January 2023, when I decided to get back into our local Town politics. I knew I had a lot of “catching up” to do. After all, it has been 20 years since I sat on the Town Board as Councilman.

During those four years of service I learned very quickly how to Agree To Disagree. If you want to move our Town Forward in a positive direction, you must be able to communicate and put all the cards on the table for everyone to see and work with. And then you can make a decision that will be in the best interest of our residents. In order to do this, you must do your homework and attend the meetings where these issues are discussed.

I have been reading all of the recent letters to the editor from Joe Mazzetti. I must say since January 2023, I have attended MORE of the Town Board meetings and workshops than Councilman Mazzetti. It is apparent to me that it is time to relieve Councilman Mazzetti from his role on the Town Board. In any organization you have Movers and Shakers, the movers that actually get involved and make things happen, and the shakers that stir the pot and criticize but yet don’t roll their sleeves and get involved.

In his recent letter on enforcing the Affordable Housing Law, he continues to point fingers at others, mainly the Supervisor and the Republicans. This Law has been on the town books since 2010 and has not been enforced by any of the Town Boards. Councilman Mazzetti fails to tell you in his letter that he has been on the board since January 2016 and has done nothing to enforce it during that period, and his colleague Councilman Guerriero has been on the Town Board since January 2012. You must also remember the Democrats had the majority on the Board for four years from January 2018 through December 2021. So you have to ask why Councilmen Guerriero and Mazzetti didn’t enforce this law during their tenure including the four years they had the majority. It is simple, the Law as written requires extensive resources that the taxpayers will have to pay for. We are looking at a $90,000+ salary to put the right person in this position. In the event that development slows to a crawl as we have seen in the past, what does this person do? I am not saying that Affordable Housing is a bad idea. If it’s going to be implemented, it has to be revised. Did you know that under the A/H act as it is currently written, it does not allow you to make a profit when you sell? With that issue alone, where is the encouragement to upgrade your property? This could lead to deteriorating neighborhoods. This problem needs to be addressed by figuring out what is the correct method for the town to put in place a law or process that enables working people the ability to afford a home in our beautiful town.

In essence, Councilman Mazzetti is basically pointing the finger at himself and Councilman Guerriero for not taking any tangible action on this item during their tenures, including the years where they had the majority. Now all of a sudden it is time to seek re-election, and Councilman Mazzetti wants you to believe changing to another party control that includes him will fix everything. Watch the meetings and read the minutes and you will see the people who are actually getting the work done.

The Team of Dave P, Lenny A, and John F. is the team I want to be a part of.

In closing, I would like to say please look closely at whom you are voting for. And remember you can’t spell “reliable” without ELIA.