Candidate Profile: Cynthia Shereda For Pound Ridge Town Board

POUND RIDGE, NY — Election season 2023 is here and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Name: Cynthia L. Shereda

Age: 63

Hometown: Originally from Wisconsin, I have lived in New York for over 35 years and have been a Pound Ridge resident since 2000.

Running for which office: Pound Ridge Town Board.

Education: B.S. Accounting, New York University; J.D., The University of Texas School of Law (Austin); Masters Candidate (2025), Columbia University School of Social Work.

Political experience: Have not previously held political office.

Work experience: I have 30+ years of corporate law practice, including with global law firms and Fortune 500 companies (including Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Davis Polk; GE; and PepsiCo). I also spent four years in public and private accounting.

Family: Spouse is Daniel Feldman, an artist and musician.

Campaign website: poundridgeparty.com (Pound Ridge Party).

Why are you seeking this office?

Among other things, the current Board is not doing a good job listening to all residents. They've run largely unopposed and have become too insular in their views, with little tolerance for those who disagree with them. Two examples are the recent decisions on a cannabis dispensary (more on that later) and the proposed wastewater treatment plant (also more later). I've been a Democrat all my life. But we need more, not less, cooperation given how polarized we have become as a country and I would bring more Town voices into the conversation. The look of our small "downtown" has certainly improved since I moved to Pound Ridge, but that's only one small aspect of governing.

And in the same way you cannot blame the incumbents for everything bad, nor can you credit them for everything good (for example, the beautiful new park was fully funded by Eduard Kleiner, in memory of his wife Rayanne Kleiner). Their failure to file financials as required by NYS, the lack of audited financials for over two years, and the auditors' extensive comments with respect to the completed 2020 audit (made available only after a FOIL request) showing serious deficiencies in the financial management of the Town does not point strongly to good governance.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate(s) seeking this post?

I applaud the current team for running and serving — it is not an easy task. And I have tremendous respect for individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service — indeed, my motivation in seeking a Masters in Social Work is to dedicate my post-retirement life in more direct service to others. That said, I don't believe that a history of seeking and holding public office is pre-requisite to seeking and holding public office. . . It's good to mix it up with folks like me with a long history of experience and success in the private sector. We need a combination of the best minds from all backgrounds and walks of life to find and implement the best solutions.

What is the single most pressing issue facing your constituents and what do you intend to do about it?

My view is that infrastructure/environment is the single biggest issue and, in particular, wastewater is the most pressing. This has been an issue at least since I moved here in 2000 and from what I know, well before. I believe the current Board may have a very specific idea in mind (and certainly they have spent a fair bit on consultants "studying" the matter), but they are not sharing the details. They say they won't implement a solution that costs Town taxpayers anything, however, the 40+ commercial entities (which represent ~2% of the Town's tax revenues vs. ~98% from residents) in the business district are not likely willing to shoulder the full cost — upwards of $40 million vs. a Town annual budget of around $8 million — and I am skeptical that significant grants would be available for the purpose.

Their plan needs to see the full light of day and have a robust hearing from Town residents. Who is benefitting? What are the environmental costs and benefits? Where exactly is the money coming from, and what is the bigger plan — a hotel? a condo development? Do we need these things? Is this what we want for Pound Ridge? (See next question...)

How would you address the affordable housing issue in the community?

There is a crisis in affordable housing for sure and I believe all communities have an obligation to address this. We also have to be realistic about what the Pound Ridge infrastructure — present and future (including any new wastewater plant) — can support and whether any development will actually yield affordable housing. NYC clears developers all the time to build new expensive housing projects that carve out a small piece of the development for "affordable housing." That's not a reasonable solution and has fallen terribly short in solving the problem.

I am willing to look at any development that fits within the overall character of Pound Ridge and does not have a detrimental impact on, or overburden, stressed environmentally sensitive areas. Moreover, any such development must truly represent "affordable" housing, not a cover for development of something else entirely.

How would you protect the drinking water in the community?

A fair bit of the Town sits within the NYC watershed, so it already has that focus. I would work with NY City and State and local environmental organizations — as well as our neighboring towns — to ensure we are working together and implementing best practices to protect the drinking water in all of Pound Ridge as well as our neighboring communities affected by Pound Ridge's practices.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

The current Board likes to point to improvements to our small downtown as their biggest accomplishment. I certainly agree it has improved, but per my answer to the earlier question, this is not necessarily the hallmark of good government -- it's just pretty and easy to point to. I further question the governance around the cannabis issue -- the current Town Board dropped the ball, whether intentional or unintentional, by not preserving our optionality in allowing a cannabis store in Pound Ridge. While I fully support legalization as a policy matter, I don't think Pound Ridge can support a dispensary serving a population of >50,000 given that all the surrounding communities opted out. Besides looking at what can be done in terms of zoning restrictions, I would review all of our legal options, but only after residents have a truly meaningful opportunity to be heard.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Prior to retiring in February, I worked for over 35 years in a variety of for-profit environments, from law firms to accounting firms and from small public companies to the Fortune 50. I also serve on the Board of a not-for-profit organization, The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (http://theglobalfoundationforoceanexploration.org/). I have demonstrated competencies leading and facilitating cross-functional/cross-business projects and have extensive experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic sourcing and significant experience managing litigation, intellectual property and commercial transactions, as well as a large staff, outside counsel, and legal department budgets. I believe both my technical skills and leadership/collaboration skills will serve the community well in the context of local government

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Listen to understand, not to respond.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I spent my career, among other things, resolving disputes and making deals happen. I come away from that experience strongly believing that life does not have to be played as a zero-sum game. We won’t all agree 100% of the time, but we need to listen to each other and engage in respectful dialogue to reach consensus. In a well-functioning Democracy, elected leaders have a responsibility to represent all their constituents — if elected, that is my promise.