Aug 20, 2007
The vast majority of you - my American and world-wide readers -
will have never heard of Paul Feiner. Understandable - you don't
live in the town of Greenburgh, a few miles north of New York City,
where my wife and I and family have lived since the summer of
1992.
But if you want know a local champion, a tireless fighter for
everything that's good in suburban/urban life, then you'd benefit
from knowing Paul J. Feiner. He's been Town Superviser of
Greenburgh, New York - a two-year, elected position - since 1991.
He ran twice for Congress - as a Democrat in what was then a highly
Republican district - and lost ... Greenburgh and America's
loss.
I've always voted for Paul Feiner, but got to know him really well
last year. Verizon was offering fiber optic service in Greenburgh
(I'm using it right now in this connection), and needed Town
Council approval to offer television service through the fiber
optics. Unsurprisingly, Cablevision, which had a monopoly on cable
service in this area, opposed Verizon's request.
Feiner, with a mostly balky Town Council baying at his every point,
stood up and courageously argued for freedom of choice in
television providers in Greenburgh. This might not seem like such a
controversial point, but if you've ever been to a local Town
Council meeting you'll know that everyone on the council has an
opinion, and it's usually not in favor of getting things done.
I was in favor of giving Greenburgh residents a real option in
television, I wrote a few editorials arguing for that, but it was
Paul Feiner's determination that got this to happen.
And he has been that way on every important local issue. Do you
like being woken up all too early on weekend mornings by someone
blowing leaves or mowing the lawn at decibel levels that could
split your eardrums? Feiner doesn't like that either, and he's
doing what he can to keep the noise down. He stays on top of
utilities like Con Ed to make repairs today, not tomorrow, after
storms. He's advocating wi-fi for a major street in Hartsdale - he
wants it for the whole town, every inch of it, and the Hartsdale
street would be the start. Paul J. Feiner is on the right side of
every issue - meaning, he's positions are ones which I already have
- be it nature or high-tech, communication to the world-at-large
from your laptop or just dozing on your porch on a quiet Saturday
morning.
So, yes, I'm voting for Paul J. Feiner for another term of Town
Supervisor. I saw him in front of the A&P last week. And I told
him, hey, I not only hope you win, but give that run for Congress
another shot some day.
Read more about Paul J. Feiner on his Wikipedia entry.