VIDEO: Meet the Candidates, Terence Guerriere

Election season is upon us again, and White Plains has races on Nov. 8 for seats on the White Plains Common Council and Westchester County Board of Legislators.

Read below to learn more about one of the candidates, and click  to find out who else is running.

Meet the Candidate: Terence Guerriere, running for a 4-year term on the White Plains Common Council

How Long in White Plains/Where: has lived in White Plains for more than 50 years, currently lives in Gedney Farms neighborhood

Age: 52

Family: wife Corinna; son Jonas, 7; son Luke 4

Job Title/Profession: Director of New York State Operations for Madison Commercial Real Estate Services, working in real estate law and title insurance for the last 25 years; also worked as an attorney, as a clerk for the Surrogate Court Judge of Nassau County; and as a private school teacher and administrator The Green Vale School, Old Brookville NY

Education: B.A. from Williams College in Massachusetts; J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law  

Other activities and current/past involvement: 

• President, Gedney Association (2005 to present); president, North Broadway Citizens Association (1988-2005)
• Member, White Plains Planning Board (1998-2004); member, White Plains Capital Projects Board (1998-2002); chair, White Plains Zoning Board of Appeals (1992-1995); member, White Plains Budget Advisory Committee (1990-1993)
• Coach, Youth Baseball League (1987-1991); President of Williams College Regional Alumni Association (1993-1996); associate, Alumni Class Agent (1992 to present); Associate; Admissions Representative (1984 to present); Alumni Class Treasurer (1986-1991); Archbishop Stepinac High School Foundation, founding member (1995 to present); president, Archbishop Stepinac Alumni Association (1993-1998)

Website: http://www.voteforterence.com

Run for office before: No

Party: Republican

Endorsements: Republican, Conservative

Why are you running for a seat on the White Plains Common Council?

White Plains needs new voices on the common council. Fresh ideas and active debate have been missing. When one party holds all seven seats, the council tends to avoid a full discussion of the issues. I believe I will bring a fresh perspective to the council. 

After serving almost 20 years on the planning board, zoning board (as chair), capital projects board and budget advisory committee, I believe I have the experience to represent the people of White Plains.  

I believe our neighborhoods are the backbone of our city. I lived for more than 17 years in the North End, and was proud to serve as president of the North Broadway Citizens’ Association. When we moved our family to Gedney Farms, I joined the Gedney Association Board, and now serve as its president. 

I grew up in White Plains, I have worked here and my wife and I are raising our family here. White Plains is my hometown. However, I believe White Plains needs new leadership on the council so the government can better serve its citizens. White Plains faces real challenges. Only active debate and a fresh perspective can lead to real solutions. 

What makes you the best candidate for a seat on the council? What would you bring to the council as a member?

I have been fortunate to have served as a community leader in White Plains for most of my adult life. After returning to White Plains after completing law school, I was appointed to the citizens’ budget advisory committee.  

Since that time, I have also served on the zoning board of appeals (as chair), the planning board and the capital projects board. I served under three mayors, both Democratic and Republican (Del Vecchio, Schulman and Delfino). 

This service, together with my involvement as a board member and president of two neighborhood associations (North Broadway and Gedney Farms) demonstrates my commitment to our city.

In addition to my community leadership experience, I have experience running private businesses. I know what it is like to be responsible for making a payroll, and I understand the challenges of doing more with less. 

These are unusual times and White Plains is at a crossroads. After serving in non-elected roles, I have decided to run for a seat on the common council to add a new voice and to initiate active debate of the issues. I believe I can make a positive contribution to our city as a member of the common council.

Explain your stance on the following issues, and how you would address these issues as a council member?

Parking: White Plains is losing significant sales tax revenue through its high parking rates and penalties. We have been battling a reputation for being “parking unfriendly” for years and recent decisions by the common council have made matters worse. Earlier this year, the City dramatically increased parking rates.  

In addition to other increases, it increased penalties for overstaying the time on the meter to $10, and eliminated the option of paying a much smaller fine by paying at the onsite parking lot office. When shoppers and diners from outside White Plains (and within our City too!) make decisions where to shop and eat, they are discouraged by our unfriendly parking policies.  Every time people choose to go elsewhere, White Plains taxpayers are forced to make up the difference.

We should be reducing parking rates and making every effort to bring shoppers and diners into White Plains. It is especially frustrating when we take into account the large investments the taxpayers have made to transform our city into a shopping destination. It is wrongheaded to create policy disincentives for shoppers and diners.

Property Taxes: Every year, the common council should be focused on seeking ways to reduce the city’s spending and property taxes, not on how much to increase them. I believe that most of the City’s taxpayers understand that it is difficult to reduce taxes. 

However, I also believe that most taxpayers expect the council members to actively advocate for spending reductions and more efficient ways to deliver essential city services. Our city’s workforce is a professional group of men and women. 

This workforce is undoubtedly the key to finding where any waste or inefficiencies may lie. In the private sector, it is smart business practice to solicit ideas from the people who perform the day to day work of the company. 

Often, excellent ideas for cost savings come from the workforce. There is no reason to believe that this practice would not be successful in the public sector. Saving money should not necessarily create an adversarial atmosphere between the City’s leaders and its workforce. 

If waste and inefficiencies are identified and new policies implemented, jobs can be saved and the workforce and taxpayers will each benefit. 

The French-American School of New York’s Plans for the Former Ridgeway Country Club: When the Ridgeway Country Club first decided to sell its golf course property, I had recently been re-elected as the  president of the Gedney Association, the neighborhood association for Gedney Farms, which surrounds the property. 

As president, I led the efforts to learn as much as possible about the new owners’ plans for the property. I and other members of the Gedney Association Board met with the French American School and solicited reaction and comments from our Gedney Farms neighbors. As the size and scope of the School’s plans became apparent, the Association’s concerns increased. 

It also became clear to the Association that the School’s ownership of the property and their plans for development would produce additional pressure on the taxpayers of all of White Plains. 

The School’s formal application to the city for approvals of its plans has only recently been filed and the process of a thorough review of the application and the School’s plans  is just beginning.  

As a member of the common council, I would be concerned about any developer’s plans to build in any of our city’s neighborhoods. The  school’s plans for development should receive the same rigorous attention that other developers’ plans would receive.

What are other issues facing the city you feel are important, and how would you address these issues?

You cannot focus on the needs and future of White Plains without discussing open space and the environment. A clean and healthy environment for the people of our city should factor into every decision of the common council.   Over the course of the past 20 years, the City has been moving in the right direction. Open space has been added and secured throughout the city. 

The creation of Liberty Park, the acquisition of the D’Elia property and the establishment of the Greenway are just a few examples of the good work of the city and council. There have been missteps along the way, including the sale of the Railside properties, but generally the City is certainly moving in the right direction.  

However, the goal of more open space and clean and useful recreational space is ongoing. With increasing pressure on the taxpayer and the city’s budget, preserving and protecting our remaining open spaces will need special vigilance. The use of planning and zoning expertise and well as cooperation with private ownership, will be as important, if not more so, as the outright purchase of  undeveloped property.

What is your favorite thing about White Plains?

Of course, the people of White Plains make it special to me. However, having lived here almost my entire life (my family moved here when I was 2), it is White Plains’ neighborhoods that I like the most. 

I grew up in the lower Highlands and remember walking to Mamaroneck Avenue School for kindergarten class. When it was time to find a home of my own, I moved into the North End and stayed for over 17 years. When we started to expand our family, my wife Corinna and I moved to Gedney Farms.  

Each neighborhood in our city has its own distinctive character. It is remarkable that a city with such an urban center downtown (with a special neighborhood all of its own), has maintained its neighborhoods and a small town atmosphere.

I believe the neighborhoods of White Plains are its backbone.  And, I will do everything I can to preserve their welcoming and friendly character.

Anything else you would like to add?

This is an important election for White Plains. Please make every effort to vote on Nov. 8, and encourage your friends and neighbors to do so as well.

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