Dear Village of New Paltz Residents,

It has been a pleasure serving the community as a trustee and Deputy Mayor for the past 4 years. I greatly appreciate the comments from those I have spoken to who are disappointed that I am not seeking another term, even the person who seem surprised that I “took it seriously!” Many in the community have also asked which mayoral candidate I am endorsing, and I appreciate the fact that people are looking for feedback and not simply paying attention to the negative statements being made about candidates. The answer is, yes, I am supporting Jason West.

Having been a member of Jason’s campaign team in prior years, four years ago he and I agreed that we would continue in our tradition as Greens and run a campaign where we remain positive and refrain from attacking any other candidates regardless of any attacks against us. Today, Jason is still fulfilling that agreement. His work, honesty, and commitment give him more than enough to promote himself as the best candidate, there is no need or time to discredit an opponent. We have not always agreed on everything, but to look back on the many projects, committees, commissions, and legislation we have enacted I am proud of the work we have done and I trust him to continue to move forward on projects that are not just better for our community, but better for all.

Again, it has been a pleasure to serve, and I especially enjoy knowing that fact that over the past four years our streets have become safer, we can actually drive and walk on North Chestnut, etc. during a storm, our meetings are much more open and inviting, people are actually excited about the environmental projects a small community can enact to counter Global Warming–all that while putting forth budgets that can actually lower taxes.

As many of you already know, I will continue to serve our community with various projects and will always remain active as a public servant. Having a full-time job and being a parent already requires time and commitment, and while I may miss the direct involvement of serving on the village board, I will enjoy having more time to enjoy the beauty of this place we all call home. I cannot think of a better way to advise Jason and all the boards and committees than by spending more time as a bicyclist and pedestrian.

Thank you, Rebecca Rotzler, Deputy Mayor

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007

“Mayor Jason West to Run for Re-election”

I remember the first time I heard of Jason West, it was April of 2003. I got an email forwarded on from a friend in our local Green Party, it said that in New Paltz, New York, a slate of Greens were running for Village office…I didn’t really think about it again. Well, at least not until I got the next email. The email that said they won, they all won. A Green will be a mayor in New York! Greens got elected. Now, I am fairly optimistic but I figured it would be a while before we started winning even the small races.

This idea of elected officials was a new idea to us. I thought we could and should be winning small races, I just didn’t expect us to be winning anytime soon. Oddly enough, 5 months later I was expecting us to win a seat on the City Council. Dare to hope.

At our next canvassing effort, we probably had about 30 volunteers in an abandoned parking lot. Our candidate for City Council held up a newspaper with that famous picture of Jason, Rebecca, and Julia leaning on the fence. He said what makes this picture so special, and so amazing, is these 3 Greens are elected officials, these Greens won an election in New York. The whole Green electoral landscape in Rochester really changed shape at that moment. People believed that we could find small races and win them…

In the weeks following the New Paltz victories, we heard stories, possibly tall tales, of the old guard, the Democrats, and the media freaking out about what a Green Mayor would do to their wonderful Village over the next four years. To be fair, not all of them thought he would last four years, or even a year. We heard the inaugural celebration included solar powered speakers, vegan/organic snacks, and of course, puppets! We heard the joy and celebration amongst Greens and the fear amongst the Democrats.

Then we heard about the really good stuff. The new Village Board changed the practices that were polluting their river. They added solar panels to the Village Hall. They worked on a strategic plan to preserve open space and implement affordable housing. They took on environmental responsibility and economic sustainability when they challenged the old guard’s practice of trucking their sewage 250 miles away to landfill in Waterloo, NY, and began work on the first of three sewage reed beds for the Village waste.

More doors opened for the Green Party. Not only could Greens win, they could govern. The Village of New Paltz gave Greens the chance to prove it, and they sure did…

Mayor Jason West, and Deputy Mayor Rebecca Rotlzer held onto their values as the Democratic Party tried to tempt them away. Jason and Rebecca are two of the most important Greens in the country, and have both played critical roles in the advancement of our party.

Less than one year into their first term in a crowed Village park, Mayor Jason West solemnized the marriage of two of his best friends. Jason presided over 11 more same-sex marriages that day. When Jason was arrested, Rebecca Rotlzer took over and married an additional dozen same-sex couples. Local Clergy took over when injunctions were filed, prohibiting the elected officials from performing additional ceremonies.

I watched the events live on CNN, I was so proud of Jason and Rebecca, I was so proud to be a Green. They showed every Democrat and every politician that there is a difference between saying you support something, and actually supporting something. For many people, that difference allowed their lives to change forever.

At that time Governor Eliot Spitzer was the New York State Attorney General and he chose to stand against Mayor Jason West. It was also Eliot Spitzer who decided same-sex marriages were against the New York State Constitution…

Contrary to media spin and the Democratic Party, same-sex marriages are not forbidden in the New York State Constitution. However, you do need a valid marriage license and the State only prints applications with a male and a female entry. Eliot Spitzer isn’t planning on changing the application.

A couple of years ago, a professor of mine was doing research on reed bed technology and he found an article about Jason, Rebecca and Julia prior to their election. The article listed four things they wanted to do.

1. Renewable Energy on Village Buildings.
2. Affordable Housing in the Village.
3. Reed Bed Sewage Treatment.
4. Support Same-Sex Couples in the right to Marriage.

I was surprised to see number four in the article, I didn’t know they campaigned on that. They didn’t think they were empowered to marry same-sex couples when they were elected, but they did support equal rights.

My professor read the article out load and said “Wow, imagine if they actually did all of that”.

I smiled and said “They did.”

How many elected officials have you seen make good on their top four campaign pledges in their first two years in office? How many elected officials have made campaign pledges that where this ambitious?

Jason and Rebecca showed the people that there is an alternative solution. Democrats consistently say they support the issues of the people, while making the claim that they are not empowered to really make change happen. Politicians always say they are fighting for the people, but they never look like they have really been fighting for anything. In New Paltz, a few committed people changed the world.

The Democrats don’t want the people to know that change is attainable. They don’t want people to know that they really do have the power to change their community. The success of Jason West threatens the power structure enjoyed by the Democrats. Mayor West is breaking up a monopoly in New York.

Rebecca is now a Co-Chair of the Green Party of the United States, and is finishing up her term as a Village Trustee. Neither Julia nor Rebecca are running for re-election. No other Greens within the small Village felt they could serve, leaving Jason West along to run with two non-Green running mates…

excerpt:

Deputy Mayor of New Paltz and co-chair of the Green Party Rebecca Rotzler, radical feminist Carol Hanisch and activist Pete Healey lead the in-depth conversation that ranged from the anti-war movement, to capitalism, to the impeachment of Bush.

“Four years in Iraq marked”

New Paltz – Four years ago yesterday, millions of Americans joined protesters on each continent in opposing a United States invasion of Iraq…

“It is an important date because people around the world realized that President Bush was about to do something very horrific that was going to be a huge stain in our history, and that a lot of people were going to be dying, and that not only here and in Iraq, but people all over the world were going to be affected by this,” said Rebecca Rotzler, the village’s deputy mayor.

Rotzler hosted a meeting Thursday night to help make people more aware of the importance of the date, and to tell them that more people opposed to the war and President Bush’s policies need to step up…

“The Bush Administration is doing to the whole world what it did to New Orleans as Katrina began to descend on the city,” says Green Party co-chair Rebecca Rotzler, who has been in the forefront of demanding an official response to the administration’s assault on science. “By altering scientific research on global warming to fit his political agenda and refusing to take necessary steps to protect the public, President Bush has aggravated an impending environmental, public health, and security crisis.

Please go there and vote for Rebecca Rotzler as your number one choice!

The poll is here:
DemoChoice Green Party President Poll

Deputy Mayor Rebecca Rotzler, for U. S. President

Just a note: The DemoChoice poll is unofficial and separate from the Green Party. Not sure the biases. Hope we can send lots of Rebecca Rotzler supporters there.

Dee’s Live Journal

On November 1, 2006 the Village Board of New Paltz, New York adopted a new sweatfree purchasing policy for apparel and textiles as allowed by New York state law.  The Village of New Paltz Board is led by two Green Party activists, Mayor Jason West and Deputy Mayor Rebecca Rotzler- a National Green Party Co-Chair who also led the effort to pass the sweatfree ordinance.

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