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Swearing-In Ceremony Speech

Release Date: February 03, 2016

Swearing-In Ceremony
Speech by
Supervisor Linda D. Puglisi
(January 10, 2016)
 
            Thank you all for being present today for our Swearing-In Ceremony as we embark on our next terms in office.  Congratulations to Frank Farrell, re-elected to the Town Board as well as to Richard Becker also re-elected to the Town Board.  I also congratulate Dan McCarthy in his re-election for Town Justice.
            I thank the Cortlandt community for once again supporting me and for placing their trust in me to continue as Supervisor of our wonderful Town.  I pledge to you that I will continue to work as hard as I can to always make Cortlandt even better than it is today.
            Next I want to thank my family who are here today for their constant support and love.  You met my very special grandsons, Oliver and Jeremy, who led us in the pledge to the flag.  I am so very proud of them.  I am also very proud of my children (my twins) Allison (Ali) and Jeffrey (Jeff).  Ali and my son-in-law are the parents of my grandsons and Ali is a successful attorney in New York City and Tom, also a graduate of law school, is the best Father the boys could ever have.  Jeff is a wonderful and caring doctor in Connecticut and my lovely daughter-in-law, Oonagh, has a very important position in a large company in New York City.  Both of my children graduated from Walter Panas High School and were raised in Cortlandt, a wonderful place to raise our children.
            Also, one of my two sisters is present today, Cindy.  She is known for her kindness and generosity in our family.  Our mother passed away two years ago and she was a compassionate caregiver to her.  Everyone would agree with me that our families give us purpose and inspiration as we go through life’s journey.
            I remember my parents telling my sisters and I to give back to our communities whenever possible.  They did and I have tried my best for twenty five years to give back and to make a difference for Cortlandt.  They always said it doesn’t matter how big or small, but always try to help others.  I promise to continue to listen to your issues and concerns and resolve them for you, your families and for your neighbors.
            I would also like to thank my other colleagues on the Town Board, Seth Freach and Debbie Costello and JoAnn Dyckman (Town Clerk), Mary Breining (Receiver of Taxes) and Gerry Klein (Town Justice) for their service to our Town.  A big thank you goes to all of our town employees.  Each one of you is an important part of our local government family. Thank you for all of your dedication and efforts.  We have a great team!  It’s an honor to be a part of this government and a privilege to be Cortlandt’s Town Supervisor.  Thank you to my office staff for organizing this lovely ceremony today. (Judi Peterson, Karen Grexa, Dianne Carroll and also to Claudia Vahey, our Personnel Manager).  Thank you to Tom Wood, our town attorney, for officiating at today’s ceremony.
            Cortlandt is a beautiful Town; peaceful, tranquil on the Hudson River and in our many parks.  It’s also an extremely friendly community with many volunteers – for emergency services, civic groups, scouts, sports teams, etc.  We could never do all of our programs without them.  Thank you!
            I’m not going into all of our accomplishments over the years and our goals for this next term.  That information is on our town’s website and Facebook.  However, I do want to mention how proud I am that we started our 911 system, the ALS and paramedics services, of our lovely and historic Town Hall, many road and infrastructure projects, programs for our youth and Seniors and that we have added over 3000 acres to our preserved open space inventory.  We have kept our taxes very low with only about a 1% increase over the entire 25 years, kept debt low and maintained a good, solid savings account and over 140 million dollars in completed capital projects.  That’s the short list!
            We are proud that we have worked with others to preserve our local history and to always support our Veterans, the men and women who have defended our great Country throughout the years.  Thank you all!
            In summary, Cortlandt is a very special place to live and to raise our families.  Cortlandt is not just a place.  It’s HOME!
 
          Thank you all, bless you all.
            Linda Puglisi
            Supervisor