The job of Mayor is a very personal one in that the responsibilities are not abstract or theoretical, but rather direct, specific, and intimate. The commitment to you and your family’s safety at home, work, on the streets, for your neighborhood parks to be safe, beautiful, and active for your children's play, for your garbage and trash to be neatly collected, your neighborhoods peaceful, an economy bustling to benefit your livelihood, a Village growing in fiscal strength and fairness, the inspiration of the arts accessible to all, lovely and positive civic spaces, your reasoned optimism for your future, to serve you in times of crisis defined by a pandemic and floods, and the influence of political scenarios which affect us all. In attending to those and other responsibilities, I have had the opportunity to hear from you – your letters, emails, phone calls, at Village meetings, Village focus groups, neighborhood association meetings, civic organizations, or coming out of the grocery store, walking down the street and so many other encounters. In this process, a most wonderful thing happened to me. Through those thousands of interactions, I got to know you and appreciate you while having an opportunity to understand your wishes. That has been a priceless treasure and has inspired me to work harder, do more, and do it better.
Through all of our encounters and communications, I also got to know your values; that is, what you would find most fulfilling, what would enrich your lives and the lives of your families, and what would make you happy and proud of your Village.
During this administration, I have tried to think clearly on how this Board of Trustees, together, can undertake to turn those aspirations into reality. Whether it was seeking to make our Village more than just and welcoming, safer and more livable, restoring our bucolic downtown, enhancing the waterfront, improving our water plant, creating more housing opportunities, cleaning the parks and adding more trees, and improving our roads. I would also add transitioning our fleet to electric power, enhancing the Community Center, building a COVID Memorial as a respite for our community, supporting vaccinations, and distribution of food to those in need. As a team working with staff, our goal has been to create a desirable destination to live. We are attracting new, better jobs, improving downtown, and creating a welcoming community to new families from the city, immigrants from around the world, and multi-generational families who have invested deeply and widely in our community.
Through the democratic process, our Village is able to provide the opportunity for citizens to form partnerships, create new institutions and programs, care for the poor and homeless, enhance our children's education, protect open lands forever, strengthen health clinics, empower neighborhoods, assist senior citizens, mentor the youth, adjust to health hazards caused by a global pandemic and so much more. As Alexis de Tocqueville, the French writer who studied America in the early 18th century, observed, the freedom of democracy does not produce a selfish people, but rather it enhances the natural human instinct to be generous and help others. I can count hundreds of initiatives that you, the people of our community, instituted and maintained. I love the honor of supporting you as you make our community a fine and more just place to call home. That is why it is such an honor to serve you, to have a front-row seat on so many beautiful acts of kindness and service.
I have chosen not to list the many accomplishments of 2021 – I have listed those as they were happening. The initiatives and our accomplishments are available in the weekly
Mayor’s Messages on our website. On this last Mayor’s message of 2021, and in the conclusion of my first year as your Mayor, I would like to state that there were many achievements and those achievements were not mine alone. Instead, they were yours and the many hardworking Village employees, elected officials, police, fire department, and OVAC. I accomplished nothing alone. Nor is this a time to list projects and initiatives for the next few years – which I will do in my first Mayor’s Message of 2022. Instead, I would like to conclude with these three thoughts for our Village’s future.
First, we must always be guided by the standard of excellence. We have the responsibility to seek excellence in everything we do. Mediocrity is beneath the goodness and quality of Ossining. We must look well into the future and ask ourselves if what we are considering will be deemed excellent in 25, 50, or even 100 years from now. This is ever more important in a time of economic growth. It is easy to accept mediocrity willingly. It is hard to demand excellence, but that is what I intend to do. I know that I have a strong and energized Board of Trustees that joins me in that drive.
Second, there is no better place than a diverse community with its long history of demographic shifts to acknowledge that the long march for racial understanding and justice is not finished, as we were heartbreakingly reminded again this year. We must do better and hold our institutions accountable for their actions.
Third, we are at the dawn of a new age that is confronted with the recognized ability to harm or heal our planet. It is every person’s duty to heal and protect. Our every action affects our neighbors. As the old African proverb states, we did not inherit our land from our ancestors; we hold it in trust for future generations. The future is here.
May you enjoy the holiday season, and may 2022 bring you health, joy, peace, and financial independence.
In gratitude to my Board of Trustees: Deputy Mayor Manuel Quezada, Trustees Robert Fritsche, Omar Lopez, Dana White, Village Management and staff, and you.
