VOL Dems Tap McAndrews, Ward & Bernstein; No GOP Action

by Judy Silberstein

The DemocraticSlate (l-r): Richard Ward & Anne McAndrews & Jerry Bernstein

(February 1, 2007) All the official Larchmont political action on Tuesday, January 30 was at the Village Center where a roomful of Democrats elected a full slate of candidates. Incumbent Anne McAndrews and first-time Democratic candidate Richard Ward were nominated for the two trustee seats along with Jerry Bernstein, going for his fourth term as Village Justice.

Across the street at Village Hall, Larchmont’s Republican caucus was probably the shortest, most sparsely attended ever. At 8:01 pm, Mayor Liz Feld opened the caucus in her capacity as substitute chair of the party. After a few minutes of explanations, Mayor Feld asked if anyone had any business before the caucus; no one did, and that was the end of the caucus.

Mayor Feld explained to the three other Republicans, one Democrat and two reporters in attendance that she was filling in for Phil Johanson, who would be stepping in for Marian White, who had announced her resignation as chair of the party only last week. (Larchmont Electoral Season Opens as GOP Chair Resigns.) Mr. Johanson had long-standing family plans and was unable to attend the caucus, but he left word that he would be working closely with Mayor Feld to seek “residents interested in an active role in the Party, as well as potential future candidates for the Village Board.”

“It’s been a tremendous year” for the Larchmont Village Board, said Mayor Feld, noting the cooperative work environment and lack of partisan rancor.

But, “this is not a good year to run as a Republican,” she added. Both at the national and local levels, “the Republican Party has a lot of work to do,” she said. "When I met with Marian White to discuss her resignation, she told me she was unaware of any Republican candidates who were prepared to run."

The contrast with last year’s high-turn out, high-drama Republican caucus could not have been sharper. In 2006, there was an unprecedented contest for the mayoral nomination between the incumbent, Ken Bialo, and Ms. Feld, then a Village trustee. Mr. Bialo and running mates Bubba Fanelli, a Democrat, and Mike Bucci, an Independent, won the GOP nomination, but Ms. Feld joined with Democrats Marlene Kolbert and Jim Millstein to sweep the March election. (See: Feld-Kolbert-Millstein Coalition Sweeps Village Election.)

So where did the Republicans go? On Tuesday, many were at the Bialo home at a reception to honor Ms. White. Among the attendees was Mike Wiener, currently the only trustee elected as a Republican. The night before, he had made public his decision not to seek another term.

"It was a wonderful display of affection for Marian," said Mr. Bialo, contacted the next day. "There was a ton of recognition for the job she's done." Asked about the caucus, he said, "That's a pretty sad commentary on the party that no one showed up and no business was conducted."

“It was a nice affair at Mr. Bialo’s house,” said Mr. Fanelli. “All the old guard was there reminiscing about the past and looking forward to a bright future.” There was also talk of regrouping and coming up with a plan, he said. It was unclear whether this regrouping would be separate or in concert with efforts planned by Mr. Johanson, Mayor Feld and her Republican supporters.

Is Mr. Fanelli thinking of running? “Absolutely, he said, “but not for this term.”

Another challenger could still come forward before February 13, the deadline for submitting petitions to get on the ballot for the March 20th election. However, there does not appear to be a challenger on the horizon.

Democratic Trustee Candidates

See: Election 2007 for more from the candidates.

That leaves the field clear for the Democrats. Their newest nominee, Richard Ward, 54, first ran for Village trustee in 1996 as the sole Republican facing three Democratic candidates. He did not win. Since then, he has been unaffiliated with any party, but considers himself a “centrist pragmatist” and has taken steps to register as a Democrat. He and his wife, Debbie Pincus Ward, have three children who attend the Mamaroneck District Schools.

A senior vice-president for corporate and investment banking at HSBC, Mr. Ward’s community service includes many years of coaching youth sports in addition to stints on the Coastal Zone Management Commission, Save our Sound, Larchmont’s Business Task Force and the Parks and Trees Committee. Some of his priorities for Village government include: improving Flint Park for use by the entire community; addressing unmet needs of teens; reviewing ability of planning and zoning to limit urbanization pressures and developing plans for rehabilitation of neglected Village infrastructure.

Ms McAndrews, 61, an attorney with a private practice specializing in tax and real estate, has lived in Larchmont for almost 25 years. She and husband John McAndrews have five children; four are graduates of the local schools and the youngest is a sophomore at Mamaroneck High School. This will be her fifth run for office: she ran successfully for trustee in 2001; unsuccessfully for mayor in 2002; and then successfully for trustee in 2003 and 2005. She is credited with helping develop a proposal that recently netted Larchmont a $683K grant from a federal transportation fund to renovate a portion of Palmer Avenue’s business district. (See: Larchmont to Get $683K for Palmer Avenue Renovations.) The initiatives she hopes to champion in the future include: burying utility lines on Palmer Avenue as part of the upcoming project; renovating the Addison Street parking lot; and adopting additional energy conservation measures.

Ms. McAndrews said she views Larchmont “as an old house; well loved but in constant need of attention. It is time for a full-time Village administrator,” she told the gathering.

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page