Dear Republican Surfer:

Welcome to Monroe County’s Republican home on the Web. I am excited to be a part of this site, because it offers an opportunity to showcase Monroe County’s winning Republican Team.

As County Executive, and a member of this team, I have made intergovernmental cooperation, economic revitalization and tax stability my top priorities.

I have the distinction of being the very first woman to lead Monroe County Government, since its establishment in 1821. Isn’t it great that as the first woman to do so — I am a Republican Woman! It sure makes me proud!

I’m pleased to serve with 16 committed Republican Legislators representing taxpayers from the Four Corners of Monroe County and everywhere in between. These men and women make-up the Majority of the Monroe County Legislature and are helping me achieve the goals that I have put forward for our community.

Our new County Clerk, Cheryl Dinolfo, has taken the reigns of the office I was proud to lead before my election as County Executive. I know that Cheryl will work hard to provide quality service that meets the needs of customers while keeping faith with the taxpayers of Monroe County.

Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn shares my commitment to safer streets and neighborhoods. He and I work together to ensure that proper resources are available for crime prevention and enforcement.

Our Republican Town Supervisors and Council Members work together to make our collective communities efficient, safe and effective.

This team approach to government has served the people of our county very well. Whether it is through stable property taxes, economic development, job creation and retention or public safety — Monroe County’s Republicans are getting the job done.

The proven ability to meet the needs of our residents has also resulted in greater cooperation with the State of New York. I’m proud to be able to partner on projects that are important to our community with our Republican Team in Albany and our local State Senators and Assembly Members.

I encourage you to use this website to learn more about Monroe County’s Republican Party and to get to better know some of the members of our winning Republican Team.

Sincerely,

Maggie Brooks
County Executive

Visit the Monroe County website.

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has earned a reputation as a dedicated and effective leader since being sworn in as Monroe County’s fifth County Executive in January 2004. The first woman to hold this position, she was re-elected to a second term in 2007 by an historic 74 percent of the vote. By bringing an inclusive, collaborative leadership style and energizing new vision to County government, Maggie has been able to involve the entire community in shaping the future of Monroe County.

Maggie inherited extreme challenges when she first took office, including a significant budget deficit and the rising costs associated with unfunded state mandates. She created a citizen Budget Advisory Team and the Center for Civic Entrepreneurship to work with her in developing creative, outside of the box solutions targeted toward long-term fiscal stability in Monroe County. In 2008, Maggie joined fellow county executives in creating the Upstate Mandate Relief Commission to urge Albany to reform its practice of shifting costs to local governments. Due to her fiscally responsible leadership, Maggie’s first three Monroe County Budgets held the line on overall spending and kept the property tax rate flat. Her fourth budget lifted the burden of Medicaid from the shoulders of County property taxpayers and maintained quality of life services, while cutting the property tax rate.

Maggie has also been a strong voice for Medicaid reform. In 2005, she was appointed to the newly created Federal Medicaid Commission. She was the only public official from a local government to be appointed to the Commission.

Maggie’s top priority is strengthening the local economy through job creation. At the start of her Administration, she convened an Economic Development Strategy Team to work with her to attract and retain jobs in our area. She was instrumental in establishing the County and City partnership with Greater Rochester Enterprise to streamline local economic development efforts and attract new business investment. Shortly after taking office, Maggie established the requirement that any company receiving county financial incentives must use local labor for new construction or expansion. In 2006, Maggie launched The Entrepreneurs Network to grow the region’s innovation economy. Under her leadership, Monroe County has assisted hundreds of companies in improving and expanding their operations, retaining and creating thousands of local jobs.

As a result of Maggie’s commitment to environmental protection, Monroe County has become a national leader in the development of green energy resources and the promotion of conservation efforts. In August 2007, Monroe County partnered with Waste Management to turn landfill garbage and waste from sewers into clean, renewable energy at the County’s Mill Seat Landfill in Riga. This project received the Environmental Project of the Year Award from the New York State Chapter of the American Public Works Association. Maggie is responsible for launching the Green Fleet program, which will ensure that all County vehicles will be powered by an alternative energy source or hybrid engine by 2012. Her other environmentally-friendly initiatives include establishing a green building policy for all new County facilities of more than 5,000 square feet and installing LED bulbs on all County traffic lights. Maggie is dedicated to educating children about recycling and the environment, making County buildings more energy efficient, developing alternative energy resources, and researching cutting-edge green technologies.

Maggie is well known in the Greater Rochester area from her many years as a local television news anchor and radio reporter. She previously served as Monroe County Clerk and as Monroe County Legislator for the 17th District.

Maggie resides in the Town of Webster with her husband, Robert Wiesner, and two daughters, Julia and Jensen. She is a graduate of Ithaca College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.