Mark Down 3 More Candidates Who Do NOT Pledge Zero Tax Increases

Three more candidates for the Kingston Common Council have said they CANNOT pledge at this time to
"not vote for any budget or bill that increases taxes for the next 2 years".
Those 3 candidates are:

Katie Scott Childress for 1st Ward alderman in the City of Kingston,

Debbie Brown for 9th Ward alderman in the City of Kingston, and

Hayes Clement for 9th Ward alderman in the City of Kingston.

Maybe we can convince them to change their minds? 

Debbie Brown asked that I post the following explanation.......................In this day and age it would be premature to say I would not vote against a tax increase. Two years is a longtime to stay locked in a pledge when our economy is constantly changing. One just has to look at union contracts, of which we were locked into, to see how much our economy flunctuated when they were originally negotiated 4 years ago when economic times were better. That being said, I will try my best to keep taxes from rising. I am against raising taxes but to make a pledge is not feasible for me at the present time. How about asking the candidates to make a committment to keeping taxes from rising.? I live in the city and as a homeowner it would be to my best interest to keep taxes from rising.


One has to remember George Bush's (the elder Bush) campaign slogan," Read my lips

. No new taxes" Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Also, a lot of the taxes are tied to State Mandates at the current time of which we sometimes have no control. And the pension plan is part of it. This more than anything increased our deficit. Energy costs are also rising again. Insurance premiums take a chunk. The best way to prevent a raise in taxes is to spend wisely and do away with unnecessary spending. Tighten the belts.Streamline city hall.

We need to go after the State Legislature for any type of tax reform. This will give the relief to the county and local municipalities.

I don't know if you will post this along with the decision to not take the pledge but in all fairness you should. This way the voters can see their candidate's view of the tax situation.