Mayor Gearity Is the Thoughtful Leader We Need Right Now

I met Victoria Gearity when she joined the Village of Ossining’s Environmental Advisory Council in 2011. I was the committee chairperson. What I appreciated right away about Victoria was that she seemed to come to our work with no personal agenda other than to serve the village and residents of Ossining.

Many people join such committees because they have a specific pet concern, often good-natured: for instance, preservation of waterways, or reduction in traffic and thereby fossil fuel emissions in our community. But Victoria doesn’t choose sides. Her strength was in the way she analyzed and examined issues to make sure she fully understood all sides of them, so we could make the best possible recommendations to the village board.

It is rare to find someone so lacking in bias, but that is exactly who Victoria Gearity is. It was evident from the beginning that her analytical instincts and habits, rather than her ego, were the prominent forces driving her work on our council. It was both appealing and refreshing, and it was much needed on a committee such as ours.

I stepped down at the end of 2012 and left the EAC, but Victoria continued for several years until she ran for village board in 2014. As she rose in the ranks of municipal government, I knew, having seen it first-hand, that she would she would always approach issues with an open mind and a desire to fully understand them and find the best possible solutions. I have seen her work to clarify issues before moving to suggest policy or legislation again and again.

Perhaps the best evidence of Victoria Gearity’s concern for her constituents has been her weekly open office hours, which she began as soon as she took office. Any one of us can sit down with our Mayor and share our concerns about our community and be truly heard.

I was excited to cast my vote for Victoria Gearity for Mayor of Ossining when she first ran, and I am no less excited to do it again this fall.

Dorian Burden

Resident & Teacher, Village of Ossining