Lachterman, Mirchandani Confident of Ability to Lead Town

Residents in Yorktown will be heading to the polls Apr. 16 to determine who should be the town’s chief executive for the next 20 months.

Republican Councilman Ed Lachterman and Democratic candidate Jann Mirchandani are squaring off in the special election to serve former supervisor Tom Diana’s unexpired two-year term, which ends Dec. 31, 2025.

Diana died unexpectedly in early January, a few days after being sworn in for his first full term. Diana had succeeded Matt Slater in 2023 following Slater’s election to the state Assembly.

Lachterman, who was elected to his third four-year term as a councilman last November, has been running the town as deputy supervisor since the death of his close friend. What separates him from Mirchandani is his governmental experience, he said.

“I feel I am the best choice for the town,” Lachterman said. “The town can ill afford to have someone struggling to learn the complexities of the job in a shorter cycle. Coming in with my experience I was able to avoid the learning curve. It’s something I didn’t want to do, but I don’t do things that I’m not all in for. When I commit to something I commit to it. That is part of why I’m all in – the love of Yorktown.”

Mirchandani, who has never held elected office, maintained being on the Town Board doesn’t mean someone is capable of leading a municipality.

“The supervisor seat is very different. The supervisor is the day-to-day manager of operating the town,” she said. “You have to be a strategic leader. You have to look two years down the line, five years down the line. You have to have a vision. I think that’s something that’s lacking.”

Lachterman

Lachterman said his 40-year career in the hospitality industry began as a 16-year-old busboy for Charlie Brown’s restaurant in Yonkers. In 1995, he became an area director for the Applebee’s franchise, overseeing six restaurants, 32 managers and more than 300 employees. He later was a director of food services at a school for at-risk children and owns a massage therapy business.

That experience, along with his eight years as a councilman dealing with the variety of boards and committees in town, have prepared him well for the task of supervisor.

“All of that stuff gives you a working knowledge,” he said. “You can’t learn to run a town on YouTube. There’s a human touch that goes with those meetings. It’s all part of a puzzle. Having someone who knows all this stuff is extremely important.”

“Tom (Diana) chose me to be a deputy not just because I’m a good guy,” Lachterman said. “Even though there are similarities between me and Tom, we’re much different people. We had different life experiences. I see the town moving forward. The town is heading in the direction we want to go. The frustrating part of the job is when politics get in the way of what needs to be done. The only ideology I see is what is best for the town.”

Lachterman refuted assertions that town officials have been too generous with tax exemptions for some developers. For example, he explained when Lowe’s redeveloped the site of a former motel for the homeless, the property owner received $14,500 in tax abatements, but paid $209,000 in property taxes, while also contributing $3.6 million in infrastructure improvements in the area.

On a smaller scale, he said Mohegan Audi expanded its showroom and saved $3,400 in tax abatements, but its overall tax bill increased by $22,000.

“Tell me who is whose ATM?” Lachterman remarked, noting the Underhill Farm project will generate more than $1 million in property taxes. “People (developers) have choices. We were on the short end of the stick for a lot of years. We want them. We care about them. They are corporate citizens. They are equally as important as the people who live in town.”

On the recently proposed law regulating ATVs, Lachterman said the Town Board has reached out to all the groups and individuals in town with expertise on the subject.

“There’s already laws on the book that you can’t ride motorized vehicles on town trails,” he said. “The laws that we have can’t regulate good behavior.”

Lachterman said he’s “always been a proponent” of the town not having too much fund balance, but said the town’s auditors advise officials annually on finances.

“Some of this money is tied up,” he said. “To say the money is not being invested in projects is a lack of knowledge. The town doesn’t have the ability to just say this is what we’re going to do (with the money).”

Although he was the top vote-getter in the race for two Town Board seats last November, Lachterman said he’s not taking anything for granted in this campaign.

“Every election is different. Having this in the middle of April adds to the complexities of it,” he said. “People know me. They know my message. They know my vision. Every day I get stopped by someone thanking me for the things that I do.”

Mirchandani

Mirchandani, who runs a small business in digital marketing, web design and communications, started her career in financing, working 10 years for several international asset management companies. She has also served on the Executive Board of the Greater Hudson Valley Council Boy Scouts of America as the highest-ranking volunteer, overseeing the organization in seven counties serving more than 4,000 youths.

She ran for office for the first time last November, losing to Diana by more than 800 votes. She received 46 percent of the more than 10,000 votes cast.

“The fact that it was as close as it was shows that a large (amount) of people are looking for a change,” Mirchandani said. “I’m really encouraged at the amount of support I have gotten. It just seems like more people are getting involved. That’s why I got involved in the first place. In some small way I got people off the bench. I hope we get enough people out to say she is a smart cookie.”

Mirchandani has been outspoken that the current all-GOP Town Board in Yorktown isn’t adequately representing the interests of all residents.

“I have not seen that back and forth and robust discussion by the board, or full transparency on issues. That has been my frustration and the frustration of a lot of residents,” she said. “There isn’t an openness to residents’ concerns. We should have a Town Board that represents all of the residents of Yorktown. Having a diverse board makes better decisions.”

Mirchandani said residents she has met are most concerned about overdevelopment in Yorktown.

“Residents are concerned that we are becoming a huge strip mall,” she said. “I don’t think that is our destiny by any stretch, but I get it. I see trees coming down. There seems to be a deference to developers over residential taxpayers that people are concerned about. We should encourage a more walkable downtown and encourage more local business.”

Mirchandani maintained Yorktown should utilize some of its excess fund balance for necessary improvement projects, saying about $22 million was available.

“Why is that money not being invested?” she said. “The budget is very much a picture of what your priorities are. All the boards that I have served on you have to deal with finances. I have that depth of understanding.”

On the ATV law that the Town Board recently proposed, Mirchandani said she would have held a joint meeting of all the stakeholders and local experts before the public hearing.

“It shows that they’re ill-prepared. The homework wasn’t done,” she remarked.

The special election will be held on Tuesday, Apr. 16 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. There is early voting now through Apr. 14.