To the editor:

Like so many of you, I’ve had the honor of friendship with Kate Pringle and Mark Cardwell. They represent the finest of Pelham Manor and inspire anyone who knows them. I’ve seen it more during this campaign as community members tell me, “We need them on our board. We cannot afford to not have them on the board.”

Pringle is a true role model. She’s the kind of woman I want my daughter to aspire to be. She is smart, an attorney who authors Supreme Court briefs, litigates corporate matters and somehow finds time to volunteer with nonprofits big and small. She’s raised three incredible kids here and donated her time to almost every Pelham organization at some point in her 16 years as a Pelhamite. She is the warm and friendly face who greets you with her dog Duncan but then must run to get on a call with federal officials about ending hunger locally and nationwide.

Cardwell is the sincere and genuine guy you want in your corner when you need help most. He is a Pelham Manor volunteer firefighter and EMT and a government and policy communications professional. A dad of two, he spent the height of the pandemic on the frontlines helping families. Though he is incredibly busy with his professional and volunteer commitments, he made it a priority to run for trustee after his own personal experience breaking his arm, with no ambulance in sight, exposed gaps in our local emergency services. He is the person you want in charge during a time of need.

And even though I love our life in Pelham Manor, it can be so much more. In just the past week, while strolling down Esplanade with a friend who has lived here for generations, she told me how stressed she is after her sump pump, that she spent thousands to install, once again failed to keep up with the most recent rainstorm. Now she is tearing out her basement flooring and chasing her insurance. The other day, I sat in a meeting and listened to a parent tell us how his high schooler almost was hit crossing Pelhamdale Avenue. And then I saw photos of sinkholes at our beloved Shore Park.

Pelham Manor, we can do better. We need to do better. And we will do better right now by electing Kate Pringle and Mark Cardwell to the Village of Pelham Manor Board of Trustees on Tuesday, March 19.

They are prioritizing real solutions to flood mitigation, traffic and pedestrian safety, and cost savings to taxpayers. They have short- and long-term flood mitigation solutions that can be implemented with grant funding in conjunction with our state and county partners, as demonstrated by the fact Pringle and Cardwell received endorsements from Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, County Executive George Latimer and County Legislator Terry Clements. They have plans to fix dangerous intersections, lower the village speed limit and add stop signs and speed bumps. Pringle and Cardwell will use their experience to adopt best practices in governance and professionalism to avoid risks, move past costly lawsuits and scandals and support our village employees.

On the other hand, the cost of complicity with the status quo is enormous. Under the watch of incumbent Department of Public Works Commissioner Maurice Owen-Michaane and Police Commissioner Breda Bennett, the Village of Pelham Manor has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit involving a DPW worker and allegations of harassment by the former police chief. As well intentioned as a board might be, if there is not an appetite to update policies and oversight, hard-working Manor employees, firefighters and police officers, the village’s finances and all of us as taxpayers are at an avoidable elevated risk. This is troubling for our small village.

Pringle and Cardwell have stepped up to the challenging tasks in front of us. They have the vision, expertise and genuine drive to take our wonderful village to the next level.

Please join me in voting for Kate Pringle and Mark Cardwell for Pelham Manor trustees on Tuesday, March 19. Polls are open at the Pelham Manor Firehouse (4 Penfield Place) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Allison Frost

4579 Boston Post Road