Entwined in Brewster Community, Gross Prepares to Step Away
Ever since 2003, when he was first on the Brewster Board of Education, Roger Gross has sent hand written cards to Brewster school district students congratulating them if they were recognized in local publications for academics, athletics or some other accomplishment or feat.
In an era where emails and texts are the preferred forms of communication, a handwritten note can have a lasting impression, especially from a community leader. Gross estimates he sends about 65 cards each year, totaling more than 800 notes over the last 13 years.
“Letting them know as a member of the board of ed. or on the legislature, I appreciate what they’re doing and somebody cares,” Gross explained.
After more than a decade of sitting on three different elected boards and immersing himself in the community, Gross is retiring at the end of the year from the Putnam County Legislature. Sitting on the county Legislature for five years, the Republican and former Brewster high school history teacher has been a familiar face around town.
Gross ran his first race for the Brewster school board in 2003 that spring with the intention of retiring from teaching at the end of that school year. He stayed on the school board for an almost a decade, even as he held a town board seat in Southeast.
Gross’ interest in local politics began when he started bringing his students to Albany to visit the district’s state assemblyman and state senator, doing that for more than 20 years. During the trip, he and students would visit the state capitol building, the Governor’s Mansion, Erastus Corning Tower, and other museums. During those trips, Gross got to know former state senator Vincent Leibell and Leibell eventually asked Gross, a Vietnam War veteran, to work in his senate office concerning veteran, education and security issues.
Leibell then asked Gross to run for the Southeast town board to fight off former supervisor Michael Rights, who was teaming up with former state lawmaker Greg Ball, a nemesis of Leibell’s. Gross recalls the race was downright ugly, even getting accused of being attached to Leibell’s corruption, though Gross was out of the senate office by then and never faced any wrongdoing. He won a seat with relative ease despite the fighting.
Gross finally landed on the legislature after he was appointed to fill the legislative seat 6 once current Southeast Supervisor Tony Hay won his current job. He ran the next year to fill out the rest of Hay’s term and then ran the year after that to earn a full term. After that most recent race, he promised his wife Ginger he wouldn’t run again.
Living in Brewster and working as a teacher for three decades, he taught generations of Brewster residents, getting to know students and parents very well. It helped him never lose an election.
“That certainly helped me, didn’t do me any harm,” he said. “Because they all knewme.”
During his legislative years, Gross especially enjoyed his time on the Protective Services Committee working with the sheriff’s office, probation office, correctional facility, and emergency services bureau. He called the experience rewarding.
Gross, who is always sharply dressed in a suit at legislative meetings and other events, made noise at the start of the year when he argued the legislature needs to be more independent from the county executive branch and again stressed the separation of powers between the two governing bodies as he’s days away from leaving.
“I think it’s important to keep that in mind,” Gross said. “That we’re here to represent the people that put us here, not to support any particular group in government.”
In retirement, Gross will be driving his 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass T-Top on a road trip, starting in Charlotte and traveling on Route 66. He hopes to visit famous battlefields in the southern part of the country, eventually reach near the west coast to visit friends and then do a loop through the Midwest.
He and his wife are looking to move into a community in South Carolina, which would bring him closer to family. Gross stressed he wants to be able to pick up and go whenever he wants and visit different countries, including Vietnam which he has traveled to numerous times. Gross still plans to come back to Putnam for special events and occasions.
When asked what he’ll look back most fondly on, Gross said it’ll be running into students he once taught and seeing their lives now and the careers and families they’ve built. He has even had some students that traveled up to Albany with him years ago contact him now and tell him they’re in government service themselves.
“I’m very appreciative of the people in the Town of Southeast and the Brewster school district who supported me all these years,” Gross said.
