23 Year-Old Running for Village Board

[Remember585 815]

Firefighter, 23, makes it a race for trustee in Buchanan

By BRIAN J. HOWARD

THE JOURNAL NEWS

BUCHANAN - With no Republican opposition coming forward, a Democrat without prior political experience has opted to make a race of this year's village board elections.

Volunteer firefighter William Richard entered the race for village trustee by submitting a petition of 100 signatures - twice the number required - to the village clerk Friday. Richard is the son of Zoning Board of Appeals member Gail Richard.

"I'm in it to win," Richard, 23, said yesterday. "And I know it's going to be a hard fight, but I'm willing to take the challenge."

A lifelong village resident, he recently received a bachelor's degree in history at SUNY Stony Brook and plans to pursue a master's degree in teaching.

Village Democrats endorsed incumbent trustees Jane Hitney and Gary Bell at the party caucus last month.

Richard called the incumbents good neighbors who had done good things on the village board. But last year's 102 percent tax rate increase spurred him to run. Tax increases should be in the single digits, he said, and residents should be informed of them in advance.

"A lot of citizens that I talked to, they're very frustrated," he said.

He said he would seek government and private grants to defray the cost of village services.

Independent candidates have until Tuesday to file petitions. Village Administrator Tom Jankowski said Richard has until Friday to certify his candidacy.

Hitney said she didn't know what to make of Richard's bid for office.

"Does he hope to do this as a class project or does he intend to get involved in politics?" she said. "There's a world of difference."

Mayor Daniel O'Neill, a Democratic district leader, said Richard didn't seek the party's endorsement. He also said he had never seen Richard at a village board meeting or otherwise get involved in village issues.

Responding to Richard's criticism, O'Neill said the candidate needs to explain how he would reduce the tax rate. "He's going to have to state exactly what services he's going to cut in order to have that tax level," the mayor said. "You can't talk about taxes without talking about services."

Former mayor and village Republican Chairman Alfred Donahue called Richard's candidacy a good thing.

"The biggest issue is the 102 percent tax (increase). That's a big issue," said Donahue. "Hey, in a three-way race anything can happen."

[Oswegowind 17]

As a village resident, I welcome such competition and think persons our age should get involved. However, I did not hear the same messages from people in the Village about the tax hike. 102% may sound crazy, but our taxes in the village are so low it is almost ridiculous. I have a daughter, grandparents, and a home here and want all of the services to remain in order. We have a good police dept that is always visible keeping our properties safe, we have a good volunteer fire dept which has excellent equipment, an ambulance corp that is always there when needed, and an excellent dpw. I enjoy having all the pickups that our dpw provides, in most places you either have to pay top dollar for a private service or you don't even compare to what we have here. And, we have 3 of the nicest garbage men in the world...Swankie! Keep the taxes down and the village will go to shi#...For those with pride, sometimes we need to put a little money out

to keep things great or even make them better!