For trustee: Katz and ...

March 13, 2008 08:57 am

— Next Tuesday is the annual village election. Voters will go to the polls to select a mayor — Carol Waller is seeking a fourth two-year term and is again running unopposed — and two seats on the village board of trustees.

Those positions are currently held by Republican Paul Kuhn and Democrat Jeff Katz. Kuhn decided not to seek reelection, leaving Katz as the only incumbent candidate. Rounding out the field are Democrat Jim Vrooman and Republicans Doug Walker and Neil Weiller — all three newcomers to village politics. Weiller is also running as an independent candidate.

At least one choice is an easy one for us: Jeff Katz.

Katz has had a busy first term on the board of trustees. He has been a member of or chaired a number of village committees and boards, and is likely to inherit the chairmanship of the important finance committee when Kuhn’s term ends. He has continually demonstrated a willingness and ability to research and understand not only the workings of village government, but also the issues facing the entire village.

He has worked on a number of initiatives, some of which include: the concerts at Doubleday Field, increasing the rental fees for Doubleday Field, efforts to realize a greater share of the bed and sales tax collected by the county, researching the pros and cons of becoming a city in another effort to bring in more of the sales tax, and, of course, he voted for paid parking.

Whether a majority of the board was right to approve paid parking in the face of opposition that November evening could be debated at great length.

We believe it is a case where the trustees and mayor could have done a better job of gathering the facts, and explaining why it is an important opportunity for a village facing large bills to pay for aging infrastructure.

Elected officials are put into office by us to make decisions based not only on what we want, but also what they believe to be the best course of action. Sometimes the two are not the same. It is our belief that the vote on paid parking should not be viewed as a deal-breaker in Katz’s bid for reelection.

With Kuhn not running, it is all the more important to keep Katz on the board. Mayor Waller already has a relatively inexperienced board, and she will need Katz’s knowledge and energy in the coming years as newer board members become more seasoned. For the second seat on the board, we’re recommending Vrooman, Walker and Weiller. We believe we could find sufficient reason to vote for any one of them.

But no matter who you are supporting, we encourage everyone to get out and cast their ballot next Tuesday, March 18, from noon to 9 p.m. in the fire house.