Lachterman, Mirchandani Square Off in Yorktown Debate
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The two candidates that will be competing in a special election in two weeks for town supervisor in Yorktown squared off for the first and only time at Yorktown Stage last week.
More than 100 onlookers watched Yorktown Councilman Ed Lachterman and Democratic hopeful Jann Mirchandani make their cases why they were best suited to serve the final 20 months of 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 term. Diana had succeeded Matt Slater in 2023 following Slater’s election to the State Assembly.
“Tom was a dear friend. This is not an easy thing for me. This is not something I would have done,” said Lachterman, who has been leading the town since Diana’s death. “Yorktown is very special to me. It’s important that we do the town’s business and move things forward.”
“Sitting on this board doesn’t qualify someone for this position,” said Mirchandani, who lost to Diana last November. “Supervisor is a leadership role. You have to have a vision of where we’re going with all of this. Yes, experience does matter. The right experience, I think, is more important.”
Lachterman, who was elected to his third four-year term as a councilman last November, said he has vast business experience having worked in the hospitality industry for more than 40 years. Mirchandani, who runs a small business in digital marketing, web design and communications, touted her 10 years of experience in the financial sector working for several international asset management companies and decades serving on the Executive Board of the Greater Hudson Valley Council Boy Scouts of America.
Mirchandani stressed Yorktown wasn’t being properly served with a current town board made up of four Republicans.
“It doesn’t represent the diversity of our town. Yorktown needs a board that will ask the tough questions,” she said. “Having a diverse board makes better decisions.”
Lachterman maintained political affiliation was not a major factor in municipal government as it is on the state and federal level.
“Our decisions are all nuts and bolt decisions. We are here where the rubber meets the ground,” Lachterman remarked. “On our board there are so many differences and so many opinions. We listen to each other, we hear each other, we debate. Over the last eight years we have worked collaboratively will all branches of government and all parties.”
Mirchandani said Yorktown should utilize some of its fund balance for necessary improvement projects and town officials should hold developers to a higher standard instead of always handing out tax exemptions.
“We need to create incentives to get the kind of infrastructure that we want,” she said. “A lot of stores we’re seeing are just stores moving from one location to another. We need to encourage more redevelopment.”
Lachterman said national chains such as Lowe’s, Michael’s, Five Below and Nathan’s have decided to set up shop in Yorktown.
“We have people putting money into Yorktown. A lot of that is (spurred) by our diverse housing stock,” he said. “It’s all a vision of how you move forward. They want to be here if the conditions are right.”
The special election will be held on April 16. Early voting is available between April 6 and April 14.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
