Didi Barrett

Town Council

email: barrett@towdems.com

Why I am Running

I have lived with my family in the Town of Washington for over twenty years.  Our children have grown up in the community, attending local camps, waving flags at the Memorial Day parades, working at IES, performing in nearby summer theater, enjoying pancakes at the Millbrook Diner.  We have been in the community long enough to remember when Community Day featured hay rides from the Reardon Briggs parking lot, The Hudson Valley Philharmonic gave July 4th concerts at local farms and Les Baux was an ice cream parlor called Jamos!

I am running for Town Council because I feel that what my family and many of you love about our community is at risk. We have all followed the struggle over the huge developments threatening Pine Plains; read about the toxins in the water in Hyde Park and have witnessed first hand the distrust and dissatisfaction over the Bennett process in the Village of Millbrook. There is no question that our part of the county is a prime target for large-scale development.

I am running because I will be a pro-active leader who fights to maintain the rural character we cherish, who balances respect and protection of the extraordinary natural resources of our Town with creating opportunities for Healthy Growth. I will be a voice for a broad range of constituents in the Town and will bring openness and wisdom to the government process. And most importantly I will fight to keep our community safe and welcoming - that means clean water, safe neighborhoods, support for local businesses and housing affordable enough to let the next generation raise their children in our community as well.

Like many people in the Millbrook area, we are part-time residents.  Some spend their summers in the area, wintering in Florida or other southern locations. Others spend the school year in Millbrook but summer in Maine or at the beach. We spend weekends, as well as every summer, at our beautiful Millbrook home. We love this area ­ the open spaces, the small town, the spectacular countryside - and feel so fortunate that is has been the center of our lives for so many years..

What I stand for:

• Pro-active, Energetic, Intelligent Leadership
• Broad Representation of Different Constituents and Points of View
• Open Government, Open Communication and Cooperation
• Protecting and Respecting our Natural Resources, Farms and Open Spaces
• Smart Healthy Growth to Maintain the Rural Character of our Town
• Welcoming Community - Safe Neighborhoods, Clean Water, Local Businesses

Bio

Didi Barrett has been an active leader in the not-for-profit community both as a board and staff member for more than 25 years. She helped launch and serves on the board of the North East Dutchess Fund (NED) of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, a grant-making organization committed to improving the quality of life for residents of the Town of Washington and five neighboring towns. Most recently she helped spearhead the establishment of the pioneering NED Corps program, created with Community Action Partnership, which is working with the Millbrook Library and Grace Church to bring long-needed social services, in English and Spanish, to our community.

Didi was a founder and board member of the New York Women's Foundation, which funds community-based organizations benefiting women and girls. She was Founding Board Chair of Girls Incorporated of New York City, a youth development organization focused on girls in underserved communities. And she has been actively involved in Planned Parenthood in the Mid-Hudson Valley and New York City for 25 years.

A journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and numerous magazines, Didi has a BA in Communications from UCLA and a master's degree in Folk Art Studies from NYU. She was Director of Publications at the American Folk Art Museum, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. She is a consultant to not-for-profit organizations.

Didi and her husband, David, a lawyer who grew up in the Mid-Hudson Valley, have been active in political, cultural and social action causes for many years. They have two teenage children, Alec and Annabel.