Oliverio, Annabi Fight for Putnam Valley Supervisor Seat
Sam Oliverio – Democrat
After a failed bid for county executive last year, former legislator Sam Oliverio is back, running for supervisor because he thinks the town has neglected many things over the past few years and the result has been troublesome. “I feel the governance of the town, the supervision of the town is really not been on par with where it should be,” Oliverio said. Oliverio cited a pond at Lake Peekskill that is finally being cleaned out in an election year, Spur Beach still isn’t open, the business district has too many vacant store fronts and the unsafe condition of the Taconic overpass has yet to be solved. Finally, possibly breaking the tax cap for the second straight year is unacceptable, he stated. Oliverio said he believes quality of life entities in the town like the library, ambulance, fire department are all “under attack” pointing the finger at his opponent for trying to take necessary funding from all of those places. “Go with experience, go with somebody that knows the town, knows the people and knows the issues,” Oliverio said. “It’s time to stop lecturing people and it’s time to get things done.” In order to control the budget, Oliverio had numerous points. He would strip health benefits of every elected official and possibly reduce elected officials’ salaries. He would raise violation fines like excess junk cars on land and raise building permits. Finally, he would hold the line on any new town vehicles for now after the town bonded for trucks last year. Oliverio also discussed shared services and purchasing between the school and the town, guaranteeing a close relationship between the two that would save money since he has worked as an assistant principal at the high school for decades. As an 18-year legislator, Oliverio said he brought in the sheriff substation and senior center in town. Additionally, he said the county did major road improvement on his watch and also fought to preserve Peekskill Hollow Road when it was being threatened. He worked with the county on many other endeavors, all while collaborating with a Republican- majority legislature. Oliverio states he isn’t tied to the political party that wants to “take control of the county of Putnam.” He vows to be an independent thinker and get things done. “I’m a person of my word, I’m a hard-worker and I don’t talk nonsense,” he said. “The bottom line is I have experience, I have governmental knowledge and I have a great work ethic and I will never let my town down.”
Jackie Annabi – Republican
As a councilwoman in the town for two terms, Jackie Annabi is running on her record of “getting things done.” Regardless of political party and on a board with differing opinions, Annabi has been able to work with everyone to address issues. “I want to fix problems,” Annabi, a Republican, said. Annabi listed numerous achievements and initiatives: She started an oil cooperative with 11 different oil companies that results in discount oil prices for residents, and worked with the county to get the town NY Alert, which is a type of emergency communication. She’s working “closer than anyone has been in 20 years” with the state and county on business development in town like getting grants for municipal water into Oregon Corners without burdening town taxpayers. “We’re going to be able to revitalize Oregon Corners the way is used to be,” she said. Other issues Annabi has been fighting for is holding the Putnam Valley Library fiscally accountable, especially when the library board of trustees tried to pass a Chapter 414 that would let voters decide on an increased library budget, a move that resulted in some dissent from residents, including Annabi. She said the town must stay on top of the fire department and ambulance corp. because while residents need these services, it has to be done frugally. Currently, Annabi is in another battle to get the budget under the state tax cap. Last year, she was the only councilmember to vote against going over the tax cap and vowed to do the same this year if it came to that. After getting the preliminary budget, she was able to work with departments across the board to get it around a little more than two percent. “I am not done,” she said. “I am not willing to go over this tax cap.” Annabi wants to work with the school district for shared services and purchasing like consolidating paper and water delivery from the same vendor. Other shared services should also be explored ranging from department to department, and to the town sharing with the county and state. Going into this election Annabi firmly believes residents don’t want to hear excuses, but they want to see results. “I want to win this election by telling the truth and telling people what they need to hear, rather than win by lying and making promises, I know I can’t keep,” Annabi said. “Because after Election Day, I still have to face myself, my neighbors, our seniors, our veterans and every other Putnam Valley resident.”
