Grace wins--let's review some of his promises

Yorktown residents will have a new supervisor, Michael Grace, as of Jan. 1, 2012.

Grace, who ran on the Republican line, garnered 2,809 votes; Democrat, Independence and Working Families candidate Don Peters had 2,587; and incumbent Supervisor Susan Siegel, who ran on the Conservative and Yorktowners for Better Government had 2,112 votes, according to the Westchester County Board of Elections website.

Michael Grace is a lawyer whose practice is across the street from Town Hall. He and his wife have eight children, four of them are adopted.

Grace's campaign slogan, "Progress with Preservation," was a play off of the town's slogan, "Progress and Preservation."

During his campaign, Grace promised to make the town board more accountable. During a debate, hosted by the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce, Grace reminisced about the days when town supervisors held weekly meetings with department heads and were well aware of employee issues (implying the past few supervisors were not).

One of his campaign promises was to return accountability to the town board by taking the development approval process back from the planning board. It was a politicial decision to transfer the power to the planning board because how a town councilman voted for any individual project would not affect him at the voting booth, he said.

Grace believes each member of the town board should be held accountable for what projects are permitted to move forward in town, he said.

I'm a huge fan of holding the town board accountable for the governing of the town (well, duh! Right?). It's not okay for town council members to show up to a meeting, have no idea what's on the agenda, be unfamiliar with the topics, and expect to lead the town and its people. Town board members are not getting paid to show up once a week, sit in a chair and nod. So I hope to see Grace shake things up a bit.

Grace isn't the only one who made campaign promises. Others include: Town Councilman Nick Bianco promised he is a friend to the businessman; soon-to-be Councilman David Paganelli promised to bring business practices and strategy to town finances, and to recognize those who volunteer their time to the town.

I look forward to seeing what these gentlemen will do.

Inside the ballot box: More than 400 votes left uncounted

In Yorktown, where residents still do not know who their next town supervisor will be, three districts have not yet been counted, representing 14 percent of the vote in the elections Tuesday, Nov. 8.

The districts where the votes have not been counted are districts 27, 16 and 3, according to elected officials.

District 27 and its 225 votes cast represents about half of Jefferson Village, a senior citizen community; District 16, located in the Beaver Hill area of Yorktown, has a 2:1 ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans. District 16 has 171 uncounted votes. District 3, which also consists of mostly Democrats and is located in the Kitchawan area of Yorktown, has 40 uncounted votes, according to elected officials.

Town Supervisor candidates Michael Grace, who ran on the Republican line, and Don Peters, who ran on the Democrat and Working Families lines, are nearly tied, with Peters ahead by two votes as of Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Incumbent Town Supervisor Susan Siegel, who lost the Republican primary to Grace, ran on the Conservative line and a line of her own, and garnered 27 percent of the vote; Peters and Grace each have 36 percent, so far.

Results 2011: Paganelli, Bianco, Raniolo are the only clear winners

Yorktown will have some new faces in the board room and behind the bench as of Jan. 1.

As of this posting at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, Yorktown Town Council candidate David Paganelli has pulled ahead with more than 85 percent of the districts reporting, and will replace Councilman Jim Martorano on the town board.

Paganelli was the top vote-getter Tuesday night.

"I am beyond myself with gratitude for my committee and friends and constituents who spoke and made this possible," he said Tuesday night. "May the best of our past be the worst of our future, looking ahead to my role guiding Yorktown through some difficult times."

Yorktown Councilman Nick Bianco keeps his seat on the board, and will serve another four years.

Town Justice candidate Gary Raniolo is currently edging Justice Ilan Gilbert by 8 percent.

But the big news tomorrow and perhaps in the weeks ahead will be who has won the town supervisor race. Michael Grace and Don Peters are neck-in-neck, and there is little doubt that one of the candidates will call for a recount. Susan Siegel had a strong showing, but will most likely hand the post over in January.

Alice Roker, who ran unopposed, will retain her position as town clerk.

In the county races, Legislators Michael Kaplowitz and John Testa both look likely to keep their seats.

My Opinion: You've got a friend in Paganelli

I first really met Dave Paganelli, owner of Travelers Rest, about four years ago, maybe a little less. Although I had eaten at Travelers with my family, I could have walked by Dave on the street and not known who he was prior to hanging out an Travelers for some political event I was covering for North County News. We got to talking, and I told him about a problem I was having developing a professional relationship with someone on my beat. As a reporter and editor, it is important to keep lines of communication open with everyone -- especially with those who don't like you. Dave reached out to this person and laid the groundwork for me to gain the person's trust.

That's how we became friends. When I had my first date with the man who is now my husband, we went to Travelers. It was a blind date, and I knew that if things got ugly (and things can get ugly quickly in the world of dating) Dave and his family would have my back (meaning they would hide me in the coat closet if necessary).

Things worked out (obviously), I didn't need to hide, and my husband Phil later proposed to me at Travelers. It was a no-brainer to have our wedding there, in September 2009.

I immediately let it be made known through my column in the newspaper that I would be recusing myself from the editorial endorsement process for the Yorktown races. I didn't want the newspaper's credibility to suffer and I didn't want anyone thinking Dave was getting any special favors, so I bowed out. It was a tough thing to do and yet the easiest thing to do, because it was the right thing to do. You can ask my former Web Editor, Mary Dempsey, and she'll confirm I kept my word.

Now, in 2009, I am not working for a newspaper at the moment, and I can tell you: Vote for my friend. Don't vote for him because he's my friend; vote for him because he genuinely wants to be yours. Dave is one of those people who will help anyone he can. And as a town councilman, he would have the opportunity to help a lot more people. Yorktown Town Councilman Nick Bianco has been in office over 20 years because he returns people's phone calls. The smart elected officials know it is all about constituent service, and that's Dave's focus.

When he told me he was thinking about running for office in early 2007, I told him good luck, and whatever you do, don't become a politician. If you haven't seen the movie, "The Candidate" with Robert Redford, you should. I feared getting involved in politics would change him.

So far it hasn't. I'm betting it won't.