To The Editor:

I am running for Mayor in the November 7 election because I am extremely troubled by the stagnation that has set in within Village administration under the control of the Croton United majority.  As a member of the Board since 2014, I have had a first-hand seat to the majority’s lazy approach to governance that has allowed the cost of living in our community to needlessly rise with ever-increasing rents, energy prices and taxes. We deserve better.

We CAN do better.

We CAN control electricity prices by joining with other communities through Sustainable Westchester’s Community Choice Aggregation program, which has secured electricity from 100% renewable sources for less than the 2015 cost of Con Edison power.

We CAN moderate rents by expanding the coverage of our rent control law.

We CAN ease the burden of property taxes on homeowners by taming insurance costs through municipal purchasing cooperatives and workers compensation groups that leverage the power of multiple public employers to secure better rates.

 We CAN share the burden more widely by broadening our tax base with new mixed-use developments like those finally being created under the Democrat-supported Harmon Rezoning law.

 We CAN build our Village’s bank account by promoting revenue-producing uses at Gouveia Park, as recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee for Proposed Gouveia Park. Selling or leasing unused/underused Village-owned properties, like the Katz Property and Municipal Place, in conjunction with a coordinated economic development plan, will make them economic assets beneficial to our community.

In the coming days, please take an objective look at the record of Croton United in office. Consider my proposals for our village and think about the kind of village you want and the kind of village that we deserve.

If you want to move our Village forward, I respectfully ask you to vote for the slate appearing on the Democratic, Working Families, Independence and Women’s Equality lines on Tuesday’s ballot: Amy Attias and Sherry Horowitz for Village Trustee and Brian Pugh for Mayor.

Thank you,

Brian Pugh