FRIENDS OF FRANCIS SHEEHAN
c/o 1401 Old Country Road, Elmsford, New York 10523
GREENBURGH SUPPORT EARNS SHEEHAN THE RIGHT TO BE ON DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY BALLOT
Contact: Carol A. Wielk
Tel: 212 686 9147
Fax: 914 693 1792; 212 779 9307
E-mail: FSheehan99@aol.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 13, 1999
This past Monday, Francis Sheehan, candidate for Greenburgh Town Council, filed the required number of signatures from registered Democrats to earn a place on the Democratic Primary Election ballot on September 14, 1999. He was the first Greenburgh candidate to do so. More than 35 grassroots volunteers braved the heat and humidity to obtain more than 1,800 signatures, almost double the amount needed, assuring Sheehan a spot on the primary ballot.
The volunteers, working on behalf of Friends of Francis Sheehan, proved themselves a hearty and dedicated group. Most of the petition carriers were novice campaign workers, but nevertheless carefully canvassed their neighborhoods to obtain many more than the required 1,000 signatures from Greenburgh Democratic voters. And they did it the old fashioned way, door-to-door, meeting voters, using the Board of Election address "walking lists" of registered Democrats, thereby ensuring the signatures are valid.
The Sheehan volunteers found a deep wellspring and diversity of support for Sheehan. One volunteer couple in their seventies climbed the steep hills of Ardsley and other Greenburgh neighborhoods, obtaining more than 135 signatures for Sheehan. Mrs. Gail Kiell and her husband, Joseph, were delighted with the support Sheehan has already earned throughout Greenburgh through his work with the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Antenna Review Board, Scenic Hudson Telecommunications Committee and the Secor Homes Civic Association. "The response we received at many, many households was that residents understood the need for a candidate who would put community concerns first and foremost," says Mrs. Kiell.
Another hardworking volunteer, Lorrin Brown, a North Elmsford resident, received a similar response from the neighborhoods he canvassed for signatures. "People in this Town are aware that the Town Board is failing to represent the wide Greenburgh community. They are looking for a candidate who will listen to them and not to every campaign contributor who wants to buy influence for his pet development project," noted Mr. Brown. "Francis Sheehan," Mr. Brown continued, "represents an opportunity for Greenburgh residents to obtain access again to their Town government."
Francis Sheehan declared his candidacy for a seat on the Greenburgh Town Board on May 24th. His candidacy was a direct consequence of the repeated failure of the Town Board to listen to community concerns. Development projects that harmed the surrounding neighborhoods and diminished the quality of life of residents are often given a pass. Even during an election year, when two of the four incumbent Town Council members are up for reelection and begin weighing their pro developer votes more carefully, developers are still generally assured of the three votes required to approve an often deleterious construction project. "This is the primary reason I am running for the Town Board," Mr. Sheehan commented, "as it is imperative to break up the tenacious hold developers and their campaign contributors have on this Town Board." "Too often developer needs take precedent over homeowners. We need to change that. We especially need change on the Town Board to address the widespread belief that the incumbent Town Board is "developer-friendly." It hurts us as a party; it hurts us as a Town. It is time to address the pernicious influence developer campaign contributions seem to have on the operation of this Town government," Mr. Sheehan stated.
"I was delighted to carry petitions for Francis Sheehan," noted Mary Tobias, an Elmsford resident "It was wonderful to see the strong support for change that Francis’ candidacy represents."
An Edgemont resident and Sheehan petition carrier, Liz Freed, noted that the Sheehan effort is "truly a grassroots campaign based on the hard work and commitment of ordinary citizens, not party professionals."
Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, a Hartsdale resident and chair of the Antenna Review Board, feels so strongly about Sheehan’s candidacy that she walked door-to-door almost every day for over a month despite the fact that she had just given birth to her son, Tyler, in the weeks before the petition effort. "We need to show the community-at-large that the Democratic Party is responsive to the community’s needs and not just the big money of the developers. The Democratic Party has always been the party of the people. Some of the incumbents seem to have forgotten that. Electing Francis Sheehan will demonstrate that we want to restore our focus on people, the Greenburgh residents," Ms. Lederer-Plaskett stated.
Sheehan’s effort with his volunteers, garnering almost twice the number of signatures needed, is startling, considering the amount of time and energy each petition carrier had to commit to the process. For Sheehan’s Town Council opponents to match such an effort, a comparable figure would require the six candidates listed on the slate to collect almost 11,000 valid signatures as the Town Council seats appear on the same petition with four other candidates running for office. This kind of "double dipping" petition effort meant that a voter signing for a Supervisor candidate or a judicial candidate would be automatically endorsing the incumbent Town Council candidates as well. The fact that Sheehan’s petition carried his name only assured voters that they were indeed signing a petition for the one candidate they supported.
In announcing his candidacy, Sheehan pledged not to take any contributions from land-use developers or those who represent them. He supports a Master Plan for Greenburgh that protects Greenburgh neighborhoods, scenic areas and the Villages. He called for strong enforcement of the present Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals conditions for development, as many times these boards’ actions are not enforced by the Town’s planning and building departments. Consequently, residents are left to the mercy of the individual town departments that have in the past either neglected or failed to enforce many of the citizens’ boards’ decisions.
Francis Sheehan has been a Greenburgh resident since 1983. He has been married to his wife, Millie, for 18 years. They have two children, ages 10 and 12. Since 1981 Mr. Sheehan has been a Lecturer of Forensic Science at the John Jay College in Manhattan.
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E-mail: FSheehan99@aol.com