Glen Cove City Council Candidates: Meet John Perrone

GLEN COVE, NY — Glen Cove voters will head to the polls Nov. 5 to cast their ballots for mayor and city council. Patch reached out to all the candidates via email and/or Facebook to hear where they stand on important issues affecting the community.

Here are the responses for those who participated. The answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

John Perrone

• Age (as of Sept. 1): 62
• Town of residence: Glen Cove
• Position sought: Glen Cove City Council
• Party affiliation: Unaffiliated, running on the Democratic line
• Family: Married, one son married, two grandchildren all residing in Glen Cove
• Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No.
• Education: Attended SUNY Farmingdale
• Occupation: Licensed insurance agent State Farm insurance almost 37 years
• Previous or current elected or appointed office: Appointed Glen Cove planning board; appointed Glen Cove zoning board
• Campaign Website: GlencoveDemocrats.org

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

With all the development our city has going on. We as a community have concerns about the overall effect on traffic, services and stress on our infrastructure. I would look to impose a temporary moratorium on any more high density or multi-residential projects. In addition, I would want to review our codes on how they pertain to multi-family conversions.

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

I would like to think that my years in the insurance profession has given me insight in several areas that will prove helpful on the council. 1) Seeing the solution through the problem. 2) Finding ways to prevent the problem from occurring again. 3) Lastly, finding compromise that everyone can agree to.

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

The council should be making their decisions as individuals despite which side of the line they are on. Clearly this is not been the case, we as the people have witnessed this divide whether on voting on issues, appointments or basic resolutions. Seems most are along party lines.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I would look to streamline the application process for new businesses to bring life to our downtown; look for ways to help our seniors and veterans afford living in their homes; explore ways to assist our lower income families with true affordable housing; look for effective enforcement methods to crack down on landlords that prioritize profit over safety.

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

In my combined 27 years involved on our zoning and planning boards, I have heard and voted on many projects. Whether I voted for or against, I have always been able to stand behind my decision and sleep at night. As your councilman all my votes would have that same integrity

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

I follow something my father said: "If you see something broken, go fix it. If you don't, then don’t complain it’s broken.

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

I'm only running because I care about our city, and promise to do my absolute best for everyone.