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Hoehmann, who has been on the town board since 2009, says “it’s time for a change.”
The 49-year-old candidate is promising tax relief, debt reduction and a top-to-bottom review of Town Hall. He says there is a need for an ethics overhaul.
Gromack, 61, who previously served 14 years in the state Assembly and seven in the County Legislature, is a political powerhouse with substantial campaign coffers and a wide net of support.
However, the supervisor is under criminal investigation for failing to report income on his Rockland County ethics forms. Gromack was paid about $10,000 to refer customers to Richard Brega Jr, a local businessman who runs the county’s bus system.
Gromack has since acknowledged he failed to report his relationship with Brega, who runs a maintenance facility and bus depot in Valley Cottage, and has amended his report.
In another blow to Gromack, Standard & Poors last July downgraded Clarkstown’s bond rating from AAA to AA+, citing several years of budget shortfalls and an overall decline in town reserves.
"I am proud of my accomplishments," said Gromack, adding he should be re-elected based on his achievements, which include revitalization and public works, downsizing government to make it more efficient and cost effective, and a no-tax increase for the 2016 budget.
Hoehmann, executive director of Rockland Independent Living Center, is pledging to increase affordable senior housing and prevent the sale of the town-owned Middlewood Senior Complex.
“I believe we need a change of leadership,” said Hoehmann. “We have 63% of the county’s commercial rateables in Clarkstown, yet can’t balance our budgets and are constantly raising taxes.”
It will be difficult for either candidate to distinguish himself on voting records since all five town board members have voted 5-0 on nearly every bill. In the end the campaign will boil down to whether or not residents want change.
Four candidates are running for two council seats: incumbents Shirley R. Lasker (D) and Frank Borelli (R), and challengers Daniel Caprara (D) and John J. Noto Jr. (R). The race for town justice includes Howard Gerber (D), David Ascher (D), Paul Chiaramonte (R) and Denise L. Weiss (R). Incumbent Superintendent of Highways Wayne T. Ballard faces off with Robert E. Malone (D) and Frank M. DiZenzo (R). Clarkstown Town Clerk Justin L Sweet is unopposed.
A pair of propositions on the Clarkstown ballot would significantly change the size and shape of local government. The first proposition would establish a "ward system" electing members of the Town Board based on different geographic districts; the second would increase the size of the Town Board from four seats to six. The ward system issue has turned up the heat in an already hot race between Democratic Supervisor Alex Gromack, who opposes it, and Republican challenger and councilman George Hoehmann, who has pushed it.
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