Three vying for two GOP spots on Woodbury town board ballot

Highland Mills - Registered Republicans in the Town of Woodbury will decide Tuesday, Sept. 13, which of three candidates will run on the two GOP lines for town board seats in the November general election. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. There will be several polling locations where residents can go to vote, depending on where you live. If you don't know where to vote and would like to find out, you can call Woodbury Town Hall at 928-2439. The candidates are: Geraldine Gianzero, Mike Queenan and Henry Sullivan. Geraldine Gianzero Geraldine Gianzero has lived in Woodbury all her life. She is 39, married, and has two sons, aged 15 and 11, both attending Monroe-Woodbury schools. She has served as deputy supervisor and Town Board member for the last four years, making her the only Republican candidate up for re-election. She said she spends between 20 and 30 hours a week working for the town in a variety of capacities: as the union negotiator for town employees, chair of the Building and Highway Department, chair of PBA Negotiating Committee, vice chair of The Woodbury Republican Committee and as a member of the Town Board. She also works closely with the Monroe-Woodbury School District and the water, sewer and parks departments. During her time in office, she has worked to expand television coverage of town meetings, supported acquisition of open space, and worked to get more money from the Federal Emergency Funds. In her opinion, the most important issue facing Woodbury for the coming year is the need for open space. She said that now is a crucial time for Woodbury because the town is losing open space through development. Open space could be protected if developers were permitted to donate property under zoning laws. Mike Queenan Mike Queenan has lived in Woodbury for nine years. He is 49 and sells real estate with Weickert in Orange County. He has served as the chairman of the Planning Board for the last four years. He became active with local politics when he joined the Woodbury Republican Committee, which he says he joined because "You need good people looking out for the best interest of the whole town, not the interest of yourself." He said that although he doesn't look at himself as a politician, his professional experience has given him problem-solving skills, along with experience dealing with budget issues and carrying out managerial duties. In Queenan's opinion, the most important issue facing Woodbury for the coming year is growth and development, claiming that the solution is not to close the door on developers, but to mitigate the problems that growth creates. Equally important to Queenan is the issue of town finances. He believes there needs to be more financial planning for the future, looking five or 10 years down the road and not just at this year. Henry Sullivan Henry Sullivan has lived in Woodbury for 34 years. He moved to Woodbury from Staten Island when he was 34. Sullivan is a retired New York City police officer who became interested in local politics when he retired in 1997. Since then, he has been a regular at town meetings, but hasn't held an official position in office. In his opinion, the most important issue for Woodbury this coming year is the proposed change to current zoning laws. He said he is the only Republican candidate who is opposed to the zoning law changes and says that the changes will result in more pollution, more traffic and the need for more classrooms - which will mean higher taxes. He supports a referendum for the zoning law changes and has presented a petition to the town board asking for an open dialogue meeting between the public, the town board, and the developers.