Morning Times Dear 4th District Voters:

201 N Lehigh Avenue Here are my answers to a questionnaire from the Sayre Morning
Sayre, PA 18840 Times. Please take the time to read my answers between now and
Phone: (570) 888-9643 the primary date on Thursday, September 13th. If you’d like me to
expand on anything, please call me at 738-2488 or reach me at
www.LegislatorBrennan.com

To the candidate:
In order for us to provide the most information to our readers so they can make an informed decision when casting their
ballots in the Sept. 13 primary election, we are asking that you complete this questionnaire. The answers will be
published in a series of stories that will appear in the Morning Times in the days prior to the election.

Name: Joe Brennan

Age: 34
Occupation: Solutions Navigator @ Navient since Dec 2006

1.) What are the three main issues facing Chemung County in the next year?
1.) Structural budget deficits
2.) Lack of identifiable, cohesive plan on where we are going as a County.
3.) Lack of public input, involvement, and a general feeling that County government is controlled by the
Executive and that Legislators are rubber stamps.

2.) If elected, how would you address these issues?

1.) I would be a leader in advocating for a mandatory freeze of discretionary spending and promote a task force
to encourage County employees to find cost-saving efficiencies within their departments.
2.) Develop a long-term, wide ranging master plan to address the economic, social, recreational and spiritual
needs of our community, and do this in a way to MAXIMIZE, not minimize resident input.
3.) The Legislature is currently known informally as an invisible form of government. The public hardly knows we
exist, as our role has been continually minimized. We need to have more direct input in decisions and encourage
a new generation to become civically involved.

3.) What are your thoughts on shared services?

Shared services can be a wonderful thing if done mutually and responsibly, and I believe that by and large, this
has been our experience locally. However, I worry that “shared services” may be used as a precursor to usurp
power from its rightful place at the municipal level, at some point in the future. I strongly believe in the principle
of subsidiarity, keeping control at the lowest, most local responsible branch of government.

4.) What are your thoughts on the county’s current sales tax distribution formula with the
city, towns and villages?
I voted for the current distribution formula because when it was presented, we were told by County leadership
that it must be done to shore up County finances. The information presented declared a very minimal impact to
the towns, and we hadn’t heard any opposition from them prior to the vote.

When the County sold the Wings of Eagles building to Micatu for over $2 million, we should have used that
money to help offset the effects of redistribution. As a Legislator, I offered an amendment to the resolution
 (distributing those funds to STEG) that would have given this $ back to the municipalities. Deputy Exec / STEG
President Mike Krusen called my suggestion “disingenuous” while himself failing to state whether his opinion
offered was in his capacity as Deputy Executive or if he was advocating on behalf of STEG, his full-time employer.

5.) What do you believe the role of the Chemung County Legislator should be?
The role of a County Legislator should be to advocate for the needs of the community from the perspective of an
average hard-working citizen. With Tom Santulli retiring, we NEED to take this opportunity to begin the new
term to reassert ourselves as a coequal branch of government with the County Executive, regardless of who
wins that position. We need to establish a “cooperative independence” from the Executive to combat the
rightfully deserved slam that we are a “rubber stamp” body.
More generally, as the position is largely non-ideological, (there’s no Republican or Democrat way to pave a
road!) the two most important parts of being a County Legislator are knowing the needs of the residents you
wish to represent and then being available to show up at meetings. I am the only candidate in this race who has
knocked over 1,000 doors, and of the 15 current County Legislators, I rank second in attendance only to Rodney
Strange – a political legend – and one of my absences was while I was in the hospital with my wife just hours
after the birth of our fourth child – so I get a pass, right? 😉

6.) Is there anything else you would like to say to voters prior to the election?
12 years ago, you took a chance on a lifelong Horseheads resident and recent college grad who was eager to
learn and willing to speak out for the ideas that his voters wanted. When I was first elected, I was single with no
children – at 22, the youngest member of our legislature by far. Now, with the benefit of 12 years of service, I
present myself for reelection as a married father of 4 with 1 on the way – and still, likely, the youngest member
of our legislature by far.

My family is of utmost importance to me. When I see so many of my graduating class having left for greener
pastures down south, it worries me that in just over a decade when my oldest child begins to prepare for
college, coming back to Chemung County after graduation might not be a viable option for him.

*** Be skeptical, very skeptical, of any candidate for County Legislator who overstates what they will be able to
do, ie. “use their business experience to create jobs.” This is a cheap, overused political soundbite that ignores
what the actual role of a County Legislator is. We can make sound, strategic infrastructure upgrades; we can
create a county-wide Master Plan that positions Chemung County as a regional tourism destination; we can be
the best cheerleaders with the biggest pom-poms to “rarh rah” businesses to our area – but County Legislators
DO NOT CREATE JOBS!

Feel free to call or text with any additional questions, I may be reached any time at 607-738-2488.

Best,

Joe