A tremendous loss for Valley Stream

Village Justice Bob Bogle perhaps said it best when he was asked about the death of Valley Stream Mayor Ed Cahill: “This is a really rough one.”

The loss of the village’s mayor is difficult for all those who knew him, and those who have benefited from Cahill’s 15 years of service to Valley Stream. He was first elected as a trustee in 1995 and became mayor in 1999. He won three full terms and probably could have won again.

Under his leadership, the village began to address its aging infrastructure with a major initiative to repave village roads. Each year the village has committed $1.5 million to $2 million to road repairs. While some frustrated residents are still waiting for their streets to be done, it is impossible repave every road in Valley Stream at once without drastically raising taxes. Cahill’s plan got results.

Streetscape projects, funded through grants his administration sought, have improved several shopping areas, including Gibson, Rockaway Avenue and Central Avenue. New streetlights, sidewalks and plantings have spruced up Valley Stream. The pool complex and parks have been upgraded, and several housing projects were approved that will move more people into the downtown shopping district.

Cahill never ran for public office for the recognition. He simply wanted to make Valley Stream, his home for 45 years, a better place. If there was a man who truly understood the purpose of government — to work for and on behalf of the people — it was Cahill. We won’t say he was a great politician because he never considered himself one. But he was a superior public servant.

He never treated being mayor like the part-time job it was supposed to be. He was frequently at Village Hall during regular business hours, attended every opening day, awards ceremony and ribbon-cutting he could and always found time to listen to a resident’s concerns. He didn’t attend events just for a quick photo opportunity; he would have been perfectly happy not being in any of the pictures because he was so modest.