On Nov. 8 Peekskill voters will have a lot of choices to make. There are three open Common Council seats and the mayor is also up for reelection.
Patch sent all candidates the following five questions and asked for brief responses. We will run a series featuring the responses over the next two weeks. Here is the fourth of our series, featuring Joe Brady's unedited answers. Read his biography .
Democratic candidates Kathleen Talbot, Darren Rigger and Don Bennett (incumbent) are running for the Council seats. Mayor Mary Foster is running for re-election into what would be her third 2-year term.
Republican candidates Steve Woods and Barbara Kerasiotes are Brady's running mates for Council seats, and Tony Washington is running for mayor.
Read more about the Republican candidates and the Democratic candidates .
Why are you running for political office?
I have a desire to again serve the community I love. I believe giving back is important.
What do you feel makes you qualified to run for your position based on your professional and personal life?
Having served previously (1996-2000), I know what the job entails and would be anxious to use that experience. I also developed valuable relationships that I've maintained that would make me effective.
What are two or three of the most important issues facing Peekskill that you plan to tackle first if elected?
I am very concerned about our fiscal position. We need to get on a better path and be more prudent with economic development. We also need to address the deterioration of our quality of life.
How are your plans and solutions different from other candidates?
Regarding the budget, I would suggest a line by line analysis knowing we could find ways to cut spending with minimal citizen impact and improve revenues through logical development and not further taxing our citizens. We need to establish better lines of communication in and out-of-house to identify threats to our quality of life.
How do you measure the success of elected officials in Peekskill?
Success can be measured in many ways including a strong fiscal condition, good morale among its work force, a less threatening environment, creating an atmosphere that welcomes sensible development to name a few.
