Astorino Stumps for Marcotte in Eastchester

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino made a brief appearance Monday at the Sleepy Hollow Senior Apartments to stump for Eastchester Town Councilwoman Sheila Marcotte, who is vying for a vacant seat on the County Board of Legislators.

Tuesday's special election to fill the seat has pitted Marcotte, a Republican with nine years of experience in municipal politics, against New Rochelle attorney Greg Varian, the Democratic candidate.

Astorino called it a "very important election" with implications for an ongoing budget battle as lawmakers try to plug a $166 million gap in county finances.

"The Board is doing what it's done for the last ten years, and I need Sheila's help to get things done and stop the tax craziness," said Astorino, a Republican who has had a choppy relationship with the overwhelmingly Democratic Board since he took office in January.

He lauded Marcotte for the "common sense" she's displayed in her time as a Tuckahoe Village Trustee and her current role as an Eastchester Councilwoman.

Varian, a member of the New Rochelle Library Board, has attacked Marcotte for, in his words, voting to raise taxes by a combined total of 42 percent in her time on the two municipal boards.

But Marcotte said his math is fuzzy.

"If you divide 42 percent by nine years, that's less than five percent a year, which is a pretty good job," the mother of four said.

"So you can't say [Varian] is wrong, but it's a blatant attempt to mislead voters."

She added that municipal budgets are automatically down eight to ten percent each year because of steep increases in contributions to the state pension fund.

Astorino's administration has repeatedly clashed with the Board, which is currently comprised of 12 Democrats and four Republicans. Democrat Vito Pinto stepped down in April to accept a post as the head of the County Veterans Service Agency. The vacant seat covers Eastchester, Tuckahoe and New Rochelle.

Among the most contentious issues have been Astorino's proposals to cut county-funded daycare programs and slash bus service, particularly an express bus to Manhattan. He's also warned of layoffs to close the looming budget gap.

The Board's majority is mulling a lawsuit over the daycare cuts.

During her short campaign, Marcotte has echoed Astorino in advocating for the consolidation of county agencies. She's also said she would consider axing the county Human Rights Commission and Department of Social Services.

At a June 14 debate, Varian said that he supports streamlining over shrinking, and argued that lowering a resident's relatively low county tax bill could actually increase municipal taxes.

Jeanne DeRosa, a resident at the Sleepy Hollow Apartments, said she appreciate the visit by Marcotte and Astorino but was skeptical about officials breaking the county's bad fiscal habits.

"It's good that they're coming around and talking to us," she said, but "the same people who put Westchester and New York in this mess are the ones that say they're going to fix it."

The polls will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.