Livermore Seeks Endorsement For Supervisor At The New Lebanon Democratic Caucus

by Kieron Kramer
The New Lebanon Democratic Caucus on Tuesday, June 9, at 7 pm at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Route 20 in New Lebanon promises to be an important event. Candidates for the November municipal election will be endorsed: Supervisor, Town Board (2), Highway Superintendent, Tax Collector, Town Justice and Town Clerk. Allen Livermore, who recently resigned as New Lebanon Deputy Supervisor but who is still serving on the Board announced in an email to this newspaper that he will be seeking the endorsement for Supervisor from Democrats at the caucus.
Livermore has served on the Town Board for the last two years. “I recognize that this is an important time for New Lebanon. My campaign for Supervisor is about providing strong leadership that reflects principled, independent judgment and core values such as openness, the free flow of information, accountability and fiscal restraint. My campaign.is about providing our citizens with a well-managed local government that they can believe in and afford,” he said.
In working for transparent government, Livermore  introduced a resolution at the May Town Board meeting to release the findings of the Ethics Board in response to a citizen complaint. “Even though our current law said that this report would be confidential, I believed that it was important for citizens to be able to read it,” he said. Livermore will also be introducing a resolution to strengthen the new Town Ethics Law by prohibiting nepotism, providing for a “Two-Hat Provision” (which would ban elected officials from also serving as officers in a political party) and establishing a “Revolving Door Provision.” “As Supervisor, I would go the ‘extra mile’ to make certain that citizens have confidence in how local government makes decisions,” he said.
In order to attract new residents, businesses and jobs to New Lebanon Livermore has a three-pronged proposal to promote business and economic development, he wrote in his email.  His plan is to control government spending, to explore shared services and, most significantly, to provide water and sewage to the downtown “miracle mile” area.
Residents and businesses aren’t going to relocate to NL when taxes are high and there’s no water, sewer or garbage services,” he wrote. To keep spending reasonable during the last town budget process, Livermore voted against giving the Town Clerk and the Assessor’s Clerk double-digit raises. “This at a time when many of our own citizens were experiencing reductions in salary and hours, lay-offs and unemployment,” he said.
Livermore sees this as an important and challenging time for New Lebanon. He feels that a  Supervisor is needed who can manage local government in a professional manner and who can provide strong leadership in both the big things and the little things. He feels that as Supervisor he will stand up for what it is in the best interests of the community.