Ariana Basco moved to New Paltz seven years ago, coming to town to attend SUNY New Paltz in 2004. Since then, she’s worked with the consumer protection and advocacy group NYPIRG as a project coordinator in charge of community outreach.
“That’s how I got involved in politics,” she said.
After leaving that job in 2010, Basco now works as a bartender at Snug Harbor Tavern in New Paltz. For the last few years, she’s also volunteered her time as an appointed member of the town’s Police Commission.
Despite running on her own slate with the Positive Party, Basco is closely associated with former Mayor Jason West and they share many Green Party ideals -- including a similar stance on the proposed village noise ordinance.
In terms of why she wants to become a Village Board member, she said she had caught the political bug in her time in New Paltz.
“Local politics is absolutely my passion,” Basco said. “I see a lot of potential here in New Paltz. We have an opportunity here.”
In her work with the town government on the Police Commission, Basco has gotten to know the inner workings of Town Hall -- that’s an asset she sees as something that could help her mend the relationship between the town and village. “I’m somebody who’s a bridge builder,” she said.
Not only could the town-village relationship be better, but Basco said she’d like to work to repair the relationship between the village and the SUNY New Paltz campus.
When asked what she would bring as a new member of the Village Board, Basco said she’d like to see the village empower volunteers, attract new businesses and help out farms.
“My objective is to govern,” she said. “Leaders aren’t just supposed to lead, they’re supposed to create more leaders.”
Village leaders can do more to attract good businesses to Main Street, as well as to promote existing stores downtown. Basco said she’d like to see the village work with the Ulster County Transit Authority to help set up better opportunities and “expand public transportation to include Woodland Pond and the Park & Ride.”
“I want to do more to support our local farmers,” she said. “I think that could be fostered by the village.”
Basco said she’s taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the potential consolidation of the town and village.
“I would definitely like to see the study completed, before I make any decisions,” she said, adding that there’s definitely room for more efficiency.
“I definitely see areas where we could have more shared services,” she said, adding that consolidation needed to be approached thoughtfully before dramatic restructuring of the government happens. “We have to study the effectiveness of the government.”
The candidate said she thought the strained relationship between firefighters and Village Hall could improve drastically through building trust and communication. “I think that’s another thing that comes down to cooperation,” Basco said.
Basco would like to work to rehabilitate the current system before moving to a district or other means of fire service.
“We rely upon them to save our lives,” she said. “I think giving them what they need is important.”
Basco is another person who didn’t exactly like the way the proposed noise ordinance came out of the subcommittee and onto the board table.
“I think we definitely need a noise ordinance. I don’t know if this one tackles the problems that we have,” she said. “I think what we’re dealing with is a lack of communication, rather than something that needs to be legislated.”
A lot of good could come from a communication between neighbors with noise complaints, she said.
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