November 1, 2020.
Press & Sun-Bulletin, page A10, Binghamton NY.
Your Turn
By Patrick Dorner, Guest columnist
I would like to respond to a guest viewpoint that my opponent Cheryl Chapman wrote in your paper Oct. 25. She has not told the truth about me and definitely inflated all of her accomplishments over the past 20 years as a trustee.
Claiming that she is the “most vested candidate for the environment” is laughable. She supports the battery incinerator that will spew six known carcinogens into the air all over the Village of Endicott, including residents’ homes and Little League ball fields. Our seniors do not need their lungs compromised, which could cause a COVID-19 issue.
I am a business person, not a typical politician that takes credit for everything in sight. I worked on the 2020 budget with every village department head as well as our village manager. Cheryl Chapman was nowhere to be found. The proposed tax increase was reduced from 20% to less than 3%. I give all the credit to our village manager and the department heads who worked together for a successful goal.
Cheryl Chapman has been touting that a glass recycling company is coming to Endicott. This is also not true. There is no company lined up. It is a political ploy. The truth was revealed in our last village meeting on Oct. 19.
She claims that I am one of those “anti-battery” people. Let me make this perfectly clear, the anti-incinerator group were the ones that told the DEC of the dangerous PFAS/PFOS issue. Why would the DEC halt the air permit to Sungeel if they were a bunch of liars! Even though I have a degree in mechanical engineering, I still verify technical information with people smarter than me, unlike my opponent.
In regards to economic development, Chapman has been a trustee for 20 years. There has been no development whatsoever during her tenure. Her claim to fame will be 10 to 20 jobs at the incinerator plant, where there will be absolutely not one penny of tax revenue going to the village coffers. I have been a trustee for 10 months. I have talked to two developers who are considering major projects in the village that are actually revenue producers!
Lastly, a politician’s job is to do the will of their constituents. The residents are the bosses. We work for them, not visa versa. Chapman, Mayor Linda Jackson and Eileen Konecny are the only three people in the county that want the incinerator. Every other government entity, local and state included, want the incinerator halted until the health issues and environmental concerns have been properly vetted.
I will work for the residents of Endicott, not for a company from out of the country who wants to be the third company to pollute our village and reduce our property values.
Patrick Dorner is a Village of Endicott trustee.
NoBurnBroome 