Candidate Profile: Peter Michaelis For Bedford Town Board

BEDFORD, NY — In 2021's general election, residents of the Hudson Valley will be voting for local officials. In anticipation, Patch asked candidates in the contested races to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Peter Michaelis is seeking election to the Bedford Town Board in November. The 65-year-old is running on the Bedford United ticket and as a Republican candidate.

Learn more about Michaelis on BedfordUnited.org

Check out Patch's full Q&A with Michaelis:

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running to bring my 29 years of service to Bedford Residents to a Town Board that has a combined total of 3 years of experience. No current member has ever served on any other board except the town board. I seek to be a proactive board member not a reactive one. I would like to propose necessary changes to Bedford's current Zoning Codes. Keep property taxes as low as poossible. Protect our drinking water and open spaces. Look for ways to increase Hamlet Vitality and bring increased transparency of what the Board does to the residents of Bedford. I would like to engage our residents to make them feel that their voices have been heard and their thoughts considered. I love Bedford. Have found it to be the furthest south I can be and still be in New England. I have loved raising my children here and I appreciate the laid back nature of most Bedford neighbors and their values regarding raising children and being good neighbors.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Their lack of experience and understanding of what has gone over the past 30 years in Bedford. Issues of Cell towers, open space, water quality, hamlet vitality are not new. The have been dealt with for years and I think I can help having been involved in all these issues and discussions over the past 29 years.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Again the critical difference between me and those I am running against is Town Wide Experience. I truly wish my opponents would volunteer for service on any of the 24 Boards and Committees we have in town rather than seeking to go straight to the top by running for the Town Board. This is what has kept us from effectively dealing with many crucial issues facing Bedford and has resulted in a huge jump in legal fees as the Town Board has continued to use our tax dollars to pay the Town Attorney to understand many of the basic operations.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

There is no challenger for either of the Bedford Town Board seats. The two with the highest number of votes wins. That said it is incredibly important that the next Town Board be able to work together unlike the current Town Board where one can clearly see the animus between board members on the video feed of the Town Board Meetings. This town cannot afford to have a board that cannot work professionally with one another. It also needs a board where members will finish out their terms of office. There have been 3 recently elected Democratic Board members who have not finished their terms of office. Chris Burdick was one of those. If Ellen Calves wins, she will be the 4th Democrat to not finish her term. This has created great instability on the Board and has resulted in many important items falling by the wayside. Not the least of which is the failure of the current Board to replace much needed retired personnel in the Planning Department which has resulted in a 4-6 month back log for the current building inspector. Unnecessarily causing great additional expense to residents looking to do much need improvements on their homes

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I'd give local officials a B in responding to the coronavirus. I think they did the best they could given the Governor's executive orders. Where I might have done things differently would have been to open Government offices sooner. I would have also taken the time to search for replacement employees for those they knew were retiring or going to retire.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I have no personal agenda in seeking election to the Town Board. I don't intend to use it to run for higher office. I will serve out my term and if involved in serious continuing items would probably run for reelection. I seek to serve all peoples of Bedford regardless of party affiliation, race, or gender. My values are human values not party values. "People of Politics" means something to me.

Family

Two sons, Peter (29) and Andrew (27)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

I was raised by parents who early in my life worked in government. My father served as one of President Kennedy's Science Advisors, my mother as Media director of The Peace Corp and VISTA under both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Education

Brown University AB Honors in Political Science

Occupation

I was a journalist with ABC News and CBS News for nearly 13 years. 1979-1992. I was President and CEO of a Low-wind water pumping windmill Company called WINDTech International LLC. 1992-2016. I worked for 2 years 2016-2018 as a photographer with the NY State Senate hired to the office of Senator Terrence Murphy of the 40th Senate District. I currently work as a photographer and as Real Estate Agent for Ginnel Real Estate 2018-Present

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I currently serve as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Bedford NY. 2005-Present. I also serve as Chairman of Bedford's Communications Commission since 2011. I have been the Chairman and member of Bedford's Tree Advisory Committee, a founding member of Bedford's Open Space Committee, a member of the Conservation Board, a team leader of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) through the Bedford Police department. Served as Vice-Chair of Bedford's Emergency Planning Committee. Was a participant in Bedford's 1999-2002 Master Plan Committee and now a current member of the new Master Plan sub-committee on Bedford Village and Agriculture and horses.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

First as a journalist from the days where it was important to be fair and balanced in reporting, I am a good listener and take no ones side as more important than anothers. As Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, I encouraged all members of the committee to speak their minds and I acted in such a way to make applicants less nervous about the process. This made our application process much more productive and resulted in the fewest number of applicants suing us over out decisions. This saved the Town considerable legal expense and taxpayer dollars. I am ready to be a Town Board member on day one. I will not need months of service to figure out how things work and how Town Departments Operate.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Treat others as you would like to be treated. Trust your gut!

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

It pains me to have to even discuss this....but in today's world where people seem to judge people by the political party they belong too...I would want everyone to know that I am liberal to moderate on most issues. I would describe myself as a conservative Democrat or a liberal Republican (think Lincoln, Pataki, Rockerfeller). Truth be told, I was a Democrat most of my life and only switched my registration to Republican after I moved to Bedford and didn't get along with some on the Democratic Town Committee. That said, I will serve hearing everyone's ideas and concerns voiced and at that point make a decision. I know I can't please everyone all the time and if anyone thinks they can I wouldn't vote for them. Agreeing to disagree doesn't have to be a deal breaker. I look forward to working on behalf of all Bedford residents as I already have done so for 29 years. Not going to change now!!!

Find information about absentee and early voting here: Election 2021: New Systems For Early Voting In Westchester.
To find all your candidates, as well as statewide, county and local propositions, follow the links offered by the Board of Elections:

• View the 2021 General Election Candidates List.
• View the 2021 General Election State Propositions.
• View the 2021 General Election County and Local Propositions.