Don't Look Back

Well, for those who have not heard, yet, I finally formally decided to run for re-election as Village Trustee in the May 12 election (and filed appropriate papers on March 18). Many people certainly have asked "why" when it can be such a Thankless job. I definitely gave it alot of thought over the past few months and went back and forth on the decision a few times. While there are far too many people that get into local politics for their own personal agenda or some higher political ambition, I am glad to say that my motives are far more simplistic - I simply enjoy serving the community and wanted to do what I can to make it a better place.
I am actually quite proud of the many accomplishments over the past 2 years and am glad we have been able to start to unwind some of the terrible decisions and attitudes of the past.

After a lengthy search process for the best possible runningmates, I am very proud and excited about the final result - I will be running together with Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould.

The notion of running together with Janine Bauer may come as a surprise to many people. As many of you know, Janine ran for Trustee on the opposing ticket 2 years ago. However, Janine and I have spoken quite a number of times over the past two years and she has actually been quite supportive of what we have been doing. We ultimately agreed it was time to look ahead and move beyond the politics of the past. In addition, Janine has stayed very active in the community - continuing to serve both on the Environmental Commission and on the River Greenway Committee. She also previously served on the Planning Board, where she helped advocate to preserve as much of the quarry as possible (a cause I was very passionate about, as well.) She is a practicing attorney, as a partner in a law firm specializing in land use, environmental, transportation, contracts and business litigation. She lives in West Montrose with her husband and 2 children. I urge you to get to know her and see that she will be a huge asset to the entire town.

Nancy Gould is currently a Real Estate Agent and formerly a Partner in a large Architectural/Engineering firm in New York, where she managed multi-million dollar large-scale development projects and was in charge of the Planning and Urban design departments for the firm. She also currently sits on the South Orange Planning Board. She lives in Montrose with her Husband and 16 year old son. Nancy is a fantastic person and will also be a huge asset to the entire town.

We also decided that we will be running under the name "Pure Progress" (www.pureprogress.org) to continue the vision and platform we laid out and began implementing two years ago. Obviously, Janine and Nancy will each bring their fresh perspectives, but the core of our values remains the same.

I look forward to the campaign over the next 7 weeks and hope you get a chance to talk with Janine, Nancy or myself to learn about our ideas and values. It's time to spring forward and not fall back.