, a collaborator and an employee. I have a PhD in Classics from Columbia University and though trained as an academic, I lead with my heart.

<img alt= "Debbie and family, with dogs, in front of Foster's Coach House at holiday time" src="hq.j

I’m the wife of an MTA dispatcher and we’re a proud union family. We're the parents of an amazing teenage daughter.

<img alt= "Debbie on an orange couch, knitting what appears to be a red hat" src="hq.jpg">

I’m an avid knitter, co-host a regular group at the Morton Library, and love Sheep and Wool (traffic aside). I’m a gardener and an environmentalist.

Why am I running for Rhinebeck Town Supervisor?

I am running because I love this community. When my family and I moved here, we needed a soft place to land, and we found it here, with all of you. All of the community work I’ve done, including the public service work I’m doing now, has been my way of saying thank you. It just so happens that I also love the work. It’s a privilege to be a part of the governance that keeps our special Town running.

Right now, we are at the beginning of a new chapter for Rhinebeck, and we get to decide together how this new chapter will be written. I know it to be true that an engaged community and good governance go hand in hand. The more involved you are—whether by attending meetings, or being willing to meet with us outside of Town Hall—the more the Town Board can best represent you. As someone who has been devoted to community work, I know the power of “we.” In my version of our new chapter, you will have leadership rooted in kindness, inclusion, and transparency; leadership who listens to your diverse perspectives and takes them into account. I’m so excited for this future that we get to write, together.

<img alt= "Debbie standing in front of a window, wearing a gray zip up hoodie and a t-shirt that rea

The power of our community

I believe in the power of community to do great things. Many of us meet in community—in book clubs, at knitting groups, at protests, on the pickle ball court, in coffee houses, or houses of worship. On the Town Board’s Coms Committee, I facilitate gatherings for residents to meet with their Town Board, in the belief that an informed community and good governance go hand in hand. I will continue this work and I hope you’ll join me. The more we hear from you, the better we can represent you.

<img alt= "Group of people planting a tree on a village street with the Rhinebeck Tree Commission" s

3% Occupancy tax

I was deeply involved in fight for the Town’s pro-resident policies that brought us Workforce Housing and the transformation of our Thompson Mazzarella Park. I supported seeking a 3% Occupancy Tax, a fee for tourists. It’s a common practice in other destination municipalities, and 3% is on the low end of what is collected. Kingston is seeking a 5% Occupancy Tax, Clinton is seeking a tax. A visitor paying $1000 a night for a room would be charged an additional $30. Having visitors contribute their fair share will pay for projects like the Parsonage Street Bridge replacement and the Adams Hall renovation at the cemetery.

<img alt= "Artist's rendering of planned pools at Soho House" src="hq.jpg">

The rural character of our town

As an environmentalist, I believe in the work done to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve our rural character. We are currently under pressure from developers to allow for commercial use in our RC5 zone— all of the Town east of Routes 9 and 9G. With three new hotel projects coming soon, SoHo House, Linwood, and Rhinebeck Villas, it’s time to talk about tourism capacity. When is enough, enough? At what point will Rhinebeck be overrun by tourists and no longer feel like home?

<img alt= "Sunset at Burger Hill" src="hq.jpg">

Setting the record straight!!

My opponent has said a lot of things that are misinformed or simply not true. Please read below where I set the record straight, point by point.

Playgrounds

My opponent stated that “. . .committees meet to decide if children deserve a new playground.”

CORRECTION:

This is a village and not a town matter. It does not fall under the purview of the Town Supervisor. My opponent should bring this matter before the Village Board and not before the Town Board or its Supervisor.

Sidewalks

My opponent stated that “You can’t walk safely on the sidewalks.”

CORRECTION:

This is a village and not a town matter. The Town has no say or direct involvement

with Village sidewalks.

Town Board

My opponent stated that the current town administration/supervisor treats the Town Board like a

private club, choosing who gets to run, whose laws get passed and whose project gets the green

light.

CORRECTION:

Choosing who gets to run for office is not and never has been part of the Board’s agenda.

As an elected not appointed member of the Town Board, I join with other elected board members

in discussing new projects that will benefit our community. There is always healthy debate and the courage to say "yes" to progress and "no" to the status quo.

I work with the town’s Community Forum group, working with the other volunteers arranging for meetings and encouraging residents to hear their elected leaders and to present their views.

Town board meetings HAVE BEEN and are ALWAYS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

The meeting dates are posted on the town’s website.

The agenda is posted and sent out to those who have subscribed on the mailing list the Friday

before the Monday evening meeting.

For those who cannot attend the meetings, a video of the meeting is available on the PANDA

website a few days later.

Rhinecliff Parking

My opponent stated that “Rhinecliff needs a parking policy, not a police state” and that " the Town Board proposed parking laws that included $900 penalties and jail time.”

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

The $900 penalty came from the town attorney, recommending that upon a third or subsequent conviction within 18 months after the first conviction, such person shall be punished by a fine of not less than $450 and not more than $900, or by imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both.

• The Town Board was opposed to the $900 fine and imprisonment.

Until recently, there was nothing in the town code that would allow for enforcement of any parking policy.

• The Town’s new parking code put into effect a flat $65 fine with no jail time for any offense except seasonal parking ($250).

The new code further stated that judges would no longer have the discretion to increase fines for repeat offenders or to impose jail time for scofflaws.

These proposals were discussed openly at town board meetings and at a community forum held in

Rhinecliff. The boards actions are a matter of the public record.

Planning board

My opponent stated that:

• The Planning Board is “permanent board.”

• There are members who “. . . have been sitting on the PB for over 20 years.”

• “We are going to shrink that board from seven members to five, shorten the current 7-year

term, and institute term limits there too.”

RESPONSE:

The Planning Board and all the other town boards and committees are made up of members of

our community who volunteer their time to help make our governmental body work.

I have seen their work and appreciate all that they do.

Reducing the size of the Planning Board will reduce its effectiveness.

• Remaining members will have to devote more time to do the site visits, meetings, reviews

and report preparations, slowing down the building permit process.

Establishing term limits will remove those members who have acquired the intricate knowledge

and morass of local, state and federal regulations and codes that protect communities as well as

allow for properly determined projects to be given the green light.

My opponent stated that:

“We are going to simplify the (zoning) code,” allowing for sensible modifications to properties

without “. . . entering into an expensive bureaucratic nightmare.” (

REALITY:

We are already fixing this:

A committee headed by former town councilperson, Josh Pulver and members of the Planning

Board, was formed last year. This committee is examining town zoning codes and procedures

with the Planning Board and will make recommendations that will streamline the process, making

it easier for applicants to secure building permits.

Family Housing

We've broken ground on this project which is designed to house Rhinebeck's working individuals and familes!

Congratulations and hearty thank you's to the various town boards and committees who have diligently worked at examining and implementing Rhinebeck's first ever WORKFORCE HOUSING project in our town. It is an enormous project and has taken quite a bit of time and hard work on the part of all the individuals and agencies involved.

My opponent continues to position it as a failure or the product of a dysfunctional board.

SHAME ON MY OPPONENT FOR DISRESPECTING THE EFFORTS THAT HAVE GOTTEN THIS PROJECT OFF THE GROUND!!

Leaf pick up

My opponent stated that, “We are going to restore leaf pickup in Rhinecliff.”

Our Highway Superintendent is extremely knowledgeable about this matter. If you can convince Bob Wyant to restore leaf pick up and come up with a way to finance it without raising town taxes or cutting other services, then come to the Town Board with this information and we will openly discuss it and if feasible, we’ll do it.

Chamber of Commerce

Regarding my opponent’s letter to the Town Board from the Chamber of Commerce, made

available through the Daily Catch, let’s set the record straight . . .

HERE'S THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT THE TOWN'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ACTUALLY STATES:

• The Town should establish an Economic Development Committee TO WORK WITH THE

COUNTY EDC – NOT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - to prepare a comprehensive

economic development strategy for the town.

• The Town should interface with the Rhinebeck business community AND the Chamber of

Commerce to support existing businesses, and identify new, diversified businesses which

SERVE RHINEBECK RESIDENTS WITH NECESSARY AND AFFORDABLE GOODS

AND SERVICES.

• The Town should work to ensure that NEW RETAIL STORES ARE GEARED TOWARDS

MEETING THE NEEDS OF LOCAL RESIDENTS, AS OPPOSED TO VISITORS OR

REGIONAL ECONOMY.

• The Town should facilitate the continuation of local economic activity THAT SERVES

PRIMARILY THE NEEDS OF THE RESIDENTS AND DOES NOT CONTRADICT

COMMUNUTY CHARACTER.

And lastly, the Comp Plan states:

• The Town should encourage THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO WORK WITH THE

DUTCHESS COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.(NOT THE TOWN BOARD)

TO PREPARE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE TOWN.

We're looking forward to this actually happening.

"Be kind. Check on your neighbors."

<img alt= "cDebbie looking smart in a BECKHOOK PRIDE T-SHIRT" src="hq.jpg">

<img alt= "Debbie answers questions at the Rhinebeck Democrat's Club forum" src="hq.jpg">

Be kind. Check on your neighbors, shop local, get involved. And let’s keep Rhinebeck Rhinebeck.
Feel free to reach out to me at: dhecht@me.com, or fill out the 'contact me' form below. I’m always happy to listen and talk!

<img alt= "Debbie answering audience questions at the Rhinebeck Democrats Club forum. The other cand

I know it to be true that an engaged community and good governance go hand in hand. The more involved you are—whether by attending meetings, or being willing to meet with us outside of Town Hall—the more the Town Board can best represent you.

Passionate, honest, committed, cooperative

Join Us

Donate now to support Debbie's fight for this town.