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Brent O'Leary

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Political Party:
Democratic Party

http://www.brentoleary.com

Candidate Submitted Biography:

Brent O’Leary is a business attorney and grassroots politician. He believes that government can be responsive to the people and a tool to make their lives better.

Brent became involved at the grassroots level in politics registering people to vote and going door-to door for candidates. In 2002, while Brent was working in Tokyo, Brent was elected Chair of Democrats Abroad Japan which helps Americans overseas to vote and be involved in the political process. Under his Chairmanship membership more than tripled in 2 years.

In 2004, Brent was elected to the Democratic National Committee where he was proud to vote for Howard Dean as Chairman of the Democratic Party and became a strong advocate of the 50 State strategy. As a Superdelegate in 2008, Brent supported Barack Obama for the Democratic Nomination and when Brent’s term on the Democratic National Committee ended in 2008, he was asked by the Obama Campaign to coordinated Irish Americans for Obama in NY which he did until the election.

Brent is a top business and finance lawyer. As Brent speaks fluent Japanese, he worked for the New York based law firm, White & Case, in their Tokyo Office. Here Brent worked on many complex business deals and helped countless companies form, obtain their licenses, structured their companies, their financing and their business deals. In 2002, he was named one of the top in-house lawyers in Japan by Asia Legal Business for corporate and e-commerce transactions and, in 2006, Brent became Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce Japan Corporate Counsel Committee.

While in Japan, Brent organized charity events for Make-A-Wish and the Christina Noble Foundation which establishes schools for homeless children. Brent also helped with translations for the Civil Liberties Union in Japan in its efforts against human trafficking.

Brent left White & Case for the position of Senior Legal Compliance Counsel for Bloomberg LP and moved back to New York. In New York, Brent finished his DNC term and then assisted with the Obama campaign.

Brent was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, attended St. Mary's Elementary and Roslyn High School in Roslyn, Long Island and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He earned his law degree from Boston University Law School. While studying at Boston University Law School, Brent was chosen as one of 5 students to go to Oxford University in England to study International Law.

Brent’s grandparents immigrated from Ireland and settled in Sunnyside, where his father, a member of Local 3, grew up, and Brent understands the sacrifices made so that he would have the opportunity at a better life. Brent wants to make sure that that opportunity is kept open for all and wants to help the hard working people of his district weather this economic tough time.

City Council Survey (District 26): Brent O'Leary

Question 1:
What is the most important transportation need in your district? As a Council Member, how would you work to address this need?

Inexpensive public transportation. We should be encouraging people to use mass transit not, as planned, raising the rates for public transportation which is a disincentive. The MTA needs to be restructured to keep costs down and to provide more extensive bus service and less crowded subways in the district.


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Question 2:
The intersection of 46 Street and Queens Blvd is one of the most dangerous in your district, where 2 people died and 58 people were injured between 1995-2005 (NYS DOT). As a City Council member, what traffic enforcement policies or physical changes to the intersection infrastructure would you support to make this intersection safer for everyone who uses it (pedestrians, cyclists and drivers)?

We need a higher police presence to enforce existing traffic law and video surveillance cameras.


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Question 3:
According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles' most currently available data, in 2007 speeding was a contributing factor in over 3,000 motor vehicle crashes in New York City. Furthermore, the same data showed that the top human contributing factor to the 264 fatal crashes in New York City during 2007 was also speeding. Given these figures, what measures, if any, do you support to redress this problem? Finally, do you believe that New York City’s current speed limits are safe?

There are a number of streets in my district that need either a traffic light or speed bump which I would work to implement. I would favor slower speed limits in the residential areas of my district to encourage the thru traffic to use the major roads and stay off the roads in residential parts.


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Question 4:
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website reports: "In New York City, obesity is epidemic: more than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Data show that obesity begins early in life: nearly half of all elementary school children and Head Start children are not a healthy weight. In New York City, 1 in 5 kindergarten students, and 1 in 4 Head Start children, is obese." Do you believe that increasing walking and biking in New York City would improve public health? If yes, how would you work to increase walking and biking in your district?

Yes, I believe walking and biking improve public health and I will actively work to promote these transportation methods. I would like more and safer bike paths and to close a number of roads and make them pedestrian only.


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Question 5:
Road pricing, including such measures as non-stop tolling, fees based on vehicle miles travelled or entry into a highly congested zone, has been the source of much discussion in New York City and other major metropolitan areas. London famously uses a congestion charge to fund its transit system, Oregon recently piloted a program to replace the gas tax with a fee for miles driven and Seattle recently studied how road pricing could be introduced on a regional basis. Seattle's study, “Traffic Choices Study" (http://psrc.org/projects/trafficchoices/index.htm), found that introducing new tolls on major corridors during peak traffic hours influenced drivers’ behavior and projected that a region-wide road pricing scheme could significantly reduce vehicular traffic congestion. Do you think that introducing a road pricing strategy would change New Yorkers’ travel choices? Do you think that this would be an effective way for the City to reduce backups on high-traffic roadways like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Gowanus Expressway or the Long Island Expressway? Finally, do you believe there are additional benefits in the surrounding neighborhoods which could be realized from the reduction of vehicular congestion on these routes?

I think a gas tax is the best method as it is directly proportional to how much one drives and pollutes and would incentivize people to use alternative methods. As an alternative I would favor a fee based on miles driven and think this would reduce congestion as more people would use mass transit and this would help the surrounding neighborhoods from congestion and pollution.


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Question 6:
Do you believe that reducing residential parking requirements as set forth within NYC zoning regulations would affect neighborhood traffic congestion, and if so, in what way?

Yes, it would lower the traffic congestion since people who could not park in the neighborhood to get on the subway, would use the LIRR instead. It would take these cars out of our neighborhood.


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Question 7:
The NYC Department of Transportation's Public Plaza Program, Pedestrian Street Program and Summer Streets events are intended to diversify the use of public space and provide more places for New Yorkers to recreate and socialize. Do you support the temporary or permanent repurposing of street space for pedestrians and cyclists?

I support the permanent repurposing of street space for more pedestrain and cyclists and would support a bicycle only street.


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Question 8:
The City recently released plans for Bus Rapid Transit and expressed interest in bringing a bike share program to New York City. Do you think these new projects would enhance the city's transportation network? Please explain.

Yes, if people thought they could get to their destination faster on the bus than the car many would choose this option. A bike share would also increase the number of people not using cars so I would support this. I would also like car sharing programs like zipcar to expand and would provide incentives for this.


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Submitted by Brent on Tue, 08/04/2009 - 15:58.
Submitted by Brent on Tue, 08/04/2009 - 10:01.