Diana, Siegel Vie for Vacant Seat on Yorktown Town Board

The July 23 special election for a vacant seat on the Yorktown Town Board pits a former elected official and longtime government watchdog against the wife of a former supervisor who is hoping to build on his legacy.

Susan Siegel, 84, who has been endorsed by the town’s Democratic Committee to try to break up the current Republican stronghold on the board, feels she has the qualifications to effectively serve the remainder of the unexpired three-and-a-half-year term.

“I’m not running for reelection,” Siegel quipped in reference to her age. “I’ve been around for so long. Who knows more about Yorktown government and the history of the issues than me at this point? This isn’t about Republican or Democrat. This is about the right person for the job.”

Donna Diana, 60, who will appear on the Republican and Conservative lines, is the widow of former Supervisor Thomas Diana, who died unexpectedly six months ago, just a few days after being sworn into office for his first full two-year term.

“I am not Tommy. I will never be him. His accomplishments are his. I hope to have my own accomplishments,” Diana said. “I’ll always try to do what is best for the community. It should be what the people want in town.”

The empty seat on the town board was created when Ed Lachterman was elected supervisor in April in a special election. Lachterman had been reelected to a four-year term last November as a councilman running on the same ticket as Thomas Diana.

Donna Diana

Diana, one of seven children, grew up in Buchanan and graduated from Hendrick Hudson High School. A resident of Shrub Oak since 1989, she worked for Verplanck Fuel for 15 years before she and her husband started Comfort Heating, where she was responsible for customer service and billing. They sold the business after Thomas was elected supervisor.

While never tossing her hat in the ring before as a candidate, Diana said she was heavily involved behind the scenes in her husband’s campaigns over the years.

“Everybody talks to me about Tommy. I understand I’m a shadow to him,” she said. “My values basically mimic Tommy. He told the truth. Politics is hard. If you’re thin skinned you’re never going to do it. Give me a shot. Nobody’s going to tell me what to do. That is not happening. I’m one person with my own ideas and my own thoughts.”

Besides giving her “a purpose,” Diana said one of the main reasons she’s running is to ensure certain things her husband was passionate about don’t fall by the wayside.

One of the projects she mentioned is a sensory garden at Granite Knolls Park on Stoney Street that was recently renamed in Thomas Diana’s honor.

“I’m going to make sure that goes forward,” she said. “Things die on the vine unless someone decides to take it. I feel like I can give back. Whether I win or lose, I will continue to volunteer for the veterans and help the seniors.”

Diana said she was not in favor of the 234-unit, mixed-use project proposed for Navajo Fields in Jefferson Valley.

“It’s too big. It’s too much,” she said. “He has a right to develop his property. Jefferson Village is very upset. Everybody has to live here in harmony.”

She also insisted she would not vote in lockstep with the rest of the board.

“I will be one of five. I am a Republican. I’m also an individual,” Diana stressed. “Take me or leave me, I will tell you the truth. I’m going to be a person that’s approachable. I don’t have a record that I have to defend. She (Siegel) has a record.”

Susan Siegel

A 54-year resident of Yorktown, Siegel was town supervisor for two years in 2010 and 2011 and a councilwoman for about one year that ended in 2015. A former newspaper reporter, business owner and ex-president of the Yorktown League of Women Voters, she founded the Yorktown Trail Town Committee in 2014 and is currently its president.

Siegel is a fixture at town meetings but maintained her ability to make a difference is handcuffed on the sidelines.

“There’s a limit to my effectiveness,” she said. “I can ask my questions, but you get no answers. I don’t think that I’m always criticizing. I want to just have a dialogue. It’s constructive criticism. It comes from my sense of openness and transparency. I’m not a politician. I’m a good government, get things done kind of person.”

Siegel, who favors a town manager form of government, said she accomplished a lot in her two years as supervisor, including getting the Comprehensive Plan adopted, passing the town’s first tree law, cleaning up $4 million in unpaid taxes and establishing a purchase order system.

Siegel said the board will have to decide “a host of challenging issues” in the near future, including approving plans for infrastructure projects; whether to extend the Lake Osceola Overlay District to accommodate the Navajo Fields developer; banning ATVs in town parks and on town roads; and amending the Solar Law to reach a better balance between the need to encourage solar energy while at the same time “stopping the disastrous clear cutting of our valuable woodlands.”

She is also looking to strengthen the town’s Ethics Law and update some town codes.

“They’re afraid of my knowledge,” Siegel said of the current town board. “I’m the only councilperson who has stayed around when their term expired. I stayed involved. I want to challenge statements that a developer is making. They perceive it as negative. I perceive it as we have to act quickly.”

As for her opponent, Siegel questioned what legacy Thomas Diana left and what Donna Diana would contribute as a councilperson.

“I don’t know what his legacy is. What did he do?” Siegel said. “What does she add to the board? I have a lot of support as I knock on doors. I’ve gotten support from Republicans. I’m self-funding my campaign. I’m doing all I can do.”