Editor’s note: This campaign statement was provided by Pelham Manor trustee candidate Ryan Kurtz. The Pelham Examiner publishes statements in the form received as a service to the community.
My name is Ryan Kurtz and I’m running for Pelham Manor Trustee on the Democratic and (independent) Manor Together lines. Please join Mark Cardwell, Debbie Winstead, and me in imagining a Manor with:
- 21st century flood remediation (before the 22nd century);
- A comprehensive, data-driven approach to traffic and pedestrian safety;
- Better law enforcement technology and fewer burglaries and car break-ins;
- A vibrant Four Corners with safer parking lots and entrances/exits;
- A new playground, dog run, and maybe a small splash pad for summer fun;
- Freshly painted crosswalks and street signs, plus level sidewalks; and
- A “My Manor” App to easily report issues and track fixes.
And without higher taxes. Really. Some important facts:
- Annual tax increases are generally capped at 2% by New York law;
- The incumbents increase our taxes to (or almost to) the tax cap every year, taxing far more than needed to run our government (running large surpluses);
- They save up (intentional) surpluses to fund capital capital projects, borrowing from us at 0% interest so that they can tell us the Manor is “debt free”; and
- For years, our excess tax dollars (millions!) sat in a checking account earning almost no interest.
So, Manor taxes are about as high as they could be. We’ll offer relief, ending artificial surplus generation. We’ll tax only what we need, and ensure that what we do tax is re-invested in our community. Through thoughtful financial planning and professional management of cash-on-hand, we’ll get more for the Manor, without asking you to pay more.
A little about me, my family, and why I’m running: My wife, Geraldine, and I moved to Pelham in March of 2020, with our son Charlie, (almost 5), born several months later. Since then, Sophie, 2, has joined the family. I coach tee-ball and support Pelham Pride, Geraldine is on the Board of Pelham Together and is in the Junior League, and our kids are future Siwanoyers. For more about me, please see my bio, which follows at the end.
I’m running because we can do better with what we have (i.e., without raising taxes). We all benefit from experienced leaders who care about the Manor. Our incumbents check these boxes. But, the line between experience and complacency can be razor thin, and incumbency can become the enemy of ingenuity. Three things in particular sparked my run:
- The $58,000+ tax-payer funded voter suppression effort to keep Manor residents from voting to move our elections to November;
- Insufficient action of flooding remediation, including being told—in writing—by a Manor official (copying the mayor) that flooding is not an “existential threat” and that “[o]ur municipal stormwater conveyance systems operate as designed”; and
- Learning we were stashing millions in a checking account.
I see my run as neither personal nor political. I just want our Village to look and be nicer, for us to have the community spaces and gatherings that others have, and for our property values to keep going up (and not plummet because we flunk flooding remediation). We need fresh, thoughtful, leadership to get there. Recognizing that fatigue can set in, I would like to do this for four to six years (maybe eight) (I support term limits). And, I hope to be re-elected via non-partisan elections (as I’ve written previously, I don’t understand why we have partisan elections for Trustee, and I wouldn’t be running if I thought we were maximizing our potential under Republican leadership).
I hope you’ll join Mark, Debbie, and me in imagining the Manor at its best, without costing you more. Please be sure to vote in November (or October—with the passage of Prop 3, we have early voting and conflict-of-interest-free elections). Together, we can do more!
With appreciation,
Ryan Kurtz
Ryan is an employment lawyer at a well-respected Manhattan law firm, where he represents primarily non-profit corporations. He advises boards of directors/trustees and executives on good governance, ethics and conflicts of interest, employee hiring and separations, and other compliance issues. He also conducts and oversees workplace investigations, including allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Additionally, Ryan is an experienced litigator, both in public service as a Public Defender in New Jersey and in private practice, where he has argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court and appeared before state and federal courts in New York. Between his time as a public defender and entering private practice, Ryan clerked for the Hon. Christopher F. Droney on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (whose decisions may be appealed only to the United States Supreme Court). Ryan is a cum laude graduate of both Georgetown University (where he studied Government, Economics, and French) and Harvard Law School.
