Editor’s note: This campaign statement was provided by Bridget (Breda) Bennett, Republican candidate for Village of Pelham Manor trustee. She will also be on the Neighborhood Party line. The Pelham Examiner publishes statements in the form received as a service to the community.

I am honored to seek reelection as Village Trustee in Pelham Manor. A registered Independent, I have served as Trustee since 2018 and currently serve as Deputy Mayor and Police Commissioner. In my Village service, I work closely with our residents, the Pelham Manor Police Department and our administration.

Born in the Bronx, I am the daughter of Irish immigrants who taught me the value of community. My husband, Tom, and I moved to Pelham Manor in 1997 because we knew we had found our home. We raised six children here, all of whom attended Pelham Public Schools.

My extensive record of local community service includes tenures with PACT, Prospect Hill’s Site-Based Council and the Girl Scouts. I have also held leadership positions with the Pelham Little League Board, rising to Treasurer and Vice President, and I served as a Town Recreation Commissioner for 14 years, with two years as Chair. My vision of a Recreational Basketball League is now a successful reality, boasting enrollment of over 500 children. Finally, I served on the Pelham Booster Club for 11 years, becoming Treasurer and Co-President.

I remain committed to providing premier local services in a fiscally responsible manner. Pelham Manor continues to operate debt free, again earning an excellent fiscal stress score from the NYS Comptroller. We remain New York State Tax Cap compliant, as we have since the program’s inception.

As Police Commissioner, I work to ensure that the PMPD is highly trained, extremely responsive and community based. Pedestrian and traffic safety remain priorities for me. Recently, when drag racers threatened pedestrian safety and created significant noise disturbances on our roads, the PMPD crafted a plan, resolving the issue quickly. Working with our NYS elected officials, Pelham Manor also successfully launched the first red-light camera program in a Village throughout NYS. Notably, the PMPD has re-instituted the DARE program in our schools, following a Covid-19 hiatus. We have increased traffic monitoring and enforcement and added stop signs at key intersections. AAA again conferred the Bronze Award to the PMPD in its Community Traffic Safety Awards Program.

In June, our outside engineers completed a comprehensive village-wide drainage infrastructure assessment, including in-depth mapping. The Village promptly implemented related interim mitigation measures, such as fixing and lining pipes, adding catch basins, repairing a manhole and adding pipes and drainage in acute areas. We are also working on long-term strategic projects. Fortunately, we have built productive relationships with municipal neighbors that control receiving systems downstream. Working cooperatively with jurisdictions that receive our water has helped Pelham Manor facilitate a regional approach to water management.

Through effective advocacy with New York State officials and agencies, Pelham Manor secured the complete repaving of Boston Post Road in our municipal boundaries. Importantly, the NYS DOT completed this effort with state funding, not Pelham Manor tax dollars.

I remain committed to environmental sustainability, regularly attending seminars and workshops. The Village boasts a robust, cost-effective recycling and reuse program, recycling approximately 73% of our trash. We also operate an industry-leading organic waste recycling program using a public-private partnership. Under this PPP, the Village supplies residents with free compost and will deliver it to residents. In 2022, we greatly reduced the days of week and hours of operation available for gasoline-powered leaf blowers, and in 2023, we again participated in the NYPA Tree Program. For each tree that we purchase through this program, the Power Authority provides us with another one at no charge! We have purchased native species and varieties that consume large quantities of water, using a creative approach to water remediation.

Accessibility is central to my approach to governance, and I enthusiastically support the Village’s comprehensive communication platform. I am here for every resident.

I humbly ask you to vote for my running mate, Trustee Maurice Owen-Michaane, and me on March 19 so that we can continue our work.

Respectfully yours,

Bridget A. (Breda) Bennett