LaDore to Run For Mayor

Michael LaDore is seeking the Republican nomination for Harrison mayor/supervisor, becoming the first resident to announce his candidacy to unseat incumbent Joan Walsh (D) during this fall's mayoral election.

LaDore, 53, will submit his candidacy to the Harrison Republican Board seeking their endorsement. He plans to run on a platform focused on revitalizing the town's master plan, reducing municipal spending and reviving a sense of pride to the Town of Harrison. 

"There are a lot of things that we need to do for the long-term that most of our public officials have neglected for far too long now," said LaDore, a Harrison resident for more than 20 years.

LaDore has never been elected to a public office but did run for mayor/supervisor 15 years ago on the Independent Party line. He also ran for the Westchester County Legislature. He is currently works as a general superintendent at PCI Industries.

The announcement makes LaDore the first candidate to officially announce plans to run for mayor in 2011, although Walsh has said she plans to seek a third term.

LaDore said he plans an "aggressive, yet positive" campaign, focused on getting residents more involved in decision making and restoring a positive attitude in town hall.

"Everybody is very, very, frustrated," LaDore said. "There's a lot of negativity that we will need to put to the side."

Other issues include the creation of a new Master Plan, something that has been but is still incomplete at this point. He said without an official plan the town has relied on short-term planning without a direct objective for development.

In the past LaDore has been involved with town politics via his strong objection to Project Homerun, an on-going redevelopment project for the Beaver Swamp area near the Rye-Harrison border. LaDore has blamed the project for in his neighborhood on Park Avenue for years. As supervisor he said he would withdraw the town's application to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to turn the field into a public park and make the land an educational nature preserve.

He hopes to use grant money from federal, state and county governments as well as the private sector to do so.

Other plans include a Citizen's Grant Committee to seek public grants from county and state government, good-faith negotiations with local labor groups and a revitalization of Harrison's downtown area. He says he will accomplish these goals through long-term planning and inceased resident involvement.

"Too many administrations in the past have failed to look at the long term," LaDore said. "Everything is a quick fix."

LaDore provided Patch with a platform sheet of his stance on some local issues. The provided bullet-points are as follows:

• Update master plan
• Preserve open space
• Restore Harrison's community pride
• Reduce spending through active citizen's budget advisory workshops
• Revitalize our downtown through aggressive marketing and networking
• Create additional downtown parking for our merchants through land acquisition
• Schedule long-term capitol projects for infrastructure improvements
• Set up a standing citizen's grant research committee to bring county, state and federal dollars back to Harrison
• Study the feasibility of a part time supervisor/mayor with a full-time administrator
• Work with our unions in good-faith in reducing spending during contract negotiations
• Reducing our workforce through attrition, where applicable, and studying privatization of non-essential services.
• Turn Project Home Run into a low-lying nature preserve with grant money

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