By Mary Malloy
"Do we need a 'new vision' or do we need action?" he asked the audience. "I was taught that the world is created by the decisions we make..." Rossi, who along with resident Tom Killelea, is credited for creating the newest village party, which merged the United Village Party with the Reform Party. The party's candidates for the two trustee seats that are up for grabs are current trustee David Penso and former trustee and deputy mayor Tom Miccio, along with Mark Panzaveccia for village justice.
"The Lynbrook Pride Party strives to be the party of solutions," said Richard Clifford, party member and current village trustee. Crediting a popular T.V. series, Clifford said that the party wants to use C.P.R. - Courtesy, Professionalism, and Respect - when dealing with the people - something that is not happening under the current administration now, he said. "You...are the ones who pay the bills. We strive to create transparency in govenment, we want to improve ethics, and end the continual double talk." Clifford explained that he is not running for a seat on the board because of professional conflicts that would not allow him to fully function as a trustee. "It doesn't mean you won't see me on the ballot again in the future," he added. Clifford said that it has been frustrating and wrong to have been blocked out of the information stream. "Two of us have been routinely kept in the dark," he said, referring to himself and Penso. "How can responsible decisions be made without the availability of full information and full disclosure?"
Penso called the village newsletter "propaganda pieces" and that it's very much about one party and not the village itself. "If they get five people on the board," he said, "I shudder to think what will happen...you need checks and balances."
Miccio, who spent 16 years on the board, the last five of those as deputy mayor, said that watching the board meetings for the last five years compelled him to get involved again. "What is going on in our village today is very disappointing to see," he said. "We have an administration today that is not really concerned about the benefits to you, the average person...they seem to be concerned about the privledged few..the real estate special interests..." Miccio said that there is a lot to worry about in the fiscal world, and that if elected, he will look closely at the 2010 village budget and make recommendations to cut expenses. "The only way to keep taxes from rising is to control your expenses and make recommendations to the mayor and the rest of the board....and it will be a matter of record..and you will know that we will be there as your advocates."
Panzavecchia said that having worked at the Bronx's DA's office and teaching criminal law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice makes him a good candidate for the village justice seat. "It's important for the village to have someone who is quailified," he said. "I can handle what comes through there...and I will do whatever my conscience directs me to do." He said that although he is running as part of the Pride Party, no one will have any influence over him once he is on the bench. "I am an independent thinker," he said.
Rossi said that voter apathy in Lynbrook, as well as on Long Island, is a problem. "I will talk door to door and get people out to vote," he said. "This village comes with an instruction manual - if you take out special interests and all the nonsense that is going on, you can run this village like a business that benefits everyone..if you run it for a select few, it benefits no one."
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liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
