White Plains Democratic Primary Candidates Face Off at Candidates Forum
By Natalie Chun
Four candidates for the White Plains Common Council convened for a Candidates Forum at the
White Plains Public Library Auditorium on Monday night, just over a week before the Democratic primary.
The four candidates are Katherine Brezler, incumbent Nadine Hunt-Robinson, Jennifer Puja, and Victoria Presser. The four will run in the Democratic primary in order to select three candidates to run in the general election for the White Plains Common Council’s three open seats.
The Candidates Forum was organized by the League of Women Voters of White Plains with questions they prepared and solicited from community members. All candidates were given an opportunity to respond to each question.
When asked about how they would support environmental sustainability in White Plains, incumbent Nadine Hunt-Robinson was able to point to the work that she has been doing and hopes to continue, such as legislation the Common Council passed that streamlines laws and makes implementing solar power into residences a very simple process, and legislation she is currently working to pass that would require every development project to be solar ready, even if they weren’t planning to use it yet.
Jennifer Puja and Victoria Presser, who, in addition to Hunt-Robinson, both received endorsements from the White Plains Democratic City Committee, applauded the work Hunt-Robinson has started and pointed out specific changes they would also like to implement.
Puja noted the effectiveness of the LED lights that have been added to streetlights in the city in terms of the energy and money that is now being saved, and said she wanted to add them to garages as well.
Presser suggested implementing new technology like asphalt recycling, but focused on examples of effective initiatives already in the community like the TILI shed (The White Plains Take it or Leave it Shed) which allows members of the community to drop off items they no longer want for others to take and repurpose.
“So you’re not only saving the environment, but you’re being a good neighbor,” Presser said. “So I like those things and I have a feeling there will be more.”
Katherine Brezler, on the other hand, who has not received an endorsement from the White Plains Democratic City Committee, had some bigger changes she wanted to make. In addition to requiring all buildings to be LEED-certified, Brezler said she would want to develop community gardens in Battle Hill and ban items like Roundup, styrofoam, and plastic bags throughout White Plains.
Another issue in which Brezler called for more specific and aggressive changes was with low-income and affordable housing. While all the candidates agreed that White Plains needed more affordable housing, Brezler specifically advocated for “a 10 percent dedicated mandate for low-income housing and a 10 percent dedicated mandate for affordable housing.”
Puja responded by thanking the current Common Council for the significant efforts they have been making and acknowledged that change takes time.
“It’s unrealistic to set a goal to give x amount of percent,” Puja said in response to Brezler’s plan. “That is not reasonable.”
Hunt-Robinson explained some of the complexities of such an issue while Presser suggested keeping an open mind and looking to other municipalities to learn ways to solve issues like affordable housing.
For the most part, however, the candidates agreed on most issues. All four supported creating a current, up-to-date, comprehensive plan for the city, since the last plan hadn’t been reformed since 2006. Their plans also all called for increased development. The four agreed that the community’s needs should come first but that development could and should help the current community thrive.
But while the overall tone of the debate was peaceful and non-combative, one topic did bring some tension to the room. The candidates were asked about Brezler’s struggles to remain on the ballot after the Democratic party challenged some of the signatures on her petition.
After taking the case to the second division court of appeals and the court of appeals, Brezler won and was allowed to keep her name on the ballot.
“I didn’t file an objection or a specific objection because I find it to be voter disenfranchisement,” Brezler said. “People’s signatures were disqualified because they were married, and had not changed their voter registration to their new name”
The other three candidates, who were endorsed by the White Plains Democratic City Committee, and whose signatures were not challenged, responded to the question by saying that there are certain rules that they must work within, and that apply to everyone.
“I have to follow those rules and procedures,” Hunt-Robinson said, “if those rules and procedures are not followed, … yes the party did file an action and I’m fine with that.”
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