When asked about his participation on committees during the League of Women Voters debate for Irvington Mayoral candidates last night, Bob Grados said “I can’t do everything in the Village.” Of course, nobody can. The issue is that Bob is not on or participating in a single committee addressing the ills that he says he will solve. In fact, apart from serving as a second alternate on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), he is not an active member of any current Village committees. If Bob Grados spent half as much time working with these groups as he has posting signs around the Village, my choice for Mayor might be more difficult.
Having worked with municipal leaders across New York State for many years, I can attest that effective local governance requires a deep understanding of the many stakeholder perspectives and bureaucratic complexities that shape every decision. For every public servant or volunteer doing the hard work in the trenches, there are always dozens of critics on the sidelines claiming they could do it faster and better.
The position of Mayor is best served by someone who has rolled up their sleeves within those committees—alongside the resident volunteers who dedicate themselves to solving our community’s toughest challenges. It should be held by someone who has already served as a trustee and understands the intricate workings of Village government. Particularly at this critical moment when we have a new Village Administrator. For these reasons and more, I offer my enthusiastic support for Arlene Burgos for Mayor.
I thought carefully before deciding to take a public stand in this race. As the Village’s Sustainability Director, my professional role grew directly out of years of volunteer service, and I continue to serve on the Irvington Green Team Steering Committee, the Irvington Woods Committee, Friends of Halsey Pond, the Streamlining Committee, and as a stakeholder on the Facilities Committee. I care deeply about this community, and my work keeps me in ongoing conversation with residents across many perspectives. While I take my professional responsibilities seriously, that role should not preclude me from speaking as a resident, taxpayer, parent, and longtime volunteer who wants the best for Irvington.
Having never met him, I asked Bob Grados to lunch with an open mind to hear his vision for Irvington and learn about his motivations. He is personable. But there is a clear distinction between the candidates when it comes to relevant experience, knowledge, and commitment to the Village. When I asked Bob if he would run for Trustee if he did not win for Mayor, he said “No,” explaining that “the mayor has the podium.”
As Irvington’s longest-serving continuing trustee and current Deputy Mayor, Arlene brings an unparalleled breadth of experience. She has served as liaison to the Irvington Green Team, DPW, Police, Water Department, Recreation and Parks department and Woods Committee, joined the DEI and Police Reform Committees and worked closely with cultural and business organizations like the Bulldog Gallery and Chamber of Commerce. She is a practicing attorney with nearly 30 years of experience who manages complex legal and business matters with significant budgets and has applied her financial expertise to Village matters, with measurable benefits to taxpayers. Educated at Yale and Harvard Law School, she consistently impresses me in Village discussions with her clarity, creativity, and ability to identify what truly matters in complex situations.
Arlene listens carefully, asks thoughtful questions, and respects diverse perspectives. She does not shy away from taking a bold stand once she has gathered the facts. She has supported environmental initiatives and, at times, pushed back when balancing the needs of the broader community required it. I may not always get the outcome I personally want, but I always respect her reasoning. This is what real leadership looks like: not settling for the status quo and moving the Village forward with integrity and courage.
Her record speaks for itself. In her first term, I witnessed her raise concerns about the already nearly complete $18 million firehouse bond proposal, despite pressure from the architects of that proposal on the Board, by pushing for a public referendum. She was the most supportive trustee on deer management, helping the Irvington Woods Committee move the issue forward after years of delay, to preserve a precious ecosystem and one of our Village’s greatest assets: the Irvington Woods. She was instrumental in addressing longstanding building department, land-use and permitting challenges, leading to the formation of the Streamlining Committee which is putting forward our recommendations this week. In each of these cases, I witnessed her persist through resistance to represent the needs of the residents.
Some critics have sought to define Arlene narrowly by her work in DEI, through which she has contributed to making Irvington welcoming and inclusive for all residents–including her service on the Police Reform Committee. In fact, that committee’s recommendations, implemented under Chief Pignatelli, have led to meaningful improvements in trust, which Irvington Green Team members can personally attest to. And her character and DEI work have been recognized with an endorsement from the Westchester Jewish Democrats. More importantly, this focus on one aspect of her service overlooks the breadth of her contributions across environmental stewardship, fiscal responsibility, administrative accountability and community engagement.
By contrast, I have personally not seen Bob engage in any of the committees or processes working to solve the problems he says he will fix. For example, although he has served as a second alternate on the ZBA since December 2024, he has never attended a Streamlining Committee meeting—even though all ZBA members were invited. When we met, I told him that it was not too late to weigh in—because after more than six months of working on the issue, the PACE Land Use consultants had just delivered their recommendations and were incorporating our final feedback. His input could have had a real impact. But Bob simply shook his head—for reasons still unclear to me, he would not.
Bob points to the bond as a failure associated with Arlene (see a thorough review of the factual history here) but several of Bob’s closest supporters were the architects of the bond. Bob did not attend the Taxpayers for Irvington’s Future (TIF) meetings during which residents opposed to the bond organized to voice their opposition, nor join the Facilities committee, nor has he articulated how he would solve any of the problems the bond was designed to address. Bob points out that the Village has already hired consultants to solve this issue but there are significant differences. The first consultant did not compare multiple sites or consider how to revive the downtown or workshop their plans with the public. The current consultant, by contrast, is taking multiple sites identified by the resident led volunteer committee and costing engineering and architecture to provide expert analysis of pros and cons and site infrastructure and budget implications to the public.
Over our lunch, Bob made a number of claims that were just not true. For example, he told me that none of the current trustees were challenged for their seats. And he wrote it again in his mailing on Sept 30th “My opponent and the other current Village Trustees have all run unopposed for their seats on the Board of Trustees.“ In fact, Josie Bloom, Larry Ogrodnek and Kent Kleiman all competed for their seats in contested local party endorsement processes open to all Irvington Democrats and engaged in rich public debates. But Bob apparently did not participate in that process either.
Finally, endorsements matter. Arlene has secured the support of numerous community leaders and longtime residents of Irvington, such as former Irvington Mayor Nikki Coddington, Emeritus President of the Irvington Education Foundation (IEF) Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Neil Maher, Jeff Glueck and others. Many local business owners also endorse Arlene, including Irvington resident and owner of Farm Eats Drew George and Kat Medina, owner of KM Aesthetics. In addition, Arlene has earned the endorsement of elected officials at all levels of government (see the full list here), including NYS Assembly Member MaryJane Shimsky, NYS Senate Majority Andrea-Stewart Cousins, and Congressman George Latimer—relationships that are instrumental in bringing grant funding and resources to Irvington. My understanding is that Bob does not have working relationships with any of those elected officials, so if elected Mayor, he would be starting from square one to build them.
I call for us to entrust our Village to a leader who has consistently invested her time, intellect, and energy into collaborative, effective governance, and to the detailed, often painstaking work of shaping policy and building consensus. Arlene Burgos has already proven her dedication and her ability to deliver results. She has the vision, the experience, and the courage to lead Irvington into the future.
Charlotte E Binns
Irvington
