Janis Castaldi Running For Mayor Of Ossining

OSSINING—In front of her two businesses on Main Street, Janis Castaldi launched her campaign for mayor at a press conference on Monday morning. Castaldi, who owns both LizzFitness and Quack LLC in the Village of Ossining, is no newcomer to public service. She has previously served as both Deputy Mayor and Village Trustee of Ossining.

In her announcement speech, Castaldi touted her experience as a successful local entrepreneur and public servant committed to transparency and responsiveness among her qualifications for the mayor’s office. Her first priorities in office, Castaldi explained, would be rejuvenating business on Main Street and the Waterfront. The promises were underscored by her company’s announcement last week of an initiative to personally hire ten new employees from the Village of Ossining.

“I am excited to be a part of the change that our village so desperately needs,” declared Castaldi. “As the owner and operator of two businesses on Main Street here in the village, I know first-hand what it takes to create jobs and opportunity right here in our community.”

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Castaldi’s announcement speech came when she promised to eschew a partisan race and instead run on the non-ideological Common Sense Party line.

“The issues that face our community cross party lines—they’re not ideological, they’re mathematical—and petty partisan politics as usual has no place in our village government,” Castaldi explained. “That’s why I’m proud to announce that I will be running my campaign on a new ballot line: the Common Sense party. I will be happy to accept additional endorsements, but the Common Sense party will represent my campaign and our commitment to solving our community’s common goals.”

Prominent community leaders present at the campaign launch were Marlene Cheatham, who has served as Deputy Mayor, Village Trustee, and Secretary of the Ossining Democratic Party; Tim Hays, who currently serves as Republican Party Chairman in Greenburgh; and Chamber of Commerce directors Neil Woolf and Johnny Gerolamo.

The local entrepreneur ended her announcement with the positivity and hope that her supporters have come to expect.“I know that Ossining’s best days lie ahead, but the kind of positive leadership that our village needs requires a change of direction,” she observed. “It requires a leader with experience in both the public and private sectors of our village, with vision to grasp what is needed to make our community prosper, and with the follow through to get the job done. I promise you that, with the trust and support of the residents of Ossining, I will not let you down.”

The full text of her speech is included below.

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Thank you. Good morning, thank you very much. I’m here with you this morning to announce that I am running to become the next mayor of Ossining.

I am excited to be a part of the change that our village so desperately needs. As the owner and operator of two businesses on Main Street here in the village, I know first-hand what it takes to create jobs and opportunity right here in our community. For too long, our village government has followed a misguided “build it and they will come” philosophy when it comes to residential development, and our elected officials have neglected to create that conditions that will allow businesses to grow and thrive and generate the necessary tax revenue to keep taxes low.

I want to see a village that doesn’t follow this either/or philosophy. I want to see a village that supports a thriving downtown and waterfront. Instead of Ossining residents going over to Tarrytown and Croton to shop and dine, I want to attract residents from neighboring towns to the Village of Ossining. In the coming weeks, I will be campaigning on a plan to do just that.

My experience as Deputy Mayor and, before that, Village Trustee of Ossining has given me a deep appreciation of how important transparency in village government. That’s why I have continuously supported filming and broadcasting village board meetings, so that residents can voice their opinions before decisions are made.

Because the best government happens when everybody has a seat at the table. That’s why my first act as mayor will be to establish a community council that will serve as an advisory body and liaison between the village government and local civic organizations and businesses, including the Chamber of Commerce.

The issues that face our community cross party lines—they’re not ideological, they’re mathematical—and petty partisan politics as usual has no place in our village government. That’s why I’m proud to announce that I will be running my campaign on a new ballot line: the Common Sense party. I will be happy to accept additional endorsements, but the Common Sense party will represent my campaign and our commitment to solving our community’s common goals.

I know that Ossining’s best days lie ahead, but the kind of positive leadership that our village needs requires a change of direction. It requires a leader with experience in both the public and private sectors of our village, with vision to grasp what is needed to make our community prosper, and with the follow through to get the job done. I promise you that, with the trust and support of the residents of Ossining, I will not let you down.

Thank you so much.