Councilman Jim Martorano, a registered Democrat, has been a member of the Yorktown town board for the past two decades and is interested in another run in the November election.
"My experience and Nick [Bianco]'s experience have come in very handy in the last year and a half," he said pointing that there the board is mostly made up of newly elected members such as supervisor Susan Siegel, Terrence Murphy and Vishnu Patel, all taking office in Jan. 2010.
"I think more critical than ever is to have an experienced person on the board," he said. "You need an institutional history that's brought to bear on decisions. You need to know what have we tried in the past, what has failed, what we have tried and what has been successful and I believe I bring that to the table."
If reelected, Martorano said, some of the issues he would like to focus on are providing recreational facilities, keeping the a vital part of town, as well as focusing on drug enforcement and other measures to keep children safe.
"Our recreational fields have deteriorated and gone down," he said. "Throughout the town whereever you go we just need to revitalize our recreational programs."
Last week town board members continued the discussion on the .
Martorano said he has been working with Alliance for Safe Kids, and various other groups, as well as the police department to come up with different solutions, such as providing counseling, police enforcement and hotlines for teens, to keep children safe.
"We've had a rash of terrible events recently, with suicides and drug overdoses and I'm very concerned about the future of our young people," he said. "We're facing a serious drug issue in this town. People don't like to talk about this, but it's very true. I'm concerned about it and I intent to roll up my sleeves and to try to combat this."
Another issue, he said, is taxes and keeping Yorktown as affordable as possible.
"Our taxes are out of control, not on town level, our town taxes are actually, for the sevices we provide, are ok," he said. "It's when you get involved with the school district and when you get involved with other taxing entities that they get out of control, so my job here is to be as fiscally conservative as possible but while still maintaing the vital services that we provide."
Martorano said he wants to continue to provide services to senior citizens. He has been an advocate for building a senior center, but said the town has not been able to raise enough money. "I haven't given up hope and I am certainly gonna attend to the seniors' needs."
"I like to believe that I've always been flexible and reasonable that I don't maintain positions in concrete," Martorano said. "I listen to my constituents and I try to make an informed and reasonable decision. I try to compromise but I also try to maintain my core values which are to maintain the services for people, to maintain a humane government, to maintain a flexible government. I've been sane, flexible and responsive."
He said he believes he has played a part in keeping the town in a "very good financial shape" compared to other towns and communities. While Martorano wants to continue to serve on the town board, it's up to the people to decide that and every time there is an election, he said, he has to earn the vote. His job is not finished yet, he added.
"We haven't completed the Comprehensive Plan, the fields and there are always new projects," Martorano said. "I think I bring the experience and the 'know-how' to the table and I think more than ever Yorktown needs those kind of qualities in a councilman."
Others vying for a nomination to run on the Democratic party line are Yorkown school district teacher Sean Kennedy, realtor Jason Wilson, Yorktown Athletic Club president Rich Campanero and town court officer Ed Ciffone, who did not receive the last week.
The Yorktown Democratic Committee members will be interviewing them tonight before making a decision. Check back with us for more updates.
Editor's Note: The article has been corrected to reflect that Susan Siegel, Terrence Murphy and Vishnu Patel are "newly elected" officials as opposed to "newly appointed."
