Tuesday night, the candidates for Penfield Town Supervisor and Town Council gathered for a forum sponsored by the Penfield Green Initiative. The evening was designed to be a focused discussion about environmental issues as they pertain to the Town of Penfield. Each candidate was asked to give a three-minute opening statement, after which a series of questions would be addressed in a pre-determined manner.
By random selection, I was the fifth to deliver my opening statement. As the others spoke before (and after) me, I was surprised to realize that I was the only one who had prepared a statement about environmental issues. The others, in varying degrees, chose to use the three minutes to highlight their respective credentials and qualifications. To be sure I found this interesting. In the days leading up to this event, it never occurred to me to open by talking about myself.
There will be a video of this event online soon and I will post a link when it becomes available. In the mean time, below is the original text from both my 3-minute opening and 1-minute closing statements. I welcome your comments.
Three Minute Opening
Good evening. My name is Steve Nazarian and I am the Independent Candidate for Penfield Town Supervisor. I would like to thank the PGI for hosting this event, and the League of Women Voters, as well as all the candidates for their participation.
Thank you to all of YOU, who have come tonight to participate in the great tradition of debate. I would also like to thank all of our military men and women, present and past, for their sacrifice, defending our right to assemble like this, and debate the issues openly and honestly. We are blessed as a nation and we should never take for granted what we have.
The goal of this evening is to discuss environmental issues as they pertain to the Town of Penfield. Over the last century, the awareness of environmental concerns has grown to where we find ourselves today. I have problem however, with the stand-alone term “environmental issue.” If we are as honest and analytical as we should be, in some respects every issue is an environmental issue. What I mean by this is that every challenge and debate we face as a town has an environmental component that must be a factor in our decision making process.
Over time, both the law and practice-standards have made some things commonplace. There was a day in Penfield’s nearly 200-year history when building codes, environmental impact studies, and DEC regulations simply didn’t exist. When we reflect on the “good old days” it’s important to remember that in many ways those days weren’t particularly good for the environment.
As far as we’ve come in normalizing environmental considerations, we have a measurable distance yet to go. If we accept that every action and decision, with which the town is involved, has an environmental component, then it only stands to reason that we would have a framework of environmental criteria that we apply in every case.
Using the established Conservation Board, The Town of Penfield should write, adopt and follow a comprehensive set of environmentally focused policies that will guide all town business, both formal and informal. These policies should not only guide decision-making, but also inspire and encourage proactive, environmentally conscious behavior by all town employees and residents. These policies should be clear and easy to understand so that everyone can apply them with ease.
I don’t accept the common argument that considering the environment in projects adds to the cost. That may be the case if you’re wedded to the same old way of doing things, but if you’re willing to be creative and open to new approaches very often “going green” actually improves the bottom line. Modern businesses are proving this on a daily basis.
We will discuss many things tonight, from the general to the specific. With any luck we’ll unearth some new and exciting ideas. As you listen to all the candidates, I would like you to consider that under my leadership, environmental concerns will not be a singular issue…environmental considerations will be a component of every issue. If we are to make steady progress towards a truly balanced relationship with the environment that surrounds and sustains us, we must consider it in everything we do. Thank you.
One Minute Closing
Thank you again to everyone who made this evening possible.
My two decades of experience in the business world have solidified something I learned as a child… and that is that words are just words, but without actions to back them up, they have little meaning.
My campaign handed out 1,600 reusable, recyclable water bottles during the 4th of July parade, in-line with Monroe County’s Refill not Landfill initiative.
The campaign chose to use the web as our main communications medium, dramatically reducing paper use.
Our yard signs were designed to be reusable in future campaigns with only a minor alteration.
And, most importantly, we are not sending any campaign postcards. They are wasteful, expensive and generally ineffective. The sum total of our campaign paper use will be a single, recyclable door tag and a business card.
Here’s the bottom line: I am running my campaign exactly like I will run the town of Penfield with:
- Efficient tools
- Financial Accountability
- Environmental Responsibility
- And Innovative ideas
I thank you for your time and consideration and I look forward to many more conversations with you all.
I am agree with you!
I am agree with you!