Pelham Manor GOP incumbents will make these inaccurate claims ‘like clockwork’ during campaign
To the editor:
We have lived in Pelham a long time: 57 years (Peggy) and 56 years (Lou). Village elections here are annual, which means between us we have lived through 113 local elections. This year, the Pelham Manor election is March 16, and both parties have full slates of candidates. Every year when Democrats have run in the past, the same thing has happened like clockwork. So any day now here is what is likely to happen again.
First, the Republicans say that Democrats will raise our taxes and ruin our property values. This is nonsense. Democratic candidates live on the same blocks as everyone else and care just as much as we all do about protecting our community. No party has a monopoly on fiscal responsibility. Do you care about protecting your finances and your community? Well, so do the Democratic candidates. Suggesting Democrats aren’t fiscally responsible is insulting and wrong.
Then Republicans say that Democrats have no local government experience. What they leave out is how Republicans have blocked Democrats from getting that experience through committee appointments and fear-mongering. And somehow, when Republican candidates want to run without local experience, the objections melt away. Our own current mayor, Republican Jennifer Monachino Lapey, ran without ever having run for local office before—against one of the few Democrats who had managed to get elected trustee. Funny how her lack of experience was acceptable then!
Last, Republicans argue that political parties don’t even matter at a local level. Coming from a party that has held almost complete control for 128 years, and fought to keep it, that is laughable. If party doesn’t matter, why were Democrats who wanted to participate in local government told that they could only be elected if they changed party and became Republicans, decade after decade? If party affiliation doesn’t matter, what harm is there in welcoming a cooperative bipartisan government now?
The Democratic candidates this year, Ramsey McGrory for mayor, and Andrea Ziegelman with Lance Koonce for trustee, have real world experience in government, law, negotiation, technology and much more. They are well positioned to step in and represent us in partnership with the other Republicans in office whose terms are not expiring. It is high time our local government reflected our community, and the range of views here. Let’s stop denying Democrats a seat at the table. We ask voters of all parties to vote for the Democratic slate, also running as the Pelham Manor Forward Party. It’s long overdue. It’s good for our village. And there’s nothing to be afraid of, no matter what you hear.
Peggy Nicholson
915 Wynnewood Road
Lou Muller
23 Priory Lane
Paula Wood • Feb 19, 2021 at 3:14 pm
Thank you, Peggy and Lou, for this reminder of how long the Republicans have stifled the democratic process in Pelham Manor. It was somewhat true in the village of Pelham and the Town governments as well, but recent years have shown that parties can work together effectively at the local level, so, absolutely, listen to the candidates and vote for the individuals who reflect your own values and priorities.
Emily Meyerson • Feb 8, 2021 at 6:01 pm
Mayor Jennifer Monachino Lapey was able to get a left turn traffic light installed on Boston Post Road at the Four Corners, when no other elected official I contacted was able to get this done. For years now, Mayor Lapey’s ability to get this taken care of has improved safety and surely saved lives on that corner.
As a Democrat, I support Mayor Lapey regardless of her party. My experience is she tries to make Pelham life better.