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Four Vie For Pair Of North Salem Council Seats

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. -- Incumbent North Salem Town Board members Amy Rosmarin and Martin Aronchick are facing challengers Lisa Douglas and Brent Golisano in their re-election bids on Tuesday.

Left to right: Lisa Douglas, Amy Rosmarin, Brent Golisano and Martin Aronchick.

Left to right: Lisa Douglas, Amy Rosmarin, Brent Golisano and Martin Aronchick.

Photo Credit: Tom Auchterlonie

The incumbents, who are running on the Democratic ticket, are also running on a ballot line called Non Partisan. The challengers are running on the Republican ticket, along ballot lines for the Independence, Conservative, Reform and North Salem Local parties. 

Incumbent Supervisor Warren Lucas, who is running unopposed, is also running on a ticket with Douglas and Golisano.

The quartet of council candidates recent appeared at a League of Women Voters forum, where they took questions on several issues. One was about how the candidates rate the state of the town. 

Rosmarin, who called North Salem an "exquisite town," noted the prevalence of volunteerism  but added that some feel isolated. As a solution, she suggested enhanced communication to help likeminded people get together. 

Golisano, who said the town is in a very good state," noted that there are issues with infrastructure in the hamlets, such as traffic patterns, sewage and water, that need to be addressed.

“This is a special place,” Aronchick said about the town. Still, Aronchick expressed concern about quality of life issues, such as drug abuse and traffic.

Aronchick also touted his ability to work in a bipartisan way at the local level, citing an effort with Deputy Supervisor Peter Kamenstein to recruit Croton Falls merchants for planting new trees.

Douglas cited infrastructure, the MTA platform tax and speed on streets as local concerns. She also suggested that, as a way to save money on beautification efforts, high school students could help with the work as a way to earn community service credit for graduation. Highlighting the similarities between the candidates, Douglas said they are all on the same page with issues.

One question from the audience dealt with assistance for senior citizens who live by themselves. 

Aronchick, who has also volunteered as an EMT, noted existing initiatives such as Meals on Wheels. However, he cautioned there is a "fine line to walk” between patient privacy and trying to communicate to seniors that there is help.

“It takes a great deal of sensitivity," he said.

Douglas largely agreed with her opponent.

“I can't see much diversion,” she said. Douglas noted that while people can't be made to check on their neighbors, she hopes that people return to mentality of helping their neighbors out, which she suggested could happen by letting the community know about the problem.

Rosmarin recalled helping with outreach to seniors during severe weather, along with figuring out who has family near by. She suggested that more connections need to be made with seniors and stressed the importance of providing transportation for them, such as the FISH program that provides rides to medical appointments.

Golisano called for making sure that seniors are aware of local programs and to get contact information for adult children. He also suggested that the town could try to get seniors involved with programs that Westchester County offers.

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