Dear Neighbors:

The Croton Democrats were very surprised to discover last week that our candidates for the Village elections this fall will be running unopposed once again. Mayor Brian Pugh and Trustee Sherry Horowitz will be joined by Mr. John Habib on the ballot. We believe that John will be a great addition to the Board and will help to continue moving our Village forward. We are especially grateful to Trustee Richard Olver for jumping in and doing a great job for the past several months.

I said that we were surprised by the lack of challengers because our fellow residents who comprise and/or support the “Croton United” faction in our Village have been publishing in these pages a constant barrage of critical accusations and complaints about the current Democratic administration. Naturally, this led us all to expect an organized electoral challenge. But there is none.

Why rail against the actions of the Village Mayor and Trustees, a group of people who have been doing their best to deal with the needs of the community, now and in the future, unless you have a different plan of your own and a way to enact it? In other words: Why constantly attack the current administration when you have no intention of doing anything to follow through on your criticisms and complaints at the ballot box.

We are all entitled to our own opinions. I would not criticize anyone for that. However, if your goal is truly to be of service to your fellow Village residents by pointing out what you perceive of as misguided policies, why is it necessary to manufacture “facts”, impute malign motives to, and engage in ad hominem attacks on the sitting Trustees? One thing we all should have learned from the 2018 elections is that most people in this country are sick and tired of this kind of behavior and want those who claim to be acting in the public interest to do so in a truthful and civil manner.

Why not try to help your local government to function better, rather than just sniping at it from the sidelines? Why not calmly and thoughtfully point out your differences with the policies of the Village Board and suggest what you consider to be a better way to proceed? Wouldn’t that be a positive change going forward?

Richard Masur
Chair, Croton Democratic Committee