Letter to the Editor: Mary Neagle Smith Supporting Dennis Winter for Eastchester Fire Commissioner

To the Editor:

Dec. 2, 2015:  Years of reform at the Eastchester Fire District are on the line in the upcoming EFD election. Please vote Tuesday, December 8, 2-9 pm, and encourage your friends and neighbors to vote for Dennis Winter for EFD commissioner.

Mr. Winter has been a tireless advocate for the public. He has worked to manage responsibly the $16.5 million EFD budget. This budget is funded by a tax levy; therefore, this is a critical election.

In the past, Mr. Winter and Chief Grogan discovered thousands in improperly spent tax dollars. Following this discovery, the Eastchester Fire Board placed the former EFD treasurer on paid administrative leave.

The former treasurer simultaneously collected a salary from the Greenburgh Schools while she was on this paid leave.

It is also important to note that the EFD has had to spend over $15,000 in legal fees to defend successfully itself and its commissioners from four matters brought by the former treasurer (10/13-2/15).

The former EFD treasurer is Mr. Winter's opponent in this contested race. While Mr. Winter's opponent is justly proud that she has a family member who is an EFD firefighter, that is a not a qualifier for candidacy.

The EFB needs to be absent of any conflicts of interest, especially when negotiating union contracts with the paid firefighters.

Please visit www.publicsearchpro.com and www.bronxville.org for access to public documents regarding the candidates in this important election.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Neagle Smith
36 Avon Road 
Bronxville, New York 10708 

Editor's note:  MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.