Letter to the Editor: On the Campaign Trail in Port Chester

I write to relate what I'm hearing on the campaign trail.

People are enraged about the Amnesty program. With a village leadership that has put endless issues out to study, citizens want to know why a hastily conceived program has been put in place that seems to be negatively affecting law abiding citizens while leaving willful code violators untouched. I can only say "I hear you." As mentioned in greater detail in my last letter, my plan is to empower the homeowner to comply at a time of their choosing and to grandfather older properties for which improper records were kept. Meantime I want to accelerate our efforts to bring to heel code violators who rent illegal apartments by exploring the use of tax evasion laws. 

Our suffocating property tax levy is the other big topic on people's minds. The village has allowed its commercial tax base to shrink over the decades and the cost of running basic services is increasingly falling on a financially stressed homeowner class that feels it has nowhere to turn. If elected our ticket’s program of Smart Growth will address and reverse our oppressive property taxes.

The solutions to our problems lie in your hands - the village's citizens. You can change the direction of our village just by voting. To do that you must give thought to whom you vote for.

By way of example Trustee Dan Brakewood is running for a third term. I voted for him in his first 2 elections and I appreciate that he has dedicated 7 years to public service. But during the budget meeting in May 2011 he voted 24 times against making modest expenditure trims. Eight times he was opposed by a 6-1 margin on the board. These cuts amounted to little more than 1% of the overall budget and resulted in a decrease in our tax levy, but he refused to ask village departments to tighten their belts to even this minimal degree. I'm certain many citizens have had to cut their family budgets a lot more than 1% in these difficult times.

I understand there are hard choices to be made, but can we afford to reelect people who have proven themselves unable to make them? It is actions like this that caused me to cross party lines.

I am fond of Gene Ceccarelli, who selflessly volunteers himself for village service and attends many village meetings. But he was doubtful about the Restaurant Depot project when it was being vetted and even now, after it has been a resounding success, recently made the case in a letter to the Westmore News that some residents remain dismayed with the project. No matter how much we like them I don't think we can afford to elect people who cannot identify and robustly support much needed Smart Growth projects that so clearly strike the proper balance. Here is a project on a site that was in need of redevelopment, froze the tax assessment in place and created more than 50 jobs. We need trustees who can make the right choices so necessary to keep our taxes in check.

During this campaign these and other candidates are asking for your support. I like every candidate I've met and am certain they are sincere in wanting to serve the public. They are our neighbors and may well be your friends. But you need to ask them about the hard choices, about the right choices. If they're not prepared to make them, if they've proved they're not capable of making them, their actions, as well intentioned as they may be, may sooner or later lead you to decide you can no longer afford to live in the village you call home. Think long and hard about that before you cast your votes.

As a money manager I need to continually apprise myself of the broad view of the economy and business trends. What I see is very different from what you may be reading in the headlines or may feel in your hearts after living in a financially stressed economy for the last 5 years.

I see a new American Century on the horizon and with it a new prosperity. There is an energy revolution sweeping this nation that is fundamentally reordering our economy. It is attracting significant investment and because of it for the first time in two generations we are seeing high level manufacturing, and the jobs that come with it, return to our shores.

Why do I mention this? Because I am old enough to remember another prosperous American century. And yet how much did Port Chester benefit from the boom of the 80's and 90's? Our village fathers, well intentioned as they might have been, failed to promote policies designed to move us forward. Citizens did a poor job of putting people on the board capable to the task.

We need a team in place that can help Port Chester reap the whirlwind of this new opportunity. I believe we have some of the pieces in place but I urge you to take the time on March 19th to cast your votes for me and our entire team of uniquely qualified business achievers to insure we are well positioned for the future I can foresee and that I want for our neglected village on the Sound.

Frank Ferrara
Port Chester

Editor's note: The writer is one of 10 candidates running for six village trustees in the upcoming Port Chester election, which starts with advance voting on March 12 and concludes on Election Day, March 19.