A petition being circulated calling for the firing of Westchester Village Manager Carl Goldsmith does not have the support of trustees Neil Boyle and Patrick Casey or, as far as they know, anyone else on the village board.
While neither Boyle or Casey have seen the petition, both have talked to residents that have. Some of those residents were told the petition has the support of the village board. That prompted both Boyle and Casey to e-mail residents with a swift denial.
“I sent out a message because I wanted people to understand I didn’t support it,” Boyle said. “People have been using my name and my position claiming I support it but I do not.”
Both trustees said the real agenda for the petition is to eliminate the village manager form of government in favor of a Chicago-style government, where the mayor serves in a full-time, paid position and virtually controls the hiring and firing of all department heads and supervisory personnel.
“It certainly does not have the board’s backing to my knowledge, “Casey said. “I’m not aware of anyone on the board who would support such a move. The things people are being told when asked to sign the petition are just a misrepresentation of the facts.”
Casey said a resident told him that she was approached by a woman to sign the petition because Goldsmith had asked for increases in his automobile allowance and salary.
“That has never happened,” Casey said. “Goldsmith has done a brilliant job. The man has laid the groundwork for a 10 year plan. We have never had that before. He tells it the way it is, and he’s very driven to do a good job.”
Former Trustee Angelo Luciano said while he has heard about the petition, he was in no way involved with the movement.
“I told a lot of people that I don’t want my name attached to it,” said Luciano, who served on the village board for 32 years. Luciano added he was one of the key supporters of a village manager-based government when the village made the transition years ago.
“There’s no way I can sign a petition to do away with that,” he said.
Casey said one of the greatest dangers to the full-time mayor’s position is that it significantly cuts down the eligibility of people who can afford to leave behind a career for a job they might be voted out of in four years.
“I hope for the village’s sake this doesn’t go into fruition,” Casey said. “If it does it would be a dark day for the village.”
Goldsmith could not be reached for comment.
