“There’s always this weird Jekyll and Hyde thing when it comes to the political system, they say they want you’re input, then they put up obstacles,” said Allen. “It’s a myth that people don’t care and that’s why they don’t participate.”
Open it up, says Allen
Allen said he would bring his public relations experience to bear to make city government more accessible and more inviting to young people and busy families who might not have time to make it to City Hall for public hearings. He said the same lack of public involvement which led to the sudden — and to elected officials, surprising — revolt of the Pike Plan stakeholders is at play in Hoffay’s ambitious plans to rework intersections and form business improvement districts. Allen said those moves could lead to unforeseen consequences without adequate vetting by those who would be most affected.
“If we don’t do this the right way, things could get very bad,” said Allen. “Just because the state is handing out money for roundabouts doesn’t mean we have to have one.”
Hoffay showed up at the Roundabout proposal. the ONLY city official to do so. He was totally right on the “fiasco” and we want another fiasco at the entrance to the Plaza. Totally right on the Pike Plan and there was no call except for lack of involvment that that uptown merchants were “surprised”… they have a business group! Did the entire business group not know?
The Main Street Manager needed Tom’s attention… he got the money, ($50K, but at the cost of NOT having work done on a Comprehensive plan) but didn’t follow through and the result is no visible progress, no progress on a BID such that the BID proposal was very poorly done and not suitable for presentation for public consideration.
Then too, he moved quickly on the social media work for Kingston, got it done, and seems to be one of the most modern of Kingston’s alderman with regard to a Communications Policy. I don’t know that Seth will do as well, or if his views for the city of Kingston are widely known or communicated.
Hoffay is likely considered a good ol boy, but boy he’s done a good job.
My name is Seth Allen and I am running for Ward 2 Alderman. I have lived in Uptown my whole life and I currently live and work right on North Front street. I am new to the political game in Kingston, but I have a lot to offer!
In terms of the new Albany Avenue and Broadway “Roundabout,” I am against the idea. In a time of fiscal crisis for the City, I do not think it is a responsible use of our resources. If you want to look at the track record of other recent construction projects, it will inevitably go over budget and will be behind schedule. We as City residents cannot afford this. Our leaders should be focusing on our deteriorating sewer system, roads, public safety and infrastructure improvements, not an unnecessary traffic circle. The current traffic circle is hazardous, disorienting to visitors and avoided by many residents of the City.
In terms of the Business Improvement Districts (BID). There is an overwhelming majority of business owners against the one proposed for Broadway and my opponent supports it. He also wishes to create a BID Uptown. There is already an involuntary and some say illegal special taxing district Uptown that is opposed by 90% of the property owners. I am against the idea of expanding this district or any additional involuntary assessments. We have County and City tourism offices and a Main Street Manager that are working to market and promote our neighborhoods, businesses and events. I think we could work together and achieve the same goals that some might think could be achieved by a BID. Making property and business owners pay even more special assessments for these types of marketing efforts would be redundant. I am happy to contribute my expertise for this cause. In fact, I used to work for the City of Kingston tourism office.
Lastly, I majored in communication and media marketing in college and can vastly improve the social media presence of the City government. I commend my opponent for getting the ball rolling, but there is still a lot more that could be done like instant updates via Twitter about construction or parking issues and a comprehensive Facebook page. I believe that meetings could be done via the internet to make it easier for people to be involved who might not physically be able to get to City Hall. Polls about new resolutions could even be taken online to measure public sentiment. This is just the beginning of my ideas for social media.
There have been articles written which have outlined more of my platform and they are posted on my blog. If anyone would like any additional information about me and my campaign, feel free to message me or visit my website-www.sethallenforuptown.com or my Facebook fan page. The election is November 8th and all of your votes count! Thank you for your time.