| Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor: The local paper reports that the person opposing Mayor Ken Bialo in the March 21st Village election, Liz Noyer Feld, has called for the hiring of a village manager to run the Village. This old chestnut has been around the track more than a few times but fortunately has never had any legs. It’s generally brought up around election time when some candidates, in the absence of any real issues, try making it into one, but without success. For over one hundred years Larchmont Village has functioned nicely without anyone filling the office or holding the title of “Village Manager”. Why? Because it has one, namely the Mayor, who along with the trustees, is elected to do just that-- run and manage the affairs of the Village and be held accountable. In giving unselfishly of their time these elected officials have been saying that if you want the job, do the job. That’s still the case with Mayor Bialo and his trustee running mates, Peter Fanelli and Mike Bucci. Interestingly both political parties have had majorities on the Village board, at different times of course, and sometimes the mayor has been a Republican and at others a Democrat. Yet, none of these administrations saw fit to change the character of our village government by introducing the bureaucracy of a village manager or incurring the very substantial costs of this new position to be paid by you, the taxpayer. Mayor Ken Bialo and his trustee running mates, Peter “Bubba” Fanelli and Mike Bucci, are ready to do the job they are asking the voters to elect them to do on March 22nd. Unlike their opposition, they don’t plan on hiring a village manager to do their work. Remember, the buck stops with Ken, Peter and Mike. Richard E. Mannix “I am a registered Democrat; have been since I first voted. So this is not about Republican or Democrat or Independent. In fact I find the whole idea of “political party” being any part of the Village political scene ridiculous. But that’s another letter to the editor.
I would hate to see the Village Board sway back to the times when money was a secondary consideration to many of the decisions being considered. Let’s not forget the struggle over the renovation of Village Hall and how Ken and Bruce Cauley led the way in saving us millions of dollars by fighting for what we could afford as a community rather than what some Board members wanted to spend based on their personal ability to pay increased taxes. I think Ken has done a great job opening up the governing process to all villagers. I think he’s done a great job as Mayor. It’s important that we all vote in the Village election. It’s also important that before we vote, we understand the facts and not just respond to rhetoric and grand standing.” Steven Morvay BIALO SHOULD CONTINUE AS MAYOR I strongly support Ken Bialo as Mayor of Larchmont for two more years and with him as Trustees: Bubba Fanelli and Michael Bucci. I have seen and heard Mayor Bialo interact with neighbors, Village volunteers and Village employees. He is consistently patient, knowledgeable, smart and more than willing to take in all points of view. As a college teacher and counselor I know how important it is to listen; to be sensitive to the thoughts and ideas of others; and to offer do-able and satisfying solutions to problems. So I am especially respectful of Mayor Bialo’s style and “voice.” I urge all of us in our wonderful community to consider all of the Mayor’s past achievements from re-zoning to new sidewalks and streetscape to the fight against IKEA to the work on Lorenzen Park and Flint Park and many attentive and immediate remedies to neighbors’ own personal concerns like Fifteen years of experience and leadership gives our Mayor an extraordinary ability to understand the Village and how it runs and how to get things done. VOTE for Mayor Bialo and Trustees-to-be Bucci and Fanelli. Melanie Rush Bialo Promotes Citizen Involvement This past year I had an opportunity to experience effective Village government in action. I was concerned about the proliferation of unwieldy school buses and traffic congestion near the French-American School that was adversely affecting safety and quality of life in our community. I did not know if the Village would respond to a local issue if raised by a common citizen. In any case I called a Village clerk who explained that Mayor Bialo schedules Saturday morning meetings to give residents an open forum for such issues and offered me a time slot. It was an easy beginning to a positive experience. Mayor Bialo and the three Trustees in attendance listened to my points in a courteous and professional manner. Despite routine requirements, I was amazed at how quickly the issue moved from the Village boardroom to Traffic committee involvement and eventually to a combined team of volunteers and Village officials. At the direction of Mayor Bialo, the head of the Traffic Commission navigated a series of delicate negotiations between the school superintendent, traffic committee members, police officers, crossing guards, senior citizens, clergy and neighbors to create procedures to resolve the disorder. The end result is a safer and environmentally superior solution that benefits hundreds of French-American School patrons and local residents, including many children walking home from our public schools or to the Larchmont Temple for religious classes. I know first-hand how valuable it has been for Larchmont to have a mayor who promotes citizen involvement, provides responsive leadership and gets results. I believe it is vital for the future of Larchmont residents to keep such an action-oriented and respected mayor in office. Suzanne Cadden Editor, Re: Re-election of Ken Bialo as Mayor of the Village of Larchmont Sir/Madame: I heartily support the re-election of Ken Bialo as mayor of Larchmont. Ken has been Mayor of the Village of Larchmont for four years, during which time the administration of the Village has been significantly improved and the process of governing brought much more into the open. The transparency that now exists in Larchmont due to Ken Bialo's efforts is almost unrivaled in small town government in Westchester County. Ken Bialo has governed as mayor in a very cooperative and intelligent manner. That is readily seen in the consensus voting that the Village Board has shown, including the votes of his unexpected rival for mayor, Liz Noyer Feld, who has voted with Mayor Bialo 99% of the time. (Unfortunately, Ms. Noyer Feld was the sole negative vote against approving the 2005-2006 budget, publicly stating that she wanted a larger budget and higher taxes; the fact that the Village is financially right on target except for some police overtime shows how wrong she was on that issue.) Now, Ms. Noyer Feld's tactic to undermine the Republican Party in Larchmont by inserting herself into the election as an alternate “Republican” candidate for mayor will only hurt the party. The Republican Party in Larchmont remains the minority party by voter registration, and has prospered only through the efforts and good governance of long-serving Republicans like Ken Bialo. M s. Noyer Feld is again showing her go-it-alone, self-serving attitude in the manner in which she has unilaterally jumped into the mayoral race. The only real issue she is espousing, that of hiring a full-time Village administrator, has never been proposed to the Board for a study or a vote by Ms. Noyer Feld during her tenure. We have never had a paid administrator since that role has always been fulfilled by the Mayor and Board working closely with the Village Treasurer. The Village is functioning now better than it has for many years, which certainly seems to support Mayor Bialo's position that we don't need to spend the significant added dollars for a paid administrator, as Ms. Noyer Feld is pushing for. Mayor Bialo’s efforts to improve the streets and parks of Larchmont while holding down costs have required cooperation and great skill in dealing with the many facets of public administration that can only be learned from over fifteen years of service. Mayor Bialo deserves re-election. Mrs. Noyer Feld is proving that she is not ready for prime time. Bruce Cauley Dear Neighbors – Being a friend and fan of both of the Mayoral candidates, it required a great deal of thought before I decided to unconditionally support the re-election of Mayor Ken Bialo in the March 21st Village election. I also fully support the election of his Trustee team, Peter Fanelli and Mike Bucci. The reason is that Ken has demonstrated the kind of commitment over his four years as Mayor, and Peter (a registered Democrat) and Mike (a registered Independent) to provide the support and balance we need to work our way through the concerns and opportunities facing our Village now. Ken’s record of accomplishment as Mayor is impressive indeed, and he has led a Village Board that has voted unanimously over 95% of the time. Anyone who knows Mike and Peter understands that they are extremely creative and independent thinkers and will help our community to find bold new solutions to the issues facing us. What has been accomplished? When first elected Mayor in 2002, Ken set out to make Village government more open, responsive and candid and it is. You can go to office hours, you can go early to the Board meetings, you can call the Mayor any time for help and you will get straight answers. And our Village committees have more volunteers than ever working together to make our Village even better. And the list of projects and changes Ken has spear-headed is too long to list here: they include aesthetic improvements -- new streetscape, new trees; infrastructure improvements – railroad station, stormwater control, Village Hall improvements, Village website modernization; quality of life improvements – zoning laws under revisions, construction noise regulations, outdoor dining regulations, litter control and more frequent trash pick-up in business districts – the list goes on and on. For the future, there is much more to do – a new streetscape for the Palmer Avenue business district, reduce flooding and stormwater problems, fight to reduce airplane noise, build the Flint Park expanded playing fields and conservation area, protect our Village’s unique character through better zoning, and KEEP THE LID ON VILLAGE PROPERTY TAXES. Ken has done a great deal for all of us through dedicated hard work and he can do more to help make our community the best it can be. Peter and Mike will assist him tremendously to achieve these important objectives. I urge you to support Ken, Peter and Mike in the March 21 Village election. Sincerely, Mayor Bialo's opponent and her supporters in the upcoming Larchmont mayoral election are praising Liz Noyer Feld's and her running mate's "support' of our police union in the labor negotiations last year. The obvious implication in all of this is that by not "supporting" the union, Mayor Bialo doesn’t support our fine police officers. This is neither fair nor accurate. Such a result often requires a little pain to achieve and no one ever described labor negotiations as a tea party. Ms. Noyer Feld’s suggestion that the Village's elected officials' first obligation is to its employees rather than to the taxpayers who elected them and that spending more of the taxpayer's money than is necessary to provide essential services is to be admired makes no sense. This novel approach was celebrated at a labor rally of paid firefighters supporting Ms.Noyer Feld with placards outside the Republican caucus. Might this have had something to do with the expectations created by her campaign rhetoric and the fact that the firefighter’s labor contract is up for renewal next year? Which of the candidates would you most trust with your tax dollars? If results count, Mayor Bialo deserves to be congratulated and thanked for the job he has done in conducting these negotiations, not criticized Thomas Constabile Dear Larchmont Voter, It is in that same spirit that I am writing this letter. I have had the opportunity to work with both Ken Bialo and Liz Noyer Feld, both good people, as Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the past three years. In my opinion, however, Ken is much more qualified and experienced, and has made such an exceptional contribution to the Village as Mayor for the last four years, that this race should not even be close if everyone considers the facts. Further, I think that the derisive and subjective comments being employed by some members of the opposing faction smack of a run for student council rather than a Village election. Here are a few of my observations:
All I am asking is that we familiarize ourselves with the real facts. Ken Bialo doesn’t need a negative campaign because he has a record of great results. He is our Mayor and deserves strong reelection. Mike Bucci, an Independent, and Peter Fanelli, a Democrat, complete a very distinguished team with Ken. They will do a terrific job as Trustees in this Village. If it ain’t broke… Here’s to Larchmont! Dear Fellow Larchmonters: I have been a Trustee on the Village Board since April 2002, and I am writing to set the record straight with respect to the status of the position of Village Engineer. In her bid for mayor, Trustee Liz Noyer Feld has been trying to create a non-existent campaign issue about the fact that the Village does not currently have a full-time Village engineer. In early 2003, following the retirement of long-time Village Engineer Joe Morgan, the Mayor and Board hired a replacement through the Civil Service List, which we are required to use. He joined our staff in March 2003 and left in August 2004 to accept a job as top engineer for the Town of Greenburgh, which offered him a higher salary and supervision of six other professionals. After he left, the entire Village Board interviewed several candidates from the Civil Service List to fill the position, but none of the candidates was considered suitable. Consequently, no replacement was hired. As an interim step, Mayor and Board retained Dolph Rotfeld Engineering to provide engineering services to the Village. The Rotfeld firm has been consulting engineer to the Village for more than a dozen years; they also provide similar outsourced services to Mt. Kisco and Mamaroneck Town, among others. They have the expertise on staff to make all the regulatory filings that are a big part of the Village Engineer’s day-to-day work. In fact, the last Village Engineer spent 50% of the short time he was with us attending trainings to be able to make those filings. In the 2005-06 budget, the Village Board budgeted approximately ¾ of the prior Village Engineer’s salary to pay for the outsourced work to be performed by the Rotfeld firm. (To date, only about half of this money has actually been spent, raising the question of whether it is in fact more cost-effective to outsource these services rather than keep a full-time Village Engineer on staff.) However, if a decision is made by the Board to hire a new Engineer from the Civil Service List, most of the salary for that position will already be in the budget, and thus will require only a small increase in expenses. Mayor Ken Bialo and the Village Board did exactly the right thing under the circumstances, given the lack of suitable candidates for the job. In spite of what you might hear from Ms. Noyer Feld, no decision was ever made to eliminate the Village Engineer position, or to not hire someone from the Civil Service list should a suitable candidate become available. Sincerely, I had to get a new parking card today and I asked the attendant how he likes working for the Village. He said he was delighted….everything is just fine. I commented that I was trying to understand the changes being thrown around that the elected officials have created a morale problem. He said, “I have no problem, either with him or with her. They made a good decision to hire me. I don’t know how many other employees there are in the Village, or how to get to them, but it would be interesting to get a candid opinion. Paul T. Lennon Dear Editor: I am writing to respond to one of the many misleading undercurrents in Liz Noyer Feld’s campaign against Mayor Bialo – that “he’s too hard to work with”, and that volunteers are leaving Village committees because of his “demeanor” and his “micro-management”. After his election in 2002, during which he pledged to increase residents’ participation and stake in Village government, Ken made a big push to tap into the huge reservoir of professional expertise and experience in our Village, regardless of political affiliation. I was asked to Chair the Telecommunications Committee, a position that I took with some reluctance because the previous administration tried to politicize the activity of revamping the Village web site. However, Ken appointed a great committee of new volunteers from all political parties. Since then, many new appointments have been made. We currently have 132 volunteers serving on the Village’s committees and commissions, the largest number ever. And I understand that we have new appointments just in the last few weeks! Ken’s style in dealing with volunteer committees and boards is very professional. I can speak from personal experience on the Telecommunications Committee – Ken does not interfere, and he is always available to help. He hands off new ideas for our consideration, and he has brought issues up for joint consideration of more than one Village committee where additional input and feedback is appropriate. In fact, when we came to him with the idea of trying to obtain a grant from the State of New York to help fund the web site overhaul, he was quick to offer his assistance. The Village received the grant and we have a great new web site. I urge residents to reject these silly assertions that have no basis in fact regarding Ken’s style. Just look at how inclusive this ticket is - a Republican, Democrat and Independent running together - to keep Larchmont the exceptional place that it is. Very truly yours,
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