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	As Republicans and Democrats vie for a majority on the Lansing Town Board, the Supervisor race is clearly the most politically charged.  Incumbent Kathy Miller and challenger Ed LaVigne clearly have very different visions of the future of Lansing.  The Star asked the same questions of both candidates, publishing transcriptions of their answers.

Ed LaVigne is challenging incumbent Kathy Miller Republican for Lansing Town Supervisor.  LaVigne is completing his first term as a Town Board member this year.

He has lived in Lansing since he was one year old.  A pharmacist at the Lansing Tops Market, he has been married to his wife, Debbie, since 1983.  They have two children and five grandchildren.  LaVigne holds a degree in accounting from TC3, and a pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy.  He has been President of the Lansing Community Council since 2007. 

LaVigne sat down with the Lansing Star last week to talk about why he is running and what he will do if elected.


Lansing Star: What prompted you to run for Supervisor now, in this year’s election?

I think Lansing's lacking in three different areas.  One of them is leadership.  One of them is accountability.  And one of them is accomplishments.

I think Lansing is at a crossroads right now.  It needs to be fiscally disciplined, because we don't know what our tax base will be like in the next year or so, still, with the power plant.  We need to be cost-effective.  We also need to be responsive to our residents in Lansing to provide them with good service.

What have you accomplished in this past term?

One thing is, obviously, fighting for the planning consultant.  I didn't feel like a full time planner at $64,000 plus 40% in their benefit package was worth the scope of the work.  One of the things that (Councilman) Robert Cree and I was asking for was to see if we could find a consultant first.  If one wasn't available, then you can go to the taxpayers and say, 'this is what we have to work with'.  What happened was that we lost that battle, so I asked Robert to run and (Councilman) Doug Dake stepped forward.  We won the majority and we didn't get a full time planner.

I was given the responsibility to find a part time planning consultant.  We did.  He works a maximum of 30 per week -- he works less than that.  There are no benefits, and he will save the taxpayers up to $50,000 a year.  That's almost 3% on your taxes.

Other accomplishments: I was given the task to facilitate the purchase of land for the water tank on Scofield Road.  I was given 60 days to do that.  The owners had become somewhat anxious, so I was approached to facilitate that.  Consequently, I met with our town engineer and our town attorney every Wednesday and we got that whole task completed in six weeks.

I have basically made the budget accountable.  Every line has to be defended.  Every amount has to be accounted for.  That is what people that are fiscally responsible do.  They ask the questions and they ask that each request be defended.

What did you want to accomplish that you were not able to?  Why, and what will you do in the next four years to make it happen?

I'd stay the course of being fiscally responsible.  I'd stay the course of being fiscally disciplined.  Municipalities have to be like turtles.  If things are bad they're going to have to be able to hunker down and ride out the bad times.  When everything is good they can chug along and move forward.  But they have to have the ability to adjust to each economic situation.

For instance, we don't know about the power plant.  If we keep our buildings in the south growing -- that whole area with the density -- that's where your tax base will be increased.  If that's the case and if our debt is stabilized, we should be able to take some of the tax burden off our taxpayers.

What is your overall vision for Lansing for the next four years?  How do you plan to make it happen?

My overall vision is to keep our costs at a minimum.  And also, to keep our growth in the south where the density is.  You have water and sewer in those areas, and it is critical that we get this gas pipeline in from West Dryden.  That is where there are many projects waiting to be developed.  That is where we can actually increase our tax base while keeping our rural settings untouched.

Over the past few years there has been some dissatisfaction from the departments with the way budgeting and capital planning is handled.  What do you see as the best way to handle equipment and capital project planning and funding?

Well, you look at the biggest department, which is the Highway Department.  I'm the only one, I believe, that has actually gone through every piece of equipment with the Highway Superintendent and his deputy.  I believe I am the only one that has ridden with them in the fall and again in the spring to see which roads they want to pave and which changes are to be made.  I think I'm the only one that actually goes there and talks to them on a regular basis to see what their expenses are.

My attitude has always been 'defend your position'.  This not a want, this is a need.  how can I be accountable to the constituents and the taxpayers unless I have a bona fide reason for allocating the taxpayers' resources?

Where do you stand on repowering Cayuga Power Plant?

I'm in favor of keeping the largest taxpayer in Tompkins County going forward.  It would be absolutely ridiculous for this thing to shut down right now.  Theories are nice.  Ideologies are nice.  But the realities stay in the room and everything else leaves.

They are the biggest tax contributor in Tompkins Couty.  When that's gone what's going to happen?  Are we going to be like Trumansburg and have 75% state aid intead of 25%?
 
You mean state aid for schools?

Exactly.  You have to look at the big picture:  your schools, your county and your town taxes.  Unfortunately there is going to be such a burden put on our taxpayers, I'm afraid it's going to change the whole complexion of this town.

You mean only wealthier people will be able to afford to live here?

Well, what I'm saying is I think there'll be a mass migration.  They'll go some place.  They'll either go to the next county, or they'll go to the next state.

The next question was about where you stand on the gas pipeline, but I think you already answered that.

You have to understand, this is a horizontal pipe.  half the people in this country heat with natural gas.  This is not about fracking. This is not about extracting gas from the ground.  This is about supplying a cheap source of energy that we can use to facilityate our tax base and take some of the pressure off of the taxpayers.

There has been a lot of talk about new development and traffic in the Town.  It doesn’t seem to me that the comprehensive plan has had a real impact on these items recently.  Now a revision to that plan is being crafted.  Do you agree with the comprehensive plan?  If not, would you follow it anyway as representative of what the Town wants?

You make some very good points.  The comprehensive plan is a guide.  In that you have, perhaps, 20 or 30 people come up with the comprehensive plan, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's representative of everyone.  When you say 'the comprehensive plan' are you talking about the old comprehensive plan or the new comprehensive plan?

Well, at the moment we can only talk about the old one because that's the one that's in effect, so to speak.  But we know with the new one it was more than 20 people.  They did a town-wide survey, they solicited opinions in various ways, talking to people, emails, phone calls.  So theoretically a comprehensive plan is representative of what majority in the Town wants.

I would disagree with that. I would say it's a guide.  it's a vision that you have at that moment.  That doesn't mean it couldn't change, because comprehensive plans have changed.  Sometimes if something doesn't fit in that comprehensive plan it can be changed so it does fit.  I believe Ithaca just did that a little while ago.

So when you look at the comprehensive plan you get an idea of where things go, and I think that's good. But to use that as written in stone... I don't think that's good.

That's not what I was implying.  I know it's a guide.  But if you take the trouble to come up with ideas for the future of the town, then what kind of action plan would you have to make some or all of those ideas happen?

There are other dynamics, too, besides the comprehensive plan, which are active participants in the Town.  Do the developers want to come in here?  Do they want to build?  Do people want to come here and buy houses?  Where do they want to buy them?  Do they want to buy them in cul-de-sacs?  Do they want to buy them in neighborhoods?  Do they want to buy them on the main highway?

So there are variabes there that are not indicative of a comprehensive plan.  Once again, it is aguide.  It is something that you look to to get a vision.  But on the other hand, if something dynamic came in to change it, you would move in a different direction.

For instance, if someone came here and wanted to bring 400 employees in, let's say, a manufacturing plant... that would change the whole dynamic of this area.  So when you look at comprehensive plans my vision is that where there's density is where the growth will be.  And where there are open spaces, especially with our Agriculture Protection Plan  -- I think that's indicative of what they want to do with our open spaces, which is, basically, keep them open.


It sounds like you are saying you think the market should drive change in the town, rather than the plan.

No.  You have to also lok at the zoning laws.  They will also give you an idea of what you can do and you can't do. That also will give you a vision on where you want this town to go.  If certain areas are zoned a certainb way, certain things can be done there and certain things can't be done there.  So it's an accumulation of a body of different things that form your vision.  Part of that is the comprehensive plan.  Part of that is the zoning laws.  And also the dynamics of whether people are coming into this town or leaving this town.

A prime example is, when Smith Corona left Groton it was a tremendous game changer there.  It changed the whole dynamic of that town, in my opinion.  That was an example, unfortunately, of a negative impact.

The biggest zoning change is being proposed in the Ag Plan, which I understand will be folded into the Comprehensive Plan.  Do you support that zoning change to make most of the north part of Lansing into an Ag district?

The Ag Plan is like a comprehensive plan for agriculture.  Once again, you follow it as a guide.  There are no zoning changes now.  What now happens is a committee will be formed and reccomendations brought forth.  This is why I highly recommend that anybody who is concerned about this, whether they be a farmer or not, should ask to be on that committee.  I have talked to a lot of farmers about this.  I have talked to them privately because a lot of them feel uncomfortable about coming in front of a board where there's a camera and a microphone.  This is their livelihood.

Of course you never get a consensus, from everyone because they are so lovably independent.  I love them to death because they are independent.  They are also very candid with me, and I appreciate that.

Having said that, it's not a perfect plan.  That's why I think we have this ag committee going forward, because now you tweak it so your concerns are addressed.  Then it has to go to the Planning Board and then it has to go to the Town Board.  Because one size does not fit all.  So it's a process that we will go through.

Things change as a town changes.  I think we have to be open minded to that.

After years of political split on the board, people are saying the election this year is an important one.  Why would you say this election in particular is important for Lansing?

In general I don't think that the board is that split.  A lot of votes on resolutions have been unanimous.  Yhe unfortunate thing is a 'no' vote carries a lot more weight than a 'yes' vote.  Overall I think the board is working in the general direction for the town.

But I also think there is a large group in Lansing that has been ignored, and they may have been here the longest.  I went to over 600 houses during the primary election.  When I talked to those people they said they never saw anybody come out to visit them.  They never saw anybody show any concern for them.  They are very angry and energized right now.  I tell them it's your town and your vote is just as important as anybody else's.  That's not taking anything away from any of the other people in the Town, but there is a compromise.

When I am on the Lansing Community Council -- we didn't do the fireworks for one party or the other.  When we did the playground it wasn't for one party or the other.  When we did the giving appeal it wasn't for one party or the other.  Same with the log cabin.  This is all about community and about Lansing.  I try to represent everybody objectively.

If the outcome is still split, do you have a strategy for bringing the board together on initiatives you feel are important?

It depends on the issue.  Sometimes it's either yes or no.  For instance, do you repeal the SAFE Act or not?  That's a yes or no issue.  It doesn't matter if you own a gun or don't own a gun.  The answer's yes or no.  There are certain people running for this office that have voted to not repeal it.  And there are certain people that are running for the Town Board who voted not to repeal it.  So we have to have accountability.

On the other hand there may be a compromise on certain issues.  This budget we're going through now -- there's a compromise on it, I believe.  I'm compromising on that.  I'm giving up stuff that I don't agree with, but on the other hand we're moving forward on that.  I'd rather have 80% of something than 100% of nothing.

What would you like people to know about your candidacy that we haven't talked about?

Whatever happens, it won't be for lack of effort.  Whatever happens it will be because I am pounding on doors continuously.  I am talking to people continuously.  I reach out to people wherever I am.  When people ask me questions I try to give them an honest answer.

I am accessible.  I'm accountable, and I will accomplish things.  That's what I will do.


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