Gearity Elected New Mayor in Village of Ossining
Village of Ossining Trustee Victoria Gearity was elected as the new mayor Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Westchester Board of Elections.
Gearity, who defeated incumbent Mayor William Hanauer in a Democratic primary to become the overwhelming favorite in the race, held a better than two-to-one lead over Hanuaer with a third of the votes tabulated.
Hanauer, who has led the village since 2007, was seeking a fifth term running only on the Working Families line. Gearity is in her second year on the board.
Hanauer, who is president of the Westchester Municipal Officials Association and founding member of the Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium, had a 40-year career in the entertainment industry, including producing the New York Emmy Awards for five years, prior to entering politics in Ossining in 2005 as a trustee.
Gearity, who has two young children in the Ossining School District, is co-founder of the Ossining Documentary & Discussion Series and formerly owned and operated a small business called Birthing From Within Westchester, which helped first-time parents prepare for childbirth. She also worked as a math teacher in a private school.
Before running for mayor, Gearity said she conducted a survey that revealed the top three issues in the village are downtown economic development, taxes and illegal housing. She complained that during her almost two years in office information has not been shared equally among the board by Hanauer. She also vowed to televise the second hearing of citizens if elected, something that has not taken place since 2007.
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