Nyack, May 16 — Mayor Richard Kavesh will run for re-election this Fall. The Democratic mayor was elected to his first term in November 2009.
Kavesh’s term as mayor has been a time of great change for Nyack. In May, 2010, the village board hired its first Village Administrator, Jim Politi. Although Kavesh initially opposed hiring a fulltime administrator to replace retiring comptroller John Cincotta, Politi and part-time treasurer John Malesardi successfully refinanced Nyack’s debt to deliver a 2011 tax increase of just less than one percent, following cumulative 18 percent increases the previous two years.
Accomplishments cited by the mayor during his first term include restoring the village’s 50/50 sidewalk repair program, repaving village streets, increasing Nyack’s federal aid and supporting Nyack’s social programs.
Kavesh says his priorities for his next term include the completion of Nyack’s Streetscape program, the addition of more affordable housing units, more improvements for Memorial Park and the repair of the village’s marina. Although the mayor cast the lone no vote against adopting a Memorandum Of Understanding for Superblock redevelopment earlier this month, Kavesh says one of his goals going forward was to make “decision-making progress for the Superblock.”
Before becoming Mayor, Kavesh was a Village Trustee for nine years. He spent 20 years working in business and now teaches social studies in the Bronx. He replaced John Shields as mayor in 2010 after winning a four-way Democratic primary and a third-party challenge in the general election.
“Today I’m asking the voters of Nyack to hire me for a second and final term as Mayor of Nyack,” said Kavesh. “If re-elected, I promise to continue to work to ensure that Nyack remains the best place on earth to live, work, visit, and raise a family.”
Villlage Trustee Jen Laird-White told Left of the Hudson that she is also interested in running for Mayor and indicated that she will make an announcement shortly. White has been a Village Trustee for two years and ran Nyack’s Park Conservancy organization prior to that.
Nyack is such a heavily Democratic village that whoever comes out on top in the September primary will likely win the general election in November. Republican and third-party candidates are typically also-rans in November.
The Nyack Democratic Committee does not discourage primaries, although committee members will likely endorse one candidate for mayor at an upcoming village convention.
Cliff Weathers is a member of the Orangetown Democratic Committee and the publisher of Left of the Hudson, a progressive news and opinion blog for the Lower Hudson Valley.
See also:
- Kavesh 2011 Mayoral Announcement, 5/16/2011
- Nyack Hires Village Administrator, 5/25/2010
- It’s official: Nyack and Riverspace to tackle superblock. Journal News 5/4/2011