Dear Neighbors,
We are former Trustees of Croton-on-Hudson. We both served multiple terms on the Village Board over the years. We differ on a number of things, but we have a shared perspective, from our experience in Village government. We urge you to support the entire Democratic slate: Brian Pugh for Mayor, and Nora Nicholson and Karen Pecora for Trustee in the upcoming Village Election.
We have witnessed numerous administrations. The current Democratic record stands out for its forward-looking vision and fiscal responsibility. This slate has demonstrated a deep commitment to the Village.
With Trump destroying the environmental, racial justice and economic development progress Democrats created nationally, the burden falls on us locally to continue the push for greater use of renewables and housing opportunity. The Democrats will do this. Voice of Croton will not.
We know from our own service that no administration is perfect, and not every decision by this team has been correct. However, the major accomplishments of Mayor Brian Pugh and the Democrats on the Village Board speak for themselves. Since Mayor Pugh first took office, the Village has achieved remarkable financial results. The fund balance is up and debt has been reduced by $9 million, while services have been maintained and improved, and much-needed infrastructure has been addressed. Two of the last three budgets featured a zero tax increase.
This leadership team has enhanced our quality of life through projects big and small, like the Elliot Way boardwalk, the Croton Point Ave pedestrian and traffic improvements and the Black Rock bocce courts.
The Village has earned consistent outside recognition for its sensible approach to development and housing. This includes the award-winning Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law, a thoughtful way to increase housing availability for aging parents, grown children, or to generate income for homeowners.
The big issue is of course affordable housing availability. We boomers have homes and pensions or 401Ks. But our kids and others of the younger generations are really struggling. Voice of Croton would stop our limited progress in creating just 1% housing growth per year, per our Comprehensive Plan. So the choice is to do this, the limited, possible and necessary, or do nothing.
The Democratic leadership has also strongly supported public safety and first responders. The Board undertook a long-deferred and much needed major improvement project for Police Headquarters, established a Police Advisory Committee as part of the Village’s police reform plan and added bilingual Police officers. And the Board enacted the maximum property tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers.
Under the current administration, Croton has been recognized as the number one Clean Energy Community in NY State. Through the installation of EV charging stations, adding electric vehicles to the municipal fleet, a community solar array at the DPW building, and the large array at the Croton Harmon Train Station Parking Lot, the Village is saving money, reducing our collective carbon footprint, and generating substantial income.
These are concrete accomplishments, delivered in the complex world of municipal government. Like the Croton United administration that preceded this administration, Voice of Croton is mostly about not taking action, in this case on our crying need for affordable housing. They offer a long list of other aspirations, but good intentions cannot replace the necessary capacity and experience needed to deliver tangible results. They have none.
The recent candidate forum highlighted a striking difference in priorities. As his top priorities, the Voice of Croton nominee for mayor wants to ban cell phones at village board meetings and return village elections to March – even though we voted for the current November election date in a referendum! We know from our years on the board that residents’ true priorities revolve around core issues like infrastructure, taxes, public safety, and smart development: precisely the areas Democrats are delivering on.
We trust Brian Pugh, Nora Nicholson and Karen Pecora to continue to give us intelligent, focused, and responsible leadership. They are ready to lead on day one. They have delivered for this Village and its residents, and we urge you to support their continuation of this excellent work.
Since this is the first contested village election in a few years, turnout will be high. So, please remember that early voting begins on October 25 at the Municipal Building.
Rick Olver
Ian Murtaugh
Former Village Trustees
