Village of Pelham Manor incumbent Trustees Bridget “Breda” Bennett and Maurice Owen-Michaane are running unopposed for reelection as nominees of the Republican and Neighborhood parties. Voting for the seats with two-year terms on the village board will take place on March 15.

Bennett, a registered independent who is completing her second term and her first as police commissioner, said in her campaign statement that, if elected, she looks forward to “ensuring that the PMPD remains the effective and vital component of our community that it is.” She said she is proud of the board’s passage of a local law that “further limited the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.”

Bennett has served on the PACT board, Prospect Hill Site-Based Council, Pelham Little League board and Pelham Recreation Commission. She said she is most proud of starting the recreational basketball league.

“I will work to continue the traditions of fiscal responsibility and strong service which have characterized our village government for decades,” said Bennett.

Owen-Michaane said he is running for a second term “on a strong record of results and will maintain and improve upon these results to ensure Pelham Manor continues to be a destination for all.” In his campaign statement, he said that while he was in office, he and fellow board members worked to enhance the village’s communication channels, including updating the website, launching dedicated online hubs on Covid-19 and storm information and offering multiple video feeds of village board meetings.

“Another important priority for me and the Manor leadership team has been maintaining the highest standards of pedestrian and traffic safety,” he said.

“As the first openly LGBTQ elected official in the history of the Town of Pelham, I was and continue to be proud of the voice I bring to the table on behalf of residents, my accomplishments and the accomplishments of the entire Pelham Manor board,” said Owen-Michanne.

Before his election two years ago, Owen-Michaane sat on the village board of zoning appeals. His husband, Dr. Michael Owen-Michaane, serves on the Pelham Board of Education.

Bennett and Owen-Michaane also ran unopposed two years ago. Last year, the Democrats failed in their on-again, off-again attempts to crack the Republican’s decades-long hold on the five-member board. The Republican slate of Mayor Jennifer Monachino Lapey and trustees Angela Michele DeLillo and Joseph Senerchia defeated Democratic mayoral candidate Ramsey McGrory and trustee candidates Lance Koonce and Andrea Ziegelman.

The Democrats didn’t field candidates in the prior two elections.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 15 at the Village of Pelham Manor Firehouse.