Kevin Davis, 22, Announces Run for Croton Trustee

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Croton resident Kevin Davis announced Tuesday afternoon his intentions to run for Croton Village Trustee.

Davis said he intends to seek the Democratic nomination. If elected, Davis would be the youngest village trustee ever elected to office in the village.

The 22-year-old politically active Hunter College student says he has been attending village board meetings since high school, and his public service-oriented family taught him the value of involvement.

“I decided to run because, as you know, I am very interested in improving Croton-on-Hudson. I am a third generation Crotonite, my family’s been here 57 years, they've always taught me to value public service,” he said.

He said his grandmother was a fifth-grade teacher at Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School, his grandfather served on the village recreation board, his father chairs the zoning board and served on multiple task forces with former village Mayor Bob Elliot, and his mother served two terms on the school board in the late 1990s.

“I feel like people are not engaged in government despite the fact that it directly impacts their lives. So I’m going to be going door to door asking people what they want me to do when I get in office so when I’m sitting in office, representing them, I will know exactly where they stand,” he said.

Davis said his top three priorities, in no particular order, were improving quality of life, increasing the non-residential tax base through the Harmon rezoning law and finding more ways to share services to save the village money.

"I want to have the same opportunity my dad had, to raise a family in Croton, so my priority is to keep Croton as great as it is, and keep it affordable as well," he said.

Davis is the progenitor of the voter referendum that moved village elections from March to November, saving Croton an estimated $5,000 per year through conducting elections with the county, and he said, increasing voter turnout.

Davis is the first candidate to announce his run for trustee. Trustees Ann Gallelli's and Greg Schmidt's terms will end in November. State and local primaries will be in June.

“There are a number of candidates, potential candidates, that have called me interested in running,” said John McBride, chair of the Croton Democratic Committee. “I have more potential candidates than I have slots, that’s for sure. There are two openings, and I have more than two interested candidates,” he said.

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