Ed LaVigne is competing in next Thursday's (September 10) primary election to determine whether he will become the Republican candidate for Lansing Town Supervisor.

LaVigne is completing his first term as a Town Board member, and decided to go for the top job 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. 

LaVigne has been a prime mover in the Lansing Community Council, on which he presides as President, since 2007.  In that capacity he was key in raising money and manpower to restore the historic North Log Cabin in Myers Park, and was Fundraising and Building Coordinator for the Myers Park Playground project, as well as raising money and volunteers for many other community efforts, including the Lansing Fireworks.  He is also an active contributor at the Lansing United Methodist Church, where he has chaired or coordinated blood drives, crop walks, and the twice-annual rummage sales for many years.

He sat down with the Lansing Star last week to talk about their candidacies and why he is the Republican's best bet in the November general election.    The Star asked the same questions of both candidates, and this is a transcription of LaVigne's interview.


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


I think the time is right.  Everything happens for a reason.  I think Lansing needs to have town-focused leadership, especially with the way the financial situation is right now.  When you have an unpredictable financial future you need to have someone who is willing to be fiscally disciplined, and perhaps to do small things now and do bigger things later.

Municipalities are like turtles.  When things are bad they should be able to hunker down and ride through the storms.  And when things are bright and sunny they should be able to just chug along and do better.  But unless you have the ability to do that you're going to be in some terrible, terrible situations.


Primaries are about people of one general philosophy choosing a candidate that best reflects their point of view.  But strategically that person isn’t always the one who can beat the opposing candidate in the general election.  Are you the candidate most likely to win in the general election (and why)?


I would hope so!  (laughs)  I mean, it's up to the voters.  Let's face it, any time you have an election process, and I've said this for many years, it's like a long job interview.  I'll never say hire me because the other candidates are blank, blank, blank.  I don't think that's appropriate.

You basically say this is what you're qualified for.  If the voters feel the same way, then hopefully you'll have enough votes that you'll have that job.  It's pretty straghtforward as far as I'm concerned.  Whatever happens happens.

But it won't be due to lack of effort.  It won't be due to lack of clarity of what the visions are.  Clarity, as far as what the past history has been.  If you go down to Myers Park, there's a pretty strong resume right there.


You're talking about the log cabin, the playground and the fireworks?


Those are three things that weren't there before, and it was only due to leadership that we actually got them.  I was approached about the log cabin.  That was when I was not in politics as you well know, because you were very instrumental in that also.  You got a front row seat on how things operate when I'm involved with them.  One of the things we did was a prototype with one of the barbecues (to raise money for the project).  It had traction, so we moved forward.

This wasn't a liberal or a conservative problem.  This was a money problem.


Right.  But the question is, between you and Chris Williams, which one of you do you think is most likely to beat the Democrat that runs?


That's going to be up to the voter.  That's how it works.  If I didn't think that I was the person to lead Lansing I would not be making all this effort to do that.  That's not up to me.  It's not a one on one chess game.  It's up to all the voters to decide to come out and vote, and decide 'I know this person' or 'I know this person', or 'I've seen what this person does'  This person is involved with community.  This person embraces everyone.  Is that the person I want to be in a leadership role in the next four years for our town?'  That's up to them.

Then, because this is a primary, why should Republicans, specifically, vote for you in the primary?


Well, the ones I've reached out to, and I've gone to a lot of houses.  I've gone to about 600 houses.  I've talked to probably over 1,000 people -- and the one thing is I let them talk.  It's about them.  It's not about me.  It's about them.  About their concerns.  It's not about Ed LaVigne and about legacies, because the cemeteries are full of forgotten legacies.  It's all about people and how you can help people.  It's as simple as that.

I have not voted for a tax rate increase in the three years I've been on the board.  I voted against a full time planner and, with Robert Cree, was given the responsibility of finding a part-time consultant.  We did, and are saving the taxpayers up to $50,000 a year.


What have you done to prepare for the primary?  And what have you done to prepare for the job if you are elected Supervisor?


I have been going to as many doors as I can.  On Saturday I went nine hours.  And Sunday after work, I worked an eight hour shift, and there were three more hours (for canvassing) then.  I go 'til sunset.  When I see people they talk to me and I listen to them.  Because the most important person I'm with is the person who's talking right then.


What have you done to prepare for the job if you are elected Supervisor?


I've been on the Town Board for three years.  This will be my fourth budget that we're going through right now.  And let's face it, as Supervisor, by law you're primary responsibility is chief financial officer.   You're in charge of the money.  There's no better preparation than doing budgets.  I'll stand up to anybody as far as budget goes and what I think is important, what can, perhaps, be pushed down the road and what can't.


Do you have a vision for Lansing for the next four years?  Big dream things?  What is that and how do you see it coming to be?


First of all you need a leader who is in reality.  You have to look at the big dream... is anything huge going to happen in four years?  What's going to happen in four years is you're going to go in one direction or the other.  And you're going to keep nudging in that direction.

Vision: the farmland in the north gets protected.  Vision: the southern end is where we have the density and infrastructure.  That gets built up like rings on a tree.  It gets pushed out.  The next sewer area will be by district service area only, and it will be decided by the people and only the people that will be in that service area.  Because they and only they will be paying for it.


You're saying it will spread from south to north?


I would say probably down on Warren Road.  I would say probably Triphammer Road.  Those are the two corridors where the density is.  You see this right now with the Village Solars (development).  When you drive down Warren Road right now, those buildings are $1.2 million.  The next one being built is $1.3.

You worry about this big power plant going under, the biggest taxpayer we have in the county -- how are you supposed to substitute for that?  How are you supposed to replace it?  Hopefully with structures like these for starters, and hopefully more businesses will come in.


If you were to become Supervisor today, what would be the top three things on your agenda to accomplish for the Town quickly?


Well, the first thing you do as a leader is set the whole tone.  You set the tone for the employees.  You set the tone for the Town.  That's the first thing you do, and that would be accountability.

Number two is that every project would be in second gear from the start.  If you have done your homework and made your decisions based on the best information in front of you, you move things forward quickly.

My third: I think that, in general, government has an antiquated business plan.  Where else do you say you need this much money for all the different things you have to pay for, and oh by the way, we'll throw in some unfunded mandates that you're going to have to take care of also?

Where does that come from?  That's like a bank saying, oh by the way, you have a second mortgage you have to pay for even though you don't really need one.  We're going to throw a second mortgage on you because we want more money.  That would be absolutely ridiculous.  I work with our State Senators, who I know very well, -- Senator O'Mara, Senator Seward, Senator Nozzolio -- to push back on those.  That was the first resolution that I pushed through: let's get rid of these unfunded mandates.

When you talk to the school officials, if they didn't have these unfunded mandates things would be a lot rosier for Lansing.


What would you say to people outside of Lansing, and some inside the Town, who oppose repowering Cayuga Power Plant?


If you don't want our power plant, can we live with you?  Because basically, you will have to take care of us.  If you take that power plant we want to come live in your house with you.  You can take care of us.

Bottom line.  Because what you're doing is taking away our livelihood.  You're going to destroy this whole structure that we have here, because our school system will be will be greatly compromised, and/or we're going to have to decrease our quality of product.

Let's face it: our educational system here is one of the great draws we have.  There are a few great business we have here that employ large numbers of people, whether it be the power plant, or Cargill, or Borg Warner, once you go outside the educational system of Ithaca College and Cornell.  But town-wise, the Lansing educational system is a huge employer.  In my opinion we produce a great product.


The Town Board has been politically split for several years, and it appears that neither side has been interested in compromise on a lot of issues.  So it comes down to a three to two vote, whoever happens to have the three gets what they want.  Honestly, in my observation, it has meant that the Town hasn't been able to move forward.  If elected, what would you do to persuade Board members of both parties to move important items forward?


I would disagree with your whole analysis, that we're not moving forward.  If you move forward in a disastrous way... town-wide sewer?  How much would that have cost really?  $13.2?  $16.9?  $20?  You don't know until you get into these things.  That's not cheap.

Town center... town centers are grown.  They're not built, in my opinion.  Who's to say that once you build it they will come, Like 'Field of Dreams'.  Where?  Where are the businesses?  They're in the southern end.  Jazzercise moved to the southern end.  Car Quest moved to the southern end.  The farmer's market moved to the southern end.  Look at where the trends are.

Full time planner... $64,000 plus another 40% for benefits or do you have someone who has saved you up to $50,000 a year, which is five cents per thousand dollars off your taxes?

All these things, you go in one direction or the other.  Besides you are talking to the one person who actually reached out to the supervisor once there was a change in the political balance of power here.  To go out to lunch and resolve our differences.  That olive branch was offered in January.

So when you say there's this split here, well, to a certain extent.  But to a certain extent it also takes two to dance.


Briefly, what else should Republican voters know about you before the September 10th primary?


They should know that I am a person that cares deeply about people.  I care deeply about -- not about one political party or another -- I care about people.  My job as a pharmacist is to make the situation better.  My job when I am running for office is that I'm the best person to make the situation better.

My philosophy has always been 'you make it better than you found it'.  I can divorce my emotions from being objective.  Because at the end of the day they deserve 100% of what you can give them, and not becoming emotional.  Because at the end of the day when the emotion leaves the room the reality will stay there.  That's what I bring to the table.

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