Bloomingdale Needs Change, Councilman Says

The following was submitted as a Letter to the Editor by Bloomingdale Councilman John D'Amato. If you woud like to submit a Letter to the Editor, send it to ariana.cohn-sheehan@patch.com

Dear Editor,

Bloomingdale deserves better. I believe that the main goal of an elected official should be to serve the community by putting its best interests first, regardless of political party. I take this commitment very seriously and, as a newly-elected councilman, I was prepared to work side-by-side with my Republican colleagues. Unfortunately, I soon realized that Bloomingdale’s best interests are not the concern of the majority. Instead, it seems that their only purpose is to control the council, with no thought toward progress or the future. A majority council member summed it up at a recent meeting: “I have no plan, no vision.”

Last year when we were elected, Ray Yazdi and I promised the residents of Bloomingdale that we would make stabilizing and lowering taxes our main objectives. This year, Mayor Dunleavy came up with several good options for tax stabilization, but the majority voted against them, offering no reason for their votes and no ideas. In fact, when asked point blank by the public and other members of the council to explain their alternative plan, they offered nothing—no ideas, no plan and no vision.

Bloomingdale will never thrive as long as we have council members who block all attempts at progress and believe that doing nothing is an acceptable plan. That is why I am asking you to vote for Mike Sondermeyer and Rich Dellaripa. Vote Row A on Nov. 6. Remember, our community, our town, deserves council members who will put party interests aside and put Bloomingdale first.

Councilman John D’Amato