Boykin and Lecuona Deserve Re-Election, Guerriere Right to Join Board

The following endorsement ran in the Nov. 1 issue of The White Plains Examiner

While there are four seats up for grabs in this year’s Common Council races, there are three seats open in the at-large race (the fourth is a special election for the seat previously held by Mayor Tom Roach). The at-large Common Council race pits three Democrats – including two incumbents – against three Republican-nominated candidates (one of whom is not registered with a party).

All six candidates are qualified, experienced in their field and bring a unique set of skills to the table. Out of the crowded field, though, Council President Ben Boykin and Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona deserve another term while Terence Guerriere has the knowledge of the city and career experience to bring a much-needed opposing view to the council.

Boykin, who’s served on the Common Council since 2000, has a background in finance to go along with his 11 years on the board. With White Plains, like all municipalities, facing such fiscal uncertainty, his expertise will be invaluable.

The city has seen some of its most positive growth since Boykin took office at the beginning of last decade, transforming into the business and shopping hub of Westchester County. He stresses the importance of the city having a vibrant core with residents living downtown and was on the council when luxury apartments like Trump Towers and The Ritz-Carlton opened their doors. He was council president in 2003 when the City Center opened.

Having overseen what’s been called the city’s renaissance, he’ll play an instrumental role in continuing the progress. His relentless push for a downtown trolley shows he has vision and determination to move White Plains forward. In his time on the council he’s proven to be an independent leader, sometimes standing up to his own party.

The Common Council is in need of an opposing voice, and it’s hard to imagine a better option than Guerriere. Though he’s never held an elected position, he’s served on a host of city boards and commissions in the past 17 years.

As a real estate attorney, Guerriere has a strong understanding of local zoning laws. What’s more impressive, though, is his overall knowledge of and passion about the City of White Plains. He’s able to speak about individual neighborhoods and past decisions with a fluency seldom found in a non-incumbent. There would be no learning curve were he to take office on Jan. 1.

Guerriere proposed a couple of ideas for improving the city’s finances. He suggested the city use a zero-based approach to budgeting, meaning every expense must be justified rather than just changes in spending, or bring in an outside auditor to review the budget to find wasteful spending.

Though these ideas represent a distinct way of looking at the city’s costs, there’s no guarantee they’ll lead to any savings. Guerriere has been more adept at identifying issues than coming up with foolproof solutions, but he’d still bring a welcome new approach.

Trained in architecture and urban planning, Lecuona brings a progressive vision to the council and a unique perspective on how to carry it out. While many candidates say they want a green city or a dynamic downtown area, Lecuona can grab a pencil and pad and sketch what she thinks belongs on an individual street or in a particular lot. While some of her ideas for the city may be too ambitious to ever come to fruition, her input has the ability to shape White Plains’ future.

The parking issue has appeared on all the Republican candidates’ palm cards, but Lecuona has been the one Democrat to acknowledge the need for change. For example, her common-sense stance that the one-hour parking meters on Mamaroneck Avenue cause nothing but aggravation for residents and visitors is refreshing.

While Lecuona’s outlook for the future may be visionary, her accomplishments in four years on the council have been significant if not extraordinary. She pushed to put Common Council meetings online, started the successful Take It or Leave It Shed and saw the council designate several parcels for open space. Having completed her studies in Urban Planning and Urban Policy in May, we’re cautiously optimistic her second term will see her lead the way in more substantial accomplishments than her first.

Rich Cirulli is running on the Republican line but has a centrist economic ideology. His educational background is unmatched by any candidate in the race, as he holds degrees in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Urban Policy, Business and Government Policy, Health Services and Business Administration, plus a doctorate in Business Administration. His deep understanding of economics may be useful on the board.

His plan to bring shoppers to the city by having two days a week of lower rates or relaxed enforcement may help the city’s image, and could also provide officials with some empirical data on whether tough parking rules discourage shoppers from coming to the city.

While Cirulli brings specific ideas to deal with parking, his approach to other issues is at times more generic. He’s against layoffs but also against higher taxes. He has a general plan of how to promote business growth, but may quickly find that the devil is in the details. He’s lived in White Plains for less than three years, while many of his opponents have watched the city grow over decades.

Though Dennis Krolian hasn’t run for elected office until now, he has been involved in the political scene and the White Plains community for many years. From fighting organized crime in his law career to his service on the Human Rights Commission, he has an impressive and diverse background.

Krolian is knowledgeable on the issues facing the city and is realistic, if not overly conservative, about what is achievable. His regional stance on sustainability and cooperation between municipalities is responsible. He doesn’t have the idealistic expectations some of his opponents do.

On some issues, though, Krolian is too supportive of current practices. His stance that all of the city’s parking problems can be solved with a quarter trivializes and simplifies an important and complex issue.

While he would undoubtedly provide solid and competent leadership, it’s unclear whether he’d be the opposing voice the all-Democratic council badly needs.

Mike Donnelly, the youngest candidate in the race by 20 years, has worked hard to distinguish himself by reading over the city’s annual budget, learning the staffing levels of the various city departments and pouring over year-by-year city numbers to identify trends. He’s aggressively challenged his opponents on budget items.

Donnelly has shown his work ethic in the campaign, and as someone beginning his life and career would bring a different voice to city government. His accomplishments at a relatively young age prove he has the drive and ability to see a project through to completion.

In addressing the challenges facing the city, though, Donnelly doesn’t acknowledge the impact of the economic situation and doesn’t seem to grasp how limited the options are. He talks about the need for a property tax reduction but eschews layoffs, and overestimates the impact relaxing parking enforcement would have on sales tax revenues. He has a bright political future but would benefit from serving on a board or commission.