Meet Joel Tyner
BIO
Joel Tyner is the quintessential working man. Hard working; in relentless pursuit of truth, justice and common sense. He’s humble and passionate about representing the interests of ‘the people.’ His demonstrated ability to work across party lines on behalf of middle class values and his vision to restore integrity to our land have seen him elected five times as a Dutchess county legislator.
A resident of Dutchess County for 42 years, Joel continues tireless involvement with the interests and issues of the Hudson Valley, dating back to his graduations with honor with Regents, High Honors from Rhinebeck High School, and then crossing the mighty river to earn his B.S. Summa Cum Laude from SUNY New Paltz.
A teacher and counselor by profession, his many years of teaching people of diverse demographics and backgrounds bears witness to Joel’s efforts to improve and protect public education. His experience has earned him an intimate understanding of the issues affecting schools, teachers, children, families and communities. Joel's efforts regarding public education are unwavering. Joel stands committed to creating a healthy future through investing in our youth and ensuring jobs for our graduates.
Joel’s commitment to the working class is evident in his many years of organizing in support of labor, economic fairness and environmental stewardship. Joel Tyner is a candidate of action and integrity. Joel identifies and pursues challenges. For the past decade, he has focused on raising the visibility of ground water contamination, a topic finally receiving attention from the media. He is articulate and persuasive in his pursuit of required testing of wells for volatile organic chemicals such as MTBE, a gasoline additive-- Joel has relentless documented how MTBE continues to be found all over the county-- long after it was banned from being put into our gasoline eight years ago.
Specifically, Joel has been effective in saving millions of county tax dollars by avoiding needless jail expansion (getting his resolution on this passed unanimously last March), and Joel stopped homeless veterans from being turned away from overnight shelter his first year in office (2004) by expanding county funding for Hudson River Housing.
Joel recently helped to build a bipartisan consensus to steady county funding for Mental Health America's Court-Appointed Special Advocate foster children program, expedited long-awaited county funding of over $100,000 for the Thompson-Mazzarella Park in Rhinebeck, and worked with Dutchess County's Health Department and Ferncliff Nursing Home to make sure seniors' rights are fully respected.
Joel has also organized monthly local forums on issues that include air quality and tax fairness since first being elected in November 2003, releasing annual reports documenting millions of county tax dollars involved in legal kickbacks since 1997 as well.
Over the last five terms he's served Joel has also successfully spearheaded passage in the Dutchess County Legislature these initiatives:
- For a health insurance group discount committee
- To protect IBM retirees' health benefits
- For a public hearing on St. Lawrence Cement expansion, to protect wetlands,
and purchase of wind power
- To create the Independent Dutchess Energy Alliance towards goal of $1 billion in savings on
electric bills over ten years (modeled after the Cambridge Energy Alliance in Massachusetts)
- To save county taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on power costs
with Municipal Electricity Gas Alliance
- To save 30% on lighting bills in Dutchess County-owned buildings by installing
energy efficient light fixtures
- To keep using lever voting machines instead of switching to computerized ones
- For a zero-waste approach to resource recovery to save money
and create clean green jobs
- For the use of cost-saving green roofs, rain gardens, wind turbines,
composting toilets to be on County property
- For the installation of solar panels on the County Office Building
- For a new SuperLOOPer discount card at local stores and restaurants for
frequent users of County LOOP bus
- For a Home Heating Summit in about the home heating oil crisis
- For the Dutchess County Environmental Science Advisory Network
Recommendations for Stream/Flood Management in Dutchess
- For improved visibility of local farms, farmer's markets and green resources
- For a bike rental program at no cost to taxpayers
- For the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act to save open space
- For cost-saving "Green House Project" for county nursing home
- For measuring particulate matter air pollution in Dutchess County
- For expanded current circuit breaker for school property taxes
- For relief for property taxpayers through the Omnibus Property Tax Relief and Reform Act
- For ending secret market manipulations on Wall Street causing
higher gas/home heating oil prices
- For wetlands preservation from development
- For Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies recommendations
regarding air pollution and quality standards
As his growing performance record as an elected official attests, Joel Tyner's avocation is government of, for and by the people –
