Yorktown Town Board Race: Q&A with Dorothy Forcina

Editor's Note: We asked the candidates for Yorktown Town Board – incumbent Terrence Murphy (R), Dorothy Forcina (R), incumbent Vishnu Patel (D) and Rich Campanaro (D) – a series of questions before the Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Below are Forcina's responses. 

Patch: Why did you decide to run for election?

Dorothy Forcina: This is my first run for office. Many of my volunteer obligations came to an end this year (YHS President of the PTSA; Vice President of St. Andrew’s Church Council and my Girl Scout Troop are working on their Gold Awards).

I wanted to run for office to give back to my community. 

During my years at the Westchester County Association, I was exposed to some  great leaders. These leaders taught me that the constitution was based on citizen legislators, not career politicians and the role of an elected official, especially on the local level is to help make the community a better one, have an open dialogue and keep an open mind.

Patch: What personal or professional experiences qualify you to serve as a town board member?

Forcina: I have 30 years of business experience in management, budgeting and  technology. My management style is collaborative and I think these skill sets  would work well on the Town Board. I have a proven record to work under pressure. One example was during my tenure at Quick & Reilly/ US Clearing, which was acquired by Fleet Bank (Now Bank of America). I spent 20 year there and was able to start as a back office clerk and rose through the ranks. At the end of my tenure, I was chief technology officer.

On 9/11, I was in that role and my team and data center was located near the World Trade Center. The previous week, we had a reduction in force (RIF) and I was in the process of getting to know parts of the team whose manager was part of the  RIF. We are assessing the damage to the data center, next steps, etc., and the team informed that we had a problem with our off-site tape backup.

I realized this was a huge issue and had to make some quick decisions, but mainly how I handled this with the team and senior management. I excused myself to take a quick walk, composed myself and realized this was a “defining moment” and 
how this was handled could impact everything.

I did not yell, pass blame, scream, etc., but asked for options for possible solutions. As for senior management, I contacted them immediately to advise them of the situation and within an hour, we had a backup plan. The team bonded, realized, if not a perfect solution, I was there for them and we collectively was able to recover about backup facility for the opening of Wall Street.

Patch: What are the top three issues facing town residents?

Forcina: 

• Taxes – need new and creative ideas on how to reduce the taxes with the use of technology for paperless initiatives and workflow. 
• Economic Development and brining in new businesses.
• Maintaining our quality of life

Patch: Describe your campaign platform or how you differentiate yourself from your opponents' platforms?

Forcina: I view myself as problem solver and not an obstructionist. I think some of my opponents get stuck in “analysis paralysis” and don’t make decisions. I think my years of experience in the private sector; working with many groups and interacting with Albany during my tenure at the Westchester County Association give me a unique set of qualities that is different from my opponents.

Patch: Should you be elected, what would you like to achieve over the course of your term?

Forcina: 

• Continue to evaluate ways to reduce the portion of the local tax bill associated with the Yorktown Town Taxes. The new garbage contract may have had some initial bumps, but it saved the taxpayers money 

• Fill our empty office/commercial space. Encourage new businesses, rather than impeding them. 

• Balance development with open space 

• Continue to work with Simon Properties to revitalize the Jefferson Valley Mall. The Board needs to work with Simon Malls to make it a place for Yorktown to be proud of.

• Collaborate with the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce to attract new businesses to the community

Patch: Is there anything we haven't asked that you would like the public to know about you or your candidacy?

Forcina: For those who do not know me, I am a wife and mother and business woman. I am hard-working and honest. I take this as an honor to represent the residents of Yorktown and to continue to work on the daily issues that impact their lives. We may not agree on every issue, but please know that I will research the pros and cons of the issues, listen to the various points of view and thoughtfully  make my decisions that I think are in the best interest of the residents.