Board Split Adds to the Uncertainty

by Cindy Goldstein and Kathy Savolt

An unattributed flyer posted on social media just before Election Day has widened a rift that had been brewing on the Board of Trustees. See flyer HERE.

BOT Schisms

For regular Board of Trustees (BOT) watchers, it was impossible to ignore the factions forming on the Village Board.  Most BOT votes are unanimous, but on certain thorny topics, a 3:2 split emerged.  Mayor Sharon Torres and Trustees Nora Lucas and Dan Kushnick voted together, while Trustees Maria DeRose and Ellen Silver voted against certain items.

Issues that generated a split board vote included the Shore Acres area mosquito issue (see HERE) and the LMC Media contract (see HERE). Silver voted yes on the LMC Media contract but has since complained about the terms and made it clear she wanted the Village to pay more to LMC Media.

DeRose, Kushnick and Silver were first elected two years ago and are completing their first terms.  All three were just re-elected on November 3^rd.  In both elections, they ran unopposed.  Torres was first elected in 2023 and Lucas in 2017.  All BOT terms are two years.

A Head-Scratching Move

With all three trustees running unopposed, it’s unprecedented for two trustees endorsed by the same party to run unopposed and sanction a flyer that includes only two of them, but the message seems loud and clear and created a wedge in the BOT.

Flyer Promises

In the flyer, an unidentified group of voters pledged to vote for DeRose and Silver because they “listened and spoke up for us” and urged others to do the same and share the message with their friends.  It also includes a photo of each trustee/candidate, which is the same photo submitted to The Mamaroneck Observer for the pre-election article (see HERE).

DeRose Denied Knowledge of the Flyer

At the end of the October 26, 2026 meeting, Donyella Bierman, a resident who frequently attends BOT meetings, spoke to the BOT during the open public comment section and brought up the flyer she had seen.  Bierman questioned the exclusion of Kushnick and took exception to the claims about “fiscal stewardship” and “reasonable spending,” specifically because that is the Village Manager's job. 

When asked after the meeting by The Mamaroneck Observer, DeRose denied knowing anything about the flyer until that very day and stated the candidates were not running a campaign.  Neither DeRose nor Silver has disavowed the piece, and it’s not clear who created it.

What Happens Next

It’s anyone’s guess.  With the recently announced retirement of Village Manager Kathleen Gill and a BOT that is not working together, it appears the Village is in for a bumpy ride.  See Manager article HERE.

Also, regardless of who runs in next year’s Mayoral and Trustee races (Torres and Lucas seats), these five individuals must work together for at least another year.  Isolating one member by excluding them from a flyer certainly seems counterproductive, but time will tell.

Editor’s Note: One of the authors, Cindy Goldstein, is a district leader and Treasurer for the Village Democratic Committee.  The other author, Kathy Savolt, is a former Village Mayor.