Has the Voice of Croton campaign put Croton Democrats on the defensive?

There are growing "signs" of a split amongst the village's registered Democrats.

Speaking from her car in front of Lot A, Croton Democrats candidate for village trustee Maria Slippen says building 100 condo units on the property is “too many,” but 60 units is “just right.” (Please click on the link to view the Facebook video.)

For a number of months now, the Chronicle has been talking to registered Democrats in Croton who are loyal to the party and its national candidates—they would not dream of voting for Donald Trump or Mike Lawler—but have nevertheless been privately dismayed at the pace of housing development in the village advocated by Mayor Brian Pugh, deputy mayor Len Simon, and some other members of the Board of Trustees.

Until very recently, the solid Democratic Party block on the Board has pushed ahead aggressively to approve large projects in the village, especially the 100 proposed condo units at Parking Lot A, and 280 apartment units at 1 Half Moon Bay Drive (the former “Finkelstein property.”)

But recently there have been signs that this solid front has been weakening. First came the defection of trustee Nora Nicholson, who in July voted against moving ahead with the 1 Half Moon Bay Drive rezoning application and asked for a one-year moratorium on that project.

Then the Croton Planning Board balked at the 100 units proposed for Lot A, recommending that the number be scaled down to somewhere between 60 and 80. And on September 12, Mayor Brian Pugh announced that the Board had decided to send the owners of 1 Half Moon Bay Drive back to the drawing board, telling Crotonites that the project, as proposed, “is not appropriate for our village…”

The meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Planning Board were packed with angry villagers (numbering 80 or more) who had come to voice in no uncertain terms their opposition to the alleged “urbanization” of the village. Many of the people who came to protest at those meetings were Democrats, despite the attempts of some pro-housing advocates (including possibly a couple of Board members) to brand them as NIMBYs or even racists.

In the middle of all this controversy over housing policy, two write-in candidates, Gary Eisinger and Nigel Ravelo—running under the banner of Voice of Croton—announced that they were challenging incumbent Len Simon and former trustee Maria Slippen for two available seats on the Board in the November 5 election. The move seemed to catch Croton’s establishment Democrats by surprise, although it really should not have—the angry mood had been building for a long time.

Whatever the case, it is notable that the decision to “pause” the 1 Half Moon Bay Drive rezoning application was made by the Board just about a week after Eisinger and Ravelo declared themselves.

Eisinger and Ravelo have downplayed their party affiliations, but we know for sure that they are not Republicans. And by running under the banner of Voice of Croton—an entirely new grassroots organization—they have made clear that they intend their campaign to be independent of party politics.

There are “signs” that many Croton Democrats are likely to vote for them, even if they will need to drop down from voting “Row A All the Way” and write in their names in the space provided on the ballot.

Lawn signs on Thompson Avenue (top) and Truesdale Drive (bottom) suggest that some Democrats are supporting the national ticket but not the local one.

For the first week or two after Eisinger and Ravelo declared their candidacies, the stance of Croton Dems seemed to be to try to ignore them. The Dems have shown little appetite so far for engaging in a debate or direct confrontation or engagement with the Voice of Croton candidates, although to be fair Eisinger and Ravelo did not jump at a clear opportunity to challenge Simon and Slippen to a debate that could be moderated by the League of Women Voters (even if not directly sponsored by them.)

It is probably now too late for that. In the meantime, however, the Voice of Croton campaign has become increasingly visible, with some timely help from a local businessman who has allowed the group to post large campaign signs on South Riverside (clearly visible to ShopRite customers and commuters on their way to the train station) and on Grand Street across from the Dummy Light, smack in the middle of Croton’s “downtown.” (See photos below.)

As if to acknowledge the growing challenge and public opposition to supposed “overdevelopment,” just a few days ago Maria Slippen came out publicly in favor of limiting the Lot A development to 60 units, the lower end of the recommendation by the Planning Board—although she emphasized that she is still strongly in favor of the development and thinks it will bring many benefits to the village. (See photo and link to Facebook video above.)

We have asked Len Simon if he is taking the same position and will report on his response when we have it.

But as we have written before, there may be a limit to how low the proposed developer of Lot A and the adjacent lots, WBP Development LLC, will go before they abandon the project. WBP has been known to walk away from a big project if it did not get the deal it wanted, and Monday Properties—the major partner in the 1 Half Moon Bay Drive project—has suffered chronic financial difficulties over the past year or two.

History, including Croton history, shows that write-in campaigns are a steep uphill battle. Even some of the most well supported efforts have fallen short of victory in our village. But what some might consider a weakness in the bid by Eisinger and Ravelo—that they are running a one-issue campaign—could turn into their main strength, given that the issue in question is of such great concern to so many Crotonites.

While Voice of Croton may be able to tally a significant number of Republican/conservative and independent write-in votes, there is obviously only one road to actual victory: Splitting off enough Democrats to win at least one if not both of the trustee seats in contention.

Both the Croton Democrats and Voice of Croton will be holding campaign events over the next couple of days. The Chronicle will be there to cover them.

Stay tuned.

Update: After we went to press we heard back from Len Simon that he will clarify his position on the number of Lot A units he favors at the Croton Dems event Friday evening at the Black Cow.

Sign in South Riverside parking lot (across from Croton-on-Hudson Veterinary.)

And on Grand Street across from the Dummy Light.

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