Democrat to Challenge Castellano for Leg. 7 Seat
A Democrat has stepped forward to challenge Legislator Joe Castellano in his bid for reelection as the District 7 seat has suddenly turned into a contested race.
John Riley, a 22-year Southeast resident, confirmed in an interview Monday his intentions to run for the legislative seat, in hopes of making a Democratic dent in an all-Republican Putnam County Legislature. Frustrated with the one party rule throughout the county, Riley said he’s the type of person “who will represent all of the people in Putnam County.”
“Today we don’t have that kind of give and take that it requires to get the best ideas up front,” Riley said. “You just really have Republican control of everything so I think I can change that.”
Riley, 72, has been involved in the Democratic Committee in Southeast for several years and ran unsuccessfully for the Southeast town board in 2009. As someone who has always been involved, when he saw this opportunity come up, he thought it’d be a “good chance to win it.”
District 7 represents parts of Mahopac, Southeast, the Village of Brewster, and Croton Falls.
Riley, a retired business risk manager, believes the county should share sales tax with its local municipalities, noting many counties in the state share sales tax money with local governments. Additionally, he said the towns and villages are the handling the burden of fixing roads from the additional traffic from those shoppers.
Describing the county as a stagnant place losing population, Riley asserts Putnam isn’t selling itself adequately. While the county hires high-profile people to run certain departments, Riley isn’t sure what reward the county is getting in return.
As for the county budget, Riley said it’s overwhelmingly difficult for the average resident to understand what the county is getting in return for what it’s spending. When the county spends money, he would like to see officials be more transparent about where that money is going.
“We don’t have fresh ideas and I think I can bring fresh ideas to the table,” Riley said. “I’m a pretty persistent guy so you can’t just shoo me away. If I have something that I think is a good idea, I’m going to press it.”
When reached for comment about his Democratic opponent, Castellano, who has served one term, said he believes county government has done a lot to move Putnam forward. He also said even though the legislature is all-Republican, legislators have disputes everyday that are hashed out during meetings. He added residents are encouraged to bring ideas and concerns forward to the legislator that represents them at any point.
“We’re open to everybody’s ideas and opinions,” Castellano said. “And certainly we’ve done great things the last three years and I look forward to the process going forward.”
Of the three legislative seats up for election, two are contested. Incumbent and Republican Barbara Scuccimarra of District 1 is facing Democrat Lithgow Osborne. District 4 Legislator Ginny Nacerino doesn’t appear to have an opponent at this point.
