No. Castle GOP Names Arden, DiGiacinto to Ticket Despite Differences
The North Castle Republican Committee announced on Thursday that it has endorsed Supervisor Howard Arden for re-election and longtime town resident Barbara DiGiacinto to run for one of two open council seats this fall.
Committee Chairwoman Anita Cozza said Friday that Arden and DiGiacinto were the only two candidates to formally interview before the committee for the respective seats.
The announcement could be viewed as a surprise since Arden and DiGiacinto have clashed on a series of issues that have become before the town board during the past year and a half. Most recently Arden, as part of the board majority with fellow incumbent Republican council members Diane DiDonato-Roth and John Cronin, forced Banmonk, LLC, a limited liability company owned by the children of the late John DiGiacinto Jr., to ask for a rezoning of a property they own in Banksville rather than continue to grant market licenses that permitted a temporary tenant to sell specimen trees.
Arden and DiGiacinto also come from opposite wings of the party, which has been fractured over the past few years. Despite the deep division within the party and the sharp differences between the two candidates, Cozza said she is hopeful their candidacies will not cause further dissension on the board or in the town GOP.
“Both of these people have the best interests of the town, the best interests of the residents and the best interests of the businesses at heart,” Cozza said. “Keep in mind they are only candidates. Let’s see how they are up in front of the board.”
Meanwhile, as of Friday DiDonato-Roth and Cronin had not announced whether they would attempt to gain entry on the party’s ticket. Cronin, who said he would not interview in front of the committee because he had little respect for some of its members, mentioned on Friday that he could decide before the end of the weekend whether he will seek re-election. DiDonato-Roth could not be reached for comment on Friday regarding her intentions.
If both decide to jump into the race that would force a September primary. However, Cozza said that if either DiDonato-Roth or Cronin were to gain entry onto the ticket for November, both would run without the party’s endorsement.
The Democrats are expected to announce candidates early next month. They are already backing Linda Trummer-Napolitano for town justice.
The Republicans also revealed this week they had endorsed Douglas Martino for town justice and Patricia A. Colombo as receiver of taxes.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
