In the White Plains Mayoral Race, a Nod in the Direction of Incumbent Tom Roach
Following the example of politics on the national level where candidates take to the “bully pulpit” to condemn their opponents while trying to curry favor with special interest groups, the race for Mayor of White Plains has not been immune to such tactics.
Often inspired by community groups angry that development projects have not turned in their favor, rather than encouraging astute and informative political debate that discusses issues, White Plains has been subjected to somewhat of a media circus.
Articles published by regional media outlets, most notably the NY Post, have been aimed at publicly humiliating political leaders and thereby the city’s mayor. Such unsavory published pieces, often without any identified sources, have shown that a segment of the White Plains community, while bent on getting their candidate elected, have neglected to observe how such behavior hurts the entire community.
Some candidates came out acknowledging the damage to community spirit such activity engenders, others did not.
Despite the often-ugly attacks and the lack of real immersion in the issues affecting White Plains, a clear picture of how the city is doing has emerged.
If Mayor Tom Roach is to be measured by the work he has done, then he has accomplished much and has put White Plains on a solid path toward the future.
His opponent Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona has unfortunately spent much of her campaign pointing out faults, real or imagined, and not until perhaps the very last moment has she spoken about what positive things she might do as Mayor of the city she cares about.
As an urban planner and architect many of Lecuona’s ideas for farmer’s markets and resident gathering places are very exciting and it would be nice to see those ideas implemented.
Lecuona has also spoken about the lack of transparency in the White Plains administration housed at City Hall.
While Mayor Roach and his staff have added documentation to the city’s website and added videotaping of more meetings than have been done in the past, there is room for more opportunities for public involvement, and the voices of residents not sure of what is happening in their home city are often heard all too late.
While is true that all data eventually becomes information when you need it, getting it out in front of the population so they know they need it is not an easy task and more creativity could be applied to get more of the public involved in events happening across the city.
White Plains is experiencing a resurgence and new growth. The seeds for more success have been planted in the programs implemented over the past seven years of Roach’s tenure, from building more residences in the downtown, acknowledging a market that favors rentals over homeownership at certain generational points and the move away from the use of automobiles in favor of public transportation.
As this transition continues, advice from candidates that reliance on parking revenues is a mistake is good advice.
However, despite the attacks and the negative spin, Mayor Roach has been good for White Plains and he deserves another term to continue the programs he has begun to implement.
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