Swiderski Elected Hastings Mayor; Walker, Jennings New Trustees
March 18 - After serving three terms as a Village trustee, Peter Swiderski was elected to a two-year term as mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson tonight. He succeeds William Lee Kinnally, who is retiring after 16 years as mayor. Except for one two-year respite, Kinnally has served on the Board of Trustees since 1978.
Bruce Jennings, who served as a trustee from 2000 to 2006 was returned to office. Meg Walker, a first-time candidate who served as village planner from 1998 to 2003, was also elected.
All three candidates ran unopposed after winning the Democratic causus by a wide margin in January (see story below). They ran on both the Democratic and the independent Hastings Forward lines.
The unofficial results, which include write-in votes, were:
For Mayor:
Peter Swiderski: 482
For Trustee:
Margaret (Meg) Walker: 472
Bruce Jennings: 472
Swiderski garnered 369 votes on the Democratic line and 113 on Hastings Forward. For Walker, the breakout was 358 (D) and 114 (HF); for Jennings, 352 (D) and 120 (HF).
There were a handful of votes for several other candidates for both the mayoral and trustee positions. The results will be reviewed and finalized tomorrow. The Village Board certified the results shortly before 10 p.m.
"I'm delighted and humbled to enjoy the results of the electoral process as I consider the formidable task ahead of me in filling the shoes of Lee Kinnally, a man who so capably served this village for nearly three decades," said Swiderski.
'With an exemplary board beside me, and a village with such talent and intelligence behind me, I look forward to achieving great things during the next two years."
Lee Kinnally congratulates Peter Swiderski after the vote was announced.
"I would like to thank the many Hastings citizens who have given me their support and encouragement throughout the campaign, and the great team that worked so hard for Peter, Bruce and me," Walker said. "I am humbled and honored by your trust. I will work diligently to earn it.
"Hastings' citizens will have a ready and open-minded listener in me. Please don't hesitate to contact me to let me know your ideas and concerns. I look forward to working with you to preserve what we love about this Village while enhancing its livability and sustainability."
The new Board of Trustees (l. to r.) Diggitt McLaughlin, Bruce Jennings, Peter Swiderski, Meg Walker, Jerry Quinlin. Swiderski, Jennings and Walker take office on April 7.
"I am very excited and gratified to be elected today to serve on the board of trustees of this extraordinary village," Jennings wrote in a prepared statement. "I have served as trustee before, but I approach my term of office in the spirit of starting anew."
Addressing his fellow citizens, Jennings said: "I look forward to listening, debating, and looking for common ground. Governing a village—the work of a trustee—is to build shared purpose, to achieve together what no one of us could achieve alone. That is what I shall strive to do over the next two years."
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We thank all Hastings citizens who came out to vote for their candidates. This election gave all of us an opportunity to discuss issues of interest and importance to our Village, and we are all the better for it.
Marge, Jim, and MaryJane have worked hard to make Hastings a better place, and we appreciate their efforts on behalf of our community.
As fellow Democrats and Hastings residents, we look forward to coming together to work on the challenges and opportunities we face.
After the results came in at the Harmon Center.
The general election will be held on Wednesday, March 18.
We hope that you will select Peter Swiderski to be your next mayor, and Meg Walker and Bruce Jennings to be your new trustees.
We've already talked to many of you about your needs and concerns, and we will continue to do so throughout this general election campaign. We believe that our vision for the future of our village gibes with those of the vast majority of residents.
We are dedicated to making sensible, cost-effective decisions for our community. As your representatives, we will be pragmatic consensus-builders as well as passionate advocates for making Hastings a model of livability.
Most importantly, we want to keep the dialogue going. We hope to hear your ideas about the issues that matter most to you.
We look forward to a future in which we can say, as friends and neighbors, “We came together in challenging times and did the right thing for our Village.”
