Meet the Candidates Forum
About 50 people gathered at the Lake Peekskill Community Center last night to hear six candidates for local office spell out their positions on a variety of issues The moderator from Westchester's League of Women Voters, Kathy Meany, ran a tight ship. The atmosphere was respectful, the questions were pointed and specific and the candidates clearly and concisely answered them. For the first time, the event was available on Zoom; the video can be accessed here.
First up were the two candidates running for the main seat representing Putnam Valley in the county legislature, Democrat Maia Gilleo and Republican Christian Russo. They were generally in agreement on issues, though Russo's answers offered more detail, a reflection, no doubt, of his five years on the Town Board and his direct engagement with the county's legislative agenda.
The main question on which they differed involved a proposal put forward by the Democratic candidate for County Executive, Brett Yarris, to use some of the county's reserves to create a community college or trade school. Russo was a hard no, preferring to see money invested in high school courses like shop or emergency management. Gilleo supported Yarris' proposal, noting that the town is already paying for Putnam Valley students to take classes at community colleges and BOCES outside the county, and that having a local alternative would help keep the next generation here.
They were followed by the two candidates for Town Justice: Democrat David Axinn and Republican Robert Nachamie. They were given time to make personal statements but not given the opportunity to answer questions. Axinn focused on reforms he would like to make to the administrative running of the court, such as adding microphones to court proceedings so those in the audience could hear the conversations and creating an online calendar so everyone would know which cases would be heard when. In his statement, Nachamie focused on how the court is running now and his professional experience as a defense attorney. He noted that he had developed a Youth Court to support juvenile offenders and had introduced a credit card payment system for fines.
The final conversation involved the two candidates for Town Supervisor: Republican Bill Gouldman and Democrat Alison Jolicoeur. This part of the evening produced the only points of real contention and even generated a little news.
Gouldman criticized Jolicoeur for her handling of next year's budget, questioning how she could have reduced the burden so quickly from its initial high water mark and calling for the town's finances to be audited, though they already are. He also accused Jolicoeur of blaming the town's finance director for the town's budget problems and for keeping her proposed budget from other board members. Jolicoeur denied both charges.
When asked if they would serve in a full-time capacity if elected, Jolicoeur said that she already is and would continue to do so. Gouldman said he has held a part-time position at Madison Square Garden for multiple years which he loves. If elected, he said he would cut back to working there about twice a month.
The two candidates offered different outlooks for how they would utilize the current Fire Department building at the Town Hall campus once it is vacated. Jolicoeur noted that the building has asbestos and would need remediation before it can be occupied. She said she'd consider whether that could be the next home for the Highway Department whose current building is also in disrepair. Gouldman said he'd hold a public hearing to see what the community wanted, but also thought it could be an opportunity for the county to move some services there, such as a DMV or children and family services office.
The final question tried to delve subtly into the current situation involving Jolicoeur's lawsuit against the town for a case involving her home on Lake Peekskill. Gouldman said that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on suits that are in litigation. Jolicoeur said she has and would continue to recuse herself from any town deliberation on her matter and noted that the total legal cost to the town thus far from her case is $3,322.
Early voting begins this Saturday, October 24th. For locations and times, click here. For those who are mailing in their ballots, envelopes must be postmarked no later than November 3rd. Because the U.S. Postal Service can sometimes take one or two days to postmark envelopes, voters are advised to put their ballots in the mail at least seven days in advance of November 3rd. Alternatively, voters can go to any post office and request that their envelope be hand-stamped to ensure that it has that day's date.
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