Having her and seeing her grow suddenly made the ‘next generation’ a lot more than an abstraction.
Tracey Bartels was a filmmaker and screenwriter before
she stumbled into politics more than a decade ago.
“I came to politics through a friend in Gardiner who
asked me to be a place-holder because they couldn't find a candidate to run in
Gardiner,” she says. “The Legislature was a multi-member district at that time.
I didn't even know what a place-holder was. Needless to say, I kept my name in
and ran alone against a full ticket. My win was a big upset.”
That is an understatement.
Bartels won her first seat in 2003 running against
three incumbent candidates and was the first non-Republican to win the
district. She served from 2004 to 2007 before taking a break for a few years to
travel and start a family. She successfully returned in 2012 and is currently
serving her fourth term as Ulster County legislator.
Bartels’ most favorite constituents are her longtime
partner Bill Richards and their 3-year-old daughter, Polly. All of this, now,
is for Polly and her future, Bartels explains.
“She was 9 months old when I decided to run for the
third term, which seems counter-intuitive, but she is actually what inspired me
to get involved again,” Bartels says. “Having her and seeing her grow suddenly
made the ‘next generation’ a lot more than an abstraction. I wanted to help
make sure she inherited a world that I was comfortable raising her in – and
having her raise her children in!”
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Of course, the business of making the world a better place
involves a lot more than feel-good photo ops and glad-handing at local diners.
“During my campaign, Polly was a trouper,” Ms.
Bartels beams. “I braced myself for chaos, but she just went with the flow when
I took her along knocking on doors and introducing myself on the campaign
trail. And since then, she has helped focus me. I know I can’t plop her down in
front of the TV — nor would I want to — while I get stuff done, so I have to
manage my time and prioritize very carefully. And she has been with me in
Albany at the legislature several times for last-minute meetings and debates. I
wasn’t expecting that, but hey, we do what we have to do to make it work!”
With a concentration on fiscal conservancy and
environmental activism, some of Bartels’ most vociferous opponents have become
her biggest boosters. During her time in office, she has recommended millions
of dollars in cuts and has fought tax increases consistently.
Last year, county property taxes were actually
lowered for the first time in more than 10 years. More than $27 million in
spending has been cut county-wide.
The cuts are impressive, but Ms. Bartels notes that
the accomplishment that her constituents most frequently point to is her
investigation of cost overruns at the county jail. The bipartisan commission
that she chaired ended up flagging cost overruns of more than $100 million.
This term, she has a number of projects in the works,
including increasing energy efficiency and requiring new county cars to be
hybrids.
“This term I hope to continue to work toward a new
approach to the way that we manage waste,” she says. “It's not financially or
fiscally sustainable to truck our garbage hundreds of miles away. All over the
valley, communities face the same problem. Together we might reach a solution.”
Not bad for an accidental politician.
So, what’s next for Ms. Bartels? She says she hasn’t completely
ruled out running for a larger office.
“I’m taking it one term at a time.”
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