18TH DISTRICT

R.E. (Bob) Antonitis

I am running for a seat in the Monroe County Legislature this year because the issues this year are far more serious than just a few years ago.

As I talk too many of my neighbors, I've met people who are out of work or have had their pay and/or benefits reduced. I've talked to many seniors who can't afford the ever-increasing taxes and fees at all levels of government, particularly folks on fixed incomes.

I have the experience, vision, and ideas to pursue this office now including 24 years in public service as an elected town meeting representative and Finance Committee member in Milton, MA, requiring the balancing of budgets of many departments and keeping taxes low due to the Prop 2 ½ mandate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

As important as budgets and fiscal matters are, I feel that social justice issues must be addressed in our community.

I received early inspiration at my first college graduation from Northeastern University by the keynote speech given by then junior Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He spoke of the dual school system at the time in Boston due to de facto Segregation.

His inspiring words started me early on in the work of politics to help right the wrongs in our society. That work continues today, as the needs are as great as they were decades ago.

Help me to continue that work.

Nora Bredes

There are three essential measures of any effective, democratic government:

* Openness;

* A willingness to engage with citizens and with other elected officials - especially when they disagree with the majority; and,

* An ethical commitment to lift the public's business above party loyalty.

Right now, the Monroe County Legislature fails on each measure. This ethical bankruptcy has brought us to the brink of fiscal insolvency.

Here's some of the evidence:

* The Fair Plan changed major assumptions about funding that affected every community in the county - school districts, our community college, and taxpayers. But rather than invite all involved to public hearings about fundamental changes, the legislature and executive used high-handed tactics to foreclose discussion. They voted within hours of giving notice to Democratic colleagues. The result? An ill-conceived, shortsighted plan that brought a balanced budget for just one year at the cost of an additional $3 million over five years. This isn't only arrogant; it's just plain stupid. These kinds of "fixes" are the reason Monroe County has the lowest bond rating in New York State.

* The majority insists on replacing term-limited County Legislators before their terms are up, by anointing party favorites. The trouble is that when "elected" officials are selected this way, their natural allegiance is to the party, not the voters. They tow the line, consult party leaders, and do as they're told. There's no independence, patronage is protected, and the party bosses stay in control.

* The Robutrad scandal suggests a "loyalty is all" mindset rules county government. When the parents of the county finance director and a County Legislator benefit at the expense of taxpayers and the majority of the County Legislature refuses to investigate, you have to ask if someone is being protected. And a "whistle-blower" set-up that asks callers to contact the administration's paid consultants is a quintessential "fox guarding the hen house" tactic. Citizens deserve an independent investigation of this administration.

I'm running for County Legislator because I know county government doesn't have to be this way. As a County Legislator on Long Island for nearly seven years, I served in the minority but worked across the aisle on bi-partisan initiatives to balance budgets, prevent domestic violence, save open space, limit exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, and invite citizens to engage in sound solutions to critical challenges.

We must bring open, responsive government to Monroe County. A new county legislative majority will get an honest job done.

21ST DISTRICT

Carrie Andrews

It's been my honor to serve as the Monroe County Legislator for the 21st Legislative District for the past four years. Campaigning in 2005, I made a promise to the voters of the 21st LD: to be open, honest, and accessible to them. To keep that promise, I opened the first, and only, Monroe County Legislative District Office. It's located at 1334 Culver Road and is now used by various neighborhood groups and constituents. I strive each day to live up to my pledge to be responsive and available to my neighbors.

In the past four years, much has happened in the Legislature. Some of it good - like fighting for increased child care subsidies for working families, approving the construction of the Public Safety Crime Lab, and funding important programs and grants that benefit young people, fight the spread of disease, and help the elderly. Unfortunately, there have also been significant missteps by the current administration.

As Assistant Minority Leader of the Democratic caucus in an incredibly partisan legislative body, many times I have been able to speak out on issues but not stop them from happening. The Republican majority and Brooks administration have rarely included us, the Democratic legislators, in their deliberations. Most Democratic proposals are rejected either unilaterally by the president of the legislature or along a party-line vote in a committee meeting. Opportunities for true, authentic bi-partisan collaboration have been few and far between. I have only had one opportunity to participate in a truly bi-partisan group - that was on the bi-partisan budget committee in 2008. Our work resulted in the passage of two pieces of legislation bringing increased transparency to county finances. Collaboration, in the interest of the taxpayers, ought to happen more often. But collaboration requires true sharing of information, trust, and mutual respect.

Such collaboration was absent entirely from the way the County implemented the F.A.I.R. Plan and conducted the selection process for the Monroe County Public Defender and MCC president (the first search). In those instances, the Brooks administration or Republican majority forced their way on anyone who was in the way. The night that stands out the most to me as a legislator is the night the public defender was chosen. I will never forget the chill of seeing unarmed people handcuffed, and having extra security guards present in the legislative chambers, having citizens stuck outside in the cold, their access to the "public meeting" slowed by metal detectors. It was a shameful sight. I was proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues that evening and in support of the public - which was trying to voice its opinion - and stand up against injustice.

It is my hope that a new Democratic majority will be sworn in to the Monroe County Legislature for the first time in nearly 20 years this January. If given the continued honor of serving you, I pledge to continue fighting for increased transparency, financial accountability, responsiveness to the public, and a true system of checks and balances in county government. It is crucial that the County Legislature act like the deliberative legislative body it is supposed to be, not just a rubber stamp for the Brooks administration. That has been happening for far too long. I look forward to a robust debate of ideas, true collaboration, and a new way a doing business in Monroe County.

I would humbly ask for the support of the residents of the 21st Legislative District in the September 15th Democratic primary. I would be honored to have an opportunity to continue to build upon the work that we've started and continue to fight for you.

Jan Bowers

I am new to politics, but I am not new to helping our community.

For 21 years I have lived in the same house in the same neighborhood in Rochester. Through my volunteer work in my neighborhood, for a local food cupboard, as an adult literacy volunteer and an after-school tutor, and in my church's social ministry, I am aware of the struggles of many people in our district and community as a whole. Through these experiences, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of education and learning for adults trying to improve their lives. I have seen the impact one person can have on a child struggling with reading or math.

Through these collaborative and cooperative efforts, many grounded in faith, I have seen the power of building bridges to better lives and a better community.

This same spirit of building bridges is needed in the Monroe County Legislature. Both Republicans and Democrats in the legislature are building walls and transforming Monroe County into another Albany. Partisanship takes precedence over good ideas and good government. This is completely wrong! We need to build bridges, not erect walls, for a better community. And that's what I aim to do when I am elected: Build bridges for a better community.

In doing this my faith will guide me. My faith influences who I am, how I live, and what I do. It is now calling me to serve my community in a broader way - running for public office. It is a call I cannot ignore.

In answering that I call I find myself drawn not only to challenging the tenor of our politics, but to improve social services for those who depend on them. Our children must be educated. But to learn, children need to be in school. The County has a role in seeing that this happens. To receive benefits from the Department of Human Services, parents/guardians are required every 21 days to confirm that their children are attending school. We need to assure that this is happening and when elected I pledge to make certain that it is.

We must demand that our children be in school. But we must also provide opportunities for their parents/guardians to be in school themselves or on the job. To that end the County must fund, to the level that is fiscally responsible, safe and well regulated child care opportunities for families in need. Having been a working mother, I know firsthand the heavy cost and worry in finding good child care. Parents/guardians already struggling to find and keep a job or to educate or retrain themselves should not have to face this concern as well. When elected I pledge that they will have the child care subsidies necessary so they will not have to choose between going to work or school because they do not have the child care they need.

We can also do better on public safety. Strict supervision is needed to ensure that the County is not paying the rent for drug pushers. This must not happen and when elected I pledge to make certain that it does not. But our response must not only be punitive. Public safety is increased by providing a safety net for people at risk. With the recent revisions to the Rockefeller Drug Laws, many former prisoners will be reentering our community from the state prisons. We must maintain existing programs and develop new programs and partnerships where necessary to assist in their reentry into our community and secure the public safety. We must do this. Without reentry programs and educational and employment opportunities, these returning adults cannot support themselves. We cannot let this happen to them or to us. When elected I pledge to make certain that it does not.

In the end for our community of Monroe to move forward we must:

* Build bridges rather than partisan walls to advance good ideas and good government;

* Resist Republican and Democratic efforts to "Albanize" Monroe County government;

* Promote the education of our at-risk youth by holding both social workers and parents/guardians accountable for seeing that children in their care are in school;

* Fund child care subsidies as fully as possible so that parents/guardians will not have to choose between going to work or school because they do not have the child care they need;

* Strengthen public safety through an aggressive response to the misuse of social services funds to pay the rent of drug dealers;

* Strengthen and develop new programs and partnerships for effective community reentry of adults released from prison.

And lastly, we need to put a little faith in government.

29TH DISTRICT

Saul Maneiro

I am excited and concerned about the future of our community. I am a lifelong resident of northeast Rochester and a graduate of Rochester city schools, and I am proud to call the 29th District my home. I was raised with a strong sense of family and community that was instilled in me from my earliest memories. Driven by the desire to improve the lives of my fellow citizens and to work toward ensuring that our best days are still ahead, I am running for Monroe County Legislature. I hope that I can earn your support.

I have been a very active Democrat for nearly a decade and have served in a variety of roles within the Democratic Party, including serving as president of the Young Democrats and working on many campaigns.

Since graduating from the University of Rochester, I have worked as an educator and I have worked at non-profit organizations that serve the community. Over the years, I have volunteered as a tutor, a mentor, and a coach for many young people in our city and I have seen the great potential for our future. I currently work as a program officer at the Rochester Area Community Foundation, overseeing funding that helps improve neighborhood programs, promote arts and cultural initiatives, and boost efforts to better engage citizens in all aspects of our community.

If elected, I will work with my fellow legislators to ensure that this county's government gets back to doing the business of its people. I pledge to work with my colleagues to make decisions based solely on the good of the citizens of Monroe County and the 29th District - not the interests of just a few individuals. I will work hard to be an effective voice for the people of northeast Rochester.

I am humbled by this opportunity to continue the great tradition of those who have served before me in the Monroe County Legislature. I ask for your vote on September 15th.

Michael Patterson did not respond to our requests for an interview or statement.