Incumbent Tarrytown Trustees Feel Board Cohesiveness is an Asset
| by Rick Pezzullo |
The three incumbent village trustees running unopposed for reelection in Tarrytown have been working together on a bipartisan board that hasn’t seen any personnel changes in the last eight years, an accomplishment the trio believes has served residents well.
“I think we’ve done a good job getting a lot done,” said Trustee Becky McGovern (Ind.), who has been on the board since 2007. “We all have our strengths and abilities. We depend on each other to help. We help balance each other. We all go with what is best for the residents of Tarrytown.”
“I feel we have a cohesive board. There are no personal agendas,” said Trustee Doug Zollo (Ind.), who has been a board member since 2005 after serving a previous two-year term from 1999-2000. “We always act in the best interests of the residents of the village.”
McGovern, Zollo and Trustee Tom Butler (Dem.), a 10-year board member, were all endorsed by the Democratic Party and Tarrytown United. All three trustees have been village residents for more than 30 years.
“I think we all trust each other,” Butler said of the seven-member board. “I think diversity on the board is a good thing and we all bring different ideas. At the end of the day we make sound decisions.”
Zollo, owner and operator of a manufacturers’ representative and property management firm, pointed to several projects approved and overseen by the current board, including building a new Village Hall, new firehouses, and new parking lots and eliminating a former concrete plant on the waterfront.
“In the last 10 years we have done more than most boards could do in 20 or 30 years,” he said. “These are things people wanted for decades and we got them done.”
“A lot of things have happened in the village in the last 10 years. I think we’re moving in the right direction,” said Butler, a retired colonel who works as a project manager for Tishman Construction Corporation of New York. “I think Tarrytown has changed for the better.”
McGovern, a retired teacher, wants to continue working with senior citizens and the housing authority and, like her running mates, wants to keep a close eye on the neighboring Lighthouse Landing project on the former General Motors property in Sleepy Hollow.
“The big picture is Sleepy Hollow which has a chance to get back its tax base and that’s huge for the village and the school district. We live next door and we will be impacted,” she said. “It’s always going to be about the number of people and the traffic. That’s the scary part.”
“It will generate more revenue for both communities and the school district,” Butler said. “I think the leadership of Sleepy Hollow if they do the right thing as neighbors we won’t have any issues.”
All three trustees wholeheartedly endorsed Mayor Drew Fixell for reelection.
“I don’t see any reason to have him replaced. The bottom line is Drew is such an incredible mayor,” McGovern said. “His interests are varied and his knowledge of finance is huge. He puts all kind of work into the position. I feel Drew is the best we have right now, and it’s not the right time to make any changes.”
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