Gilbert Has Earned Second Term in Yorktown over Capable Slater; Diana and Lachterman Also Should Return to Board
Endorsement
There’s an old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That can certainly apply in the Town of Yorktown supervisor race where incumbent Ilan Gilbert is seeking a second two-year term against Matt Slater, former chief of staff for State Senator Terrence Murphy, who has waged an aggressive campaign in his first bid for elected office.
Two years ago, residents put their trust in Gilbert, a former town justice, that he would be able to soothe the waters, so to speak, from six contentious years under the guidance of Michael Grace, who often put Yorktown in the headlines for the wrong reasons. And Gilbert has delivered.
Gilbert isn’t flashy and doesn’t crave the spotlight as his predecessor did. His approach is, as he described it, “more measured,” and the calming influence he has had at Town Hall and during meetings cannot be overstated.
Has he had some missteps? Certainly. Most recently, Gilbert and the rest of his Democratic team’s ill-advised decision to skip a Yorktown Chamber of Commerce sponsored debate unnecessarily angered some business leaders and residents in the town. But is that a sufficient reason for voters to turn their back on Gilbert? Hardly.
Gilbert has addressed many behind the scenes issues that were ignored by the previous administration and has kept the town on solid financial footing. He inherited many of the empty storefronts that he gets criticized for and has done what he can to brand and market the town by creating an Economic and Business Revitalization Committee comprised of a diverse group who are looking at innovative ways to attract new merchants.
Elected officials cannot be held accountable for a decision made by a corporation, such as Kmart, to file for bankruptcy, or Washington Prime Group, to scrap plans to expand the Jefferson Valley Mall for internal reasons.
Slater, a Yorktown High School graduate and lifelong resident, has made an impressive case for his candidacy.
Polished beyond his young years, Slater has specific plans to hit the ground running if elected and likely wouldn’t encounter much of a learning curve.
However, his main criticism of Gilbert that “the town is not going in the right direction” and “I think the town is really searching for its soul again” falls flat.
Yorktown hasn’t moved backwards in any noticeable way. Residents aren’t hightailing out of town in droves. Yorktown has remained a very desirable community to raise a family, as Slater is doing, and is experiencing many of the same issues surrounding municipalities face in terms of the cost of living in Westchester County.
Slater has a lot of upside and ambition and has all the makeup to be a successful public servant. Gilbert has already shown he can get the job done, first as a town justice, and now as supervisor, and he has earned a second term to continue leading Yorktown forward.
Town Board
The same adage can be used in the Town Board race where councilmen Tom Diana and Ed Lachterman are vying for second four-year terms.
Diana and Lachterman are in the minority on the five-member board and at times have acted as if they still haven’t gotten over Gilbert defeating Grace two years ago. As Gilbert put it, he extended an olive branch and they hit him over the head with it.
Despite the differences, the Town Board has primarily functioned well as constituted and Diana and Lachterman have been dedicated to many different sectors in the town that shouldn’t be overlooked. Petty politics aside, they are proven commodities.
The same can’t be said of Democrats Sheralyn Goodman and Patricia Sullivan-Rothberg, both first-time candidates who have noteworthy credentials but haven’t stood out during the campaign. Like Gilbert, they were no-shows at the Chamber of Commerce debate, a forum they could have used to differentiate themselves from Diana and Lachterman.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/