Dear Editor:
The November elections are a chance for you to make your voice heard. You get to decide who you want to represent you at every level of government. Races for Judges, Governor, Congress State Senate, and Assembly get the bulk of the news coverage, but just as important are local races. It is the village and town candidates who will have the most immediate impact on your taxes and quality of life.
I am running for Woodbury village trustee. The work of the village board affects what Woodbury will be in the future. Our tax dollars pay for its oversight in determining Woodbury’s zoning and planning committees. We pay for the Village to ensure adequate clean water and sewage.
I ask for your vote to serve as a trustee on the village board. I am a municipal planner who has seen what happens to communities that fail to take charge of planning and zoning before their limited resources are strained to the breaking point. There are neighborhoods in Woodbury where road closures have left residents without access to quick emergency help for years. Woodbury continues to be under a water emergency and our sewer system can barely keep up with exploding growth. High-density housing is reducing our green space.
Woodbury is a great place to live, but the way to keep it that way is not to be reactive, but through smart long-range planning. Like you, I want Woodbury to be the place we raise our families, confident there is adequate clear air and water; where people can live safely in the neighborhoods of their choice; and where we are not priced out of our own community by ever-increasing taxes.
Look for my name on the ballot. You will find it on Row A, in the last column, marked Village Trustee. It matters who your village trustees are. I hope I can count on your vote this November.
James Freiband
Highland Mills
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Mid-Hudson News.
