When knowledge and experience count
It’s a challenge to summarize 54 years of involvement in Yorktown town government. So here are some highlights and a longer version.
Highlights
Knowledge and experience
- Former supervisor (2010-2011)
- Former councilwoman (2015)
- Attended Town Board and Planning Board meetings (2008-present)
- Newspaper reporter and columnist (various years over five decades)
- Community advocate (over five decades)
- Co-founder of Yorktown Trail Town Committee and president (2020-present)
Contributions to Yorktown as supervisor and councilwomen
- Reformed town financial systems, including putting financial records online
- Collected $2 million in unpaid taxes, some dating back to 1973
- Adopted first Tree Law (repealed in 2016)
- Adopted Affordable Housing Law (repealed 2016)
- Adopted a Comprehensive Plan
- Updated Ethics Law (but continuing to fight for needed amendments)
- Created Senior Advisory Committee
- Modernized senior nutrition center
- Upgraded library systems
- Streamlined development review procedures
- Increased water revenue and reduced staff costs with installation of new smart meters.
Contributions as Community Advocate
- Lobbied Town Board and Planning Board to televise their work session meetings
- Informs residents about Town Board and Planning Board issues by writing and posting meeting summaries online. (current meetings; 2008-2021 meetings)
- Took Town to court twice over a lack of transparency — and won. But it’s an ongoing fight.
- Stopped effort to weaken the Wetlands Law
- Explains complex town issues in Yorktown News column
- And pending: banning ATVs form town parks, trails and roads
Personal history
- 54 year resident
- Raised three children, graduates of Yorktown schools
- Small business owner: communications consultant, niche book publisher
- Master’s degree in Public Administration
The longer version
I have what my family and friends call a passion for local government. Good government. Efficient government. Transparent government.
It all started in 1970 when I moved to Yorktown from New York City, joined the Yorktown League of Women Voters and started attending Town Board meetings.
The importance of town government
Town government is the level of government that’s closest to us. More than Washington, DC, Albany or White Plains, it’s our local Yorktown government that directly impacts so many aspects of our daily lives: our roads, police, water, sewer and garbage services. (Yes, garbage. We all remember last year!) It’s Yorktown that provides us with parks and recreational opportunities for all age groups, a library, museum and places to visit that remind us of our history. The value of our biggest financial asset, our home, is impacted by many of the decisions our elected officials make.
Knowledge and experience gained over five decades
During my 54 years in Yorktown, I’ve been busy. I’ve raised three children, earned a Master’s of Public Administration degree from Pace University, worked as a newspaper reporter and started my own communication consulting business and a niche book publishing business. And during most of those years, I kept an eye on what was happening in Town Hall.
In 2008, I started a web site, Citizens for an Informed Yorktown, ciyinfo.org, where I posted summaries of all Town Board and Planning Board meetings. In 2024, I introduced the summaries in a blog format at yorktownbettergovernmentorg.wordpress.com.
I’ve had the honor of serving as your supervisor, and as councilwoman. During both terms in office, I worked cooperatively with my colleagues, regardless of party affiliation. Together we passed the Town’s first Tree Law, purchased Granite Knolls, created the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, and modernized the Town’s financial systems.
Since 2016, I’ve become what many call a “community advocate,” speaking out on a variety issues of issues of concern to my fellow residents: development, including Underhill Farm; taxes, including tax breaks for developers; environmental issues, including clear cutting of trees, wetlands, and solar; open and transparent government; sewers and other needed infrastructure upgrades. I successfully lobbied to have all Town Board and Planning Board work session meetings televised. I took the Town to court twice over compliance with the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law. And won both times.
Most recently I’ve been in the forefront of the fight for a stronger Ethics Law, ensuring the safety of residents in our parks and on our roads by banning ATV use, and speaking out for a more cautious approach to pending large scale developments. And I continue to speak out over the need for more transparency and an end to disinformation.
Lessons I’ve learned
I know how town government works, from municipal budgeting to the laws governing new development. I know how important it is for the Town Board to keep residents informed about what’s happening. Not just the good news, but also when there are problems that must be addressed. Most of all, I know what it takes to get things done.
It’s that knowledge and experience, plus my continuing passion for open and transparent government, plus my commitment to hold elected officials accountable, plus my courage to speak out and speak up for what I believe is best for Yorktown — for my community–that I bring to the table today as a candidate for the Town Board.
It’s why I’m running for a seat on the Town Board.
It’s why I’m running for a seat on the Town Board.