I write to encourage my fellow Southampton Village residents to cast their votes for Trustee Gina Arresta and Bill Manger Jr. in the trustee election this Friday.
Trustee Arresta would bring two years of prior experience to the trustee role, having also served as the deputy mayor and the trustee liaison to the Department of Public Works. Over the course of her time in office, she has delivered on all of the promises she made during her 2020 trustee campaign. From promoting financial efficiency to improving the downtown, Trustee Arresta has proven herself to be a versatile and effective leader.
Among her accomplishments are repaving the parking lot behind Citarella, lowering property taxes, creating the downtown crew to lead daily street-cleaning efforts, and installing electric vehicle charging stations in the village.
Within the short span of two years, Trustee Arresta has already made significant improvements to village life. With another two years, I imagine that Trustee Arresta would further build upon her record of progress. For the sake of the village, I hope to see Trustee Arresta in office for another term.
Bill Manger Jr. shares Trustee Arresta’s ability to get things done for our community. Bill served two trustee terms 25 years ago and currently serves as chair of the Steering Committee, which formulates recommendations for updating the Comprehensive Master Plan. Bill has developed great expertise in this area, as he also worked to revise the plan while in office. If elected, Bill would ensure that the board actually heeds his committee’s recommendations, which would allow our downtown to accommodate more storefronts, restaurants and residential apartments. This would be especially helpful for revitalizing the abandoned buildings on the north side of Nugent Street.
Such growth of our downtown would be transformative, and Bill is the candidate to see it through. Additionally, Bill lowered property taxes while serving as trustee. So too did Trustee Arresta lower property taxes in fiscal year 2021-22, as they had steadily increased since Bill left office.
Both Gina and Bill are committed to making tangible progress for Southampton Village. A vote for Gina and Bill is a vote for a better village. They certainly have mine.
Maribeth Welsh
Southampton Village
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