Four Candidates Vie for Two Somers Town Board Seats
Four candidates are squaring off in the race for two council seats on the Somers Town Board. Incumbent Republican Supervisor Rick Morrissey is running unopposed.
Councilmen William Faulkner and Anthony Cirieco, who are on the Republican, Conservative and Independence party’s lines are facing off against Democrats Thomas Newman Jr. and Robert Ondrovic.
Cirieco
Cirieco, who is in his fifth year on the town board, said one of his major accomplishments as a councilman has been approving budgets that were under the state-mandated tax caps. The board has also improved the town’s bond ratings and achieved “a strong financial balance sheet.”
“To manage costs lower, the town continues to engage in shared service agreements with our school district, other towns, the county and the state,” Cirieco said. “I supported the vision to pursue and approve projects that generate revenues. For example, over $5 million for infrastructure improvements and energy cost saving grants, including paving the parking lots of the Elephant Hotel and Reis Park, installing solar panels at the library and highway garage” are among the achievements of he and his board colleagues. I have balanced our fiscal objectives with the goal of keeping the town’s traditional character is a focus.”
Aside from his work on the town board, Cirieco said he is the board’s liaison to Partners in Prevention, Somers’ substance abuse committee. “I successfully revitalized the committee and have been an advocate for its membership and programs,” he said.
Prior to becoming a councilman, Cirieco several as a Somers School Board Trustee and currently serves on the Somers School Districts Citizen’s Finance Committee. “As a family, we have a history of participation with the Somers schools, town and community,” Cirieco said. “We believe that community leadership is a ‘life example’ for our children and our youth,”
Cirieco laid out some of what he would seek to accomplish if reelected. “Somers is an economically diverse town. I am concerned about our senior citizens’ ability to manage on fixed incomes, the portion of our community that may be unemployed, our youth that needs to be engaged in activities and our families that live and hope to retire here in an affordable fashion,” he said. “My goals are to confront these challenges, will be to prioritize tax dollars, focusing on what is most important.”
Cirieco, 64, said he would continue to maintain town government’s “high level of service” and “protect the taxpayer,” and “maintain the high level of service” that our town departments provide, with safety and security at the top of the list. Examples include an experienced and equipped police department, Nutrition programs and transportation for our seniors, the library expanding digital content availability and a Highway paving plan for local and state funded roads.
Faulkner
Faulkner has been on the town board for four years. He said among his accomplishments as a councilman have included, “Budgeting under the tax cap keeping Somers the lowest taxed town in Westchester, rebuilding all town roads to improve our infrastructure, and preserving home rule by keeping Albany’s push for traffic circles out of Somers.”
Faulkner has been president, treasurer and trustee for the Somers Education Foundation; coach, commissioner and board member of the Somers American Youth Soccer Organization for 29 seasons; an active member of the Somers Lions Club; a member of the Somers Chamber of Commerce; and a champion for Relay for Life
He explained why he was seeking reelection. “I like to help people. I’ve done so in a variety of ways in Somers in a variety of roles,” he said. “In the role of councilman, it’s been an honor and a privilege to continue that even more. One of my top priorities is to keep Somers fiscally responsible with an Aa1 credit rating (from Moody’s) and the lowest taxes in Westchester. Another is remaining a responsive representative available at any time to each of our citizens. And, I’m also very focused on the continued rebuilding of our infrastructure, particularly as it pertains to our water, sewer, and roads.”
“The current town board works phenomenally well together in a bipartisan fashion to do what’s best for Somers, in keeping us the Greatest Town on Earth,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner, 50, is a small business owner and operator of two flight schools with 25 years of corporate finance experience
Newman
Newman is a member of the Somers Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Somers Library and Friends of the Angle Fly Preserve. “As a Somers small business owner my company supports numerous local and school groups through donations including the Somers Education Foundation, Somers Youth Sports Organization, and the Somers Region of the American Youth Soccer Organization,” Newman said, adding he is active in fund raising for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
“I am running for town board because I believe in the future of Somers,” Newman said. “I made my home here, built a business here and raise my family here. I am committed to Somers and I am invested in Somers. We need strong leaders, willing to work tirelessly to ensure a pattern of continuous improvement and long-term stability for our town. We need leaders that are willing to work harder and smarter to solve our problems and create new opportunities.”
“I’ll use my vast business knowledge to save money, upgrade infrastructure, and engage in smart long- term planning. I spent the majority of my career as an operations manager for a global financial services firms. In that role it was my job to create processes and workflows, build teams of people to manage those processes, create a control infrastructure to ensure compliance, and to continuously improve and streamline to lower costs. I leverage that skill et today as a small business owner, and I will leverage it as a member of the Somers Town Board.”
If elected, Newman said he would seek to make progress in town while keeping taxes low. “Our primary challenge is finding ways to make progress in Somers while keeping taxes low. The town board needs to work on water and sewer infrastructure issues, have the IBM property redeveloped, connect the town with sidewalks, and improve services while keeping taxes low. We also need to identify alternative revenue sources so we can make improvements while keeping taxes low. We can do this by negotiating stronger community benefit packages with developers and by increasing our focus on grant writing. Lastly we must look for savings in all that we do even routine contracts. For a small town, small savings can make a big difference.”
Newman, 47, owns and operates T3 LogoWear an apparel business in town. Prior to founding his company Newman worked on Wall Street for 23 years, including 17 years as an operations manager for global banking and securities firms and six years as a recruiter and consultant to the financial services industry.
Ondrovic
Ondrovic, 57, is a partner in the White Plains-based law firm of Boeggeman, George & Corde, PC. and is a trial attorney with 32 years of experience.
“This is my first time running for political office,” Ondrovic said. “I am a member of the Somers Tuskers Booster Club, the Somers Historical Society, The Friends of the Somers Library and the Friends of the Angle Fly Preserve. I am also a photographer and have provided photography services as a courtesy to soccer programs in town.”
“My decision to run for councilman on the Somers Town Board in 2017 is based upon my desire to give back to the town that has enriched my life considerably since my move here several years ago,” Ondrovic said.
Ondrovic said he is involved in many ways, including working with the AYSO and other soccer programs, assisting with Soccerfest at Reis Park, Somers Intermediate School birthday parties, and the Primrose Holiday Fair.
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“The major challenge facing Somers is maintaining and improving our quality of life,” Ondrovic said. “This includes the responsible development of the IBM and PepsiCo properties We are also challenged by an aging infrastructure. The town board needs to be concerned with our lake communities to ensure they have safe water and prevent environmental issues due to decaying septic systems. The pursuit of grant monies is a key component. Water issues also affect Heritage Hills as we have seen recently when they lost water for 24 hours and their private management company was unable to locate the necessary valves to aid in the restoration. It would benefit the entire town for the Board to assign a member to a specific task force for such issues and work with the communities in a proactive manner to prevent catastrophic failures rather than react after the fact with a Band-aid solutions.”
Among the other priorities the town board needs to address include seeking responsible commercial and residential development, and long range financial planning to keep the town under the tax cap, Ondrovic said.
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