Dooley Keifer (Democratic, Working Families)
RELEVANT PERSONAL INFORMATION: I have resided in the county for over 55 years. After graduating from Cornell I remained here, got married, and had two children (both now residents of California). My early years in TompkinsCounty were spent active in the League of Women Voters working on “good government” issues and becoming an environmental activist by virtue of opposing NYSEG’s proposed nuclear plant on Cayuga Lake. Over time I served on the Cayuga Heights Village Board and later on the Town of Ithaca Board. In 1992 I ran for the CountyBoard of Representatives both because of my continuing interest in government and to bring an environmental perspective to decision making. I continue to work in a half-time position on the editorial staff at the Ithaca Publications Office of the Ecological Society of America.
WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR OFFICE?:  There has been much turnover on the Legislature in the last decade, and I believe the “institutional memory“  I bring has value. More importantly, the complexity of government has grown and continues to be interesting and challenging.
For example, in New York State, counties act as an arm of state government, implementing, e.g., public health and mental health and social services responsibilities, registering voters and issuing drivers licenses, recording deeds and overseeing compliance with civil service, supporting a community college, and so forth. Of course the county also has roads and bridges, an airport, recycling and solid waste services, and countywide assessment as well as such public safety services as a sheriff, probation and alternatives to incarceration, and a countywide emergency communications system. We have an Environmental Management Council (EMC) and a Water Resources Council (WRC), a County Comprehensive Plan, and active energy conservation programs. We have the special responsibility of providing the “social safety net” for our residents.
This year I serve on the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee, the Planning, Energy, and Environmental Quality Committee, and the Government Operations Committee; I represent the Legislature on the EMC and the WRC; and for a number of years I have chaired the county’s Ethics Advisory Board.
In addition to “good government” and the environment, human rights, civil rights, and civil liberties are important to me. I know that what happens at the state and federal levels has profound impacts on us at the local level.
I am a good listener, and bring an independent and analytical approach to issues. I believe we must take a long-range view in decision making, where it is often cheaper in the long run to spend money now to ensure not having to spend more in the future.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO TACKLE IN THE POSITION YOU ARE SEEKING?: The biggest challenge is always to take the long-term view and ensure funding for all the important responsibilities we have consistent with residents’ fiscal ability to contribute. At the present, this is exemplified by the need to keep the “social safety net” intact and the desire to find a way to promote the living-wage approach throughout the county.