Philipstown Voters Get Hotly Contested Town Council Race
Two Democratic incumbents, John Van Tassel and Michael Leonard, are running for reelection to the Philipstown town board. They face Republican challenger Tim Greco. The councilperson terms run for four years.
John Van Tassel
On the town board for eight years, John Van Tassel knows experience matters.
During his tenure, he said he’s worked with the rest of the board to protect the environment and its residents and is always open to input from the public.
“It’s a very unique place with a lot of unique people and we try to include everybody as much as possible,” he said.
Fiscally, Van Tassel said the town board has kept the budget under the tax cap every year since he’s been a councilman and in his first year, he was part of a town board that lowered the budget.
While taxes have stayed at bay, Van Tassel said improvements have been made at the recreation department and the town’s emergency preparedness is more robust. For instance, the recreation center is now a Red Cross shelter with a generator in case of a disaster, he said. Going forward, there are several infrastructure issues that the town needs to have a watchful eye over, he said. With town hall in “disrepair,” Van Tassel said there is a plan to replace the windows, put in an elevator, and make it code complaint and energy efficient. The highway garage also needs to be upgraded because highway workers are working out of a trailer right now.
Discussing the safe gun storage ordinance that’s been debated, but never voted on, Van Tassel said he supports the safest storage of firearms. As a gun owner
himself, Van Tassel said he changed the way he stored his gun after meeting with town residents about the issue and would like to discuss it again within the year. He stressed some of the wording in theproposedresolutionmightneedtobe reworked and understood gun owners are concerned about access to firearms for self-defense.
Van Tassel said he was against the sanctuary immigration vote because the town board doesn’t set protocol for any law enforcement agency and doesn’t ask for or retain anyone’s immigration status.
“To me we really don’t have a horse in the race,” he said.
Van Tassel has been an active firefighter in the North Highlands Department and has coached baseball and football. Van Tassel stressed his wealth of experience on the town board and Michael Leonard’s experience are why voters should choose them.
“For somebody to step in cold would be really hard,” Van Tassel said. “I have a platform to speak from and I use that when I need to get my point across.”
Michael Leonard
Completing his first term this year, Michael Leonard has kept busy during his four years as a Philipstown councilman.
Working in the utilities management industry for more than 20 years, Leonard said taking on challenges and getting results are important to him. Before he became a town board member, he was on the planning board, the conservation board, and was a board of tax assessment member. All that background gave him a terrific foundation to serve the town, he said.
His largest undertaking so far has been tackling environmental issues like storm water management by revamping that entire program in the town. He said he’s addressed illegal dumping, septic failure into lakes and worked on the climate smart pledge to make the town greener. A coordinator has been hired to focus on lessening the carbon footprint in town, he said.
Leonard has also been active with the local historic cemeteries and has been part of an effort to restore many gravestones the last couple of years. The county recognized Philipstown for the work the town has done toward that effort, he said.
Upgrading town hall has been helpful to residents, Leonard said, because it’ll be more accessible while still keeping its historic side. Files will be easier to get and more meeting rooms will be available, he said.
Roadways have also been resurfaced, he said, and bridges have been repaired.
“We’re pretty involved,” he said. “We’ve got a lot going on.”
Going forward, Leonard notes the town board might pursue a town-wide tax revaluation.
His opponent, Tim Greco, has criticized him for voting for a resolution addressing illegal immigration. Leonard said he voted in favor of the equal protection resolution to send a message to the federal government to take on immigration reform. He noted the resolution stated no local, state or federal immigration laws would be violated, but town employees should not be involved with immigrant enforcement unless compelled by the law.
As for the safe gun storage ordinance, Leonard called it a complex issue because of different requirements for different guns. He likes the idea of a weapon being stored safely, but noted further education might be the best option and should be discussed by both sides of the debate to reach a solution.
He noted residents of the town requested that the town board weigh in on the two contentious items.
Leonard said unlike his Republican opponent, he has been involved in many town activities. Leonard said when a person calls him; he returns their call within one or two days.
“I have a lot of experience,” he said.
Tim Greco
Calling himself a moderate Republican, Tim Greco wants to bring diversity of thought to the Philipstown town board.
Greco, a pastor at the Church on the Hill, which is right across the street from town hall, said he wants to bring a new vision and further inclusion to the town board. He said there is feeling among some residents that town board members go through the motions too often rather than stay focused on the budget, infrastructure needs and other critical local issues.
He argued the town board puts too much attention on divisive issues outside of its jurisdiction like the safe gun storage proposal that’s been discussed and a
resolution focused on illegal immigration. Greco claims that because the town board voted 3-2 to pass a sanctuary- type bill regarding illegal immigration, it could lead to the federal government withholding funds from the town. He believes immigration policies rest with the federal government, rather than a local board.
Greco, who is a gun owner, called a possible safe gun storage ordinance too intrusive and not enforceable.
Instead, he wants to see issues addressed like congestion around the hiking trails, particularly near Breakneck Ridge and said the town needs to fight more against the opioid crisis by educating residents about drug addiction and what leads to it.
“We need to stick to what really matters in our community,” Greco, who works as a media specialist for the Walter Hoving Home (a drug recovery center) in Garrison, said.
When responding to some critics’ claims that when he worked for the local Putnam County News and Recorder, he was a divisive figure, Greco scoffed at the suggestion. He said he held a mirror up to the community, rather than report inaccurately as critics have asserted.
“They didn’t like what they were hearing,” he said. “They were the problem, I wasn’t.”
Greco said his leadership qualities and volunteer record in the community are proven. He said he helped turn a church that only had four people in its congregation into a thriving house of worship within a year.
Greco said voters should select him because of his integrity and love for the town.
“I would bring a new voice to our community,” Greco said. “I would share information.”
