Politics & Government

Re-Elected Trustee Daniel Brakewood Says Port Chester is Poised to Move Ahead on Key Issues

After the Vote: He anticipates new board will be able to work together.

Re-elected Port Chester village Board of Trustees member Daniel Brakewood is anticipating a new era of cooperation among the village's leadership as the new village board takes office on April 2.

While Campaign 2013 in Port Chester became heated in its final days leading up to the March 19 election, Brakewood said he believes the 12 candidates who ran for mayor and the six trustee seats did a good job a presenting their arguments on key issues. And, now, it's time to move forward.

"The election's over, we have to roll up our sleeves. We'll get to know the the members of the board and try to be as productive as possible for the people of Port Chester," Brakewood said. "This board has a great opportunity to really be one of the most productive boards in the last 25 - 30 years in Port Chester. There's many issues that have been lined up and are ready to pushed over the goal line and we just need a good board that puts politics aside and works on behalf of the people. And, I think that three years from now we'll see a big difference."

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The election brought significant change to Port Chester.

Democratic Mayor Dennis Pilla lost his bid for re-election to Republican Neil Pagano, a Port Chester real estate broker who is also chairman of the Port Chester Industrial Development Agency. Brakewood and fellow Democrat Luis Marino were re-elected, with Democrat Greg Adams - a former trustee - getting back on the board.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Republican trustee Joseph Kenner and Conservative Saverio Terenzi were re-elected, however, incumbent Bart Didden did not get enough votes to win a new term on the board. Gene Ceccarelli, who was a member of the panel that helped create Port Chester's new Comprehensive Plan to guide future development in the village, was elected to the board as an independent candidate.

Brakewood said he believes the new group will be able to work together to resolve key issues, and that much of the political in-fighting and personal disputes that were visible at Port Chester Board of Trustees meetings over the past few years will not continue.

One of the top issues Brakewood said he expects to see significant action is on the ongoing efforts to further improve Port Chester's downtown waterfront area. And, top on the waterfront agenda, for him, is fixing the collapsed bulkhead along the Byram River that is preventing the use of the walkway areas along the river.


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