Mayor Valentine announced on Monday that he doesn't plan to run for a third term.
By Nancy Peckenham
Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine first stepped into the political arena twenty years ago and on Monday he announced that the time has come for him to leave the world of politics. With a half dozen friends and family members in his office, Mayor Valentine said that he has decided not to run for a third term, a move he hopes will expand the field of candidates in the November election.
Two people already have announced their intention to run for mayor of Newburgh: City council woman Christine Bello, who has the endorsement of the local Republican committee and businesswoman Judy Kennedy, who is seeking Democratic backing. Mayor Valentine, a Republican, said he thought there are a couple of people who are waiting for him to announce whether he is in the race — and he also said that he did not plan to endorse anyone.
Without being specific, Valentine, 60, said he has some projects that he wants to work on that he can’t tackle as mayor. “I have to do what is right for me and what makes sense for the city,” he said, acknowledging that it was a tough decision not to run.
The Mayor spoke of how he will miss the many relationships he has developed while in office.
He became visibly choked up when he spoke of the relationships he has forged with people, describing how he has become the “closest of friends” with Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey, despite their opposing political parties.
Valentine also pointed to two projects that he hopes will be wrapped up before he leaves office at the end of the year. First, he’d like to see a developer make a good proposal for the mid-Broadway project on city-owned land and he’d like to see the adoption of a good set of recommendations from the city charter review committee that can be voted on by residents in November.
He said a disappointment of his seven-and-a-half years in office was the waterfront development, where he noted, “we still don’t have a building built.”
He also acknowledged the hard work of city employees who, he said, are dedicated to the city where he grew up. “There are very many rewards and very many tough moments,” Valentine said of the job of being mayor. “Homicides, murders and tragedies are hard… they all build up over time.” Nonetheless, he added, “you do it because you love where you are.”
City council woman Regina Angelo, the only other elected offcial in the mayor’s chamber for the press conference, said she had no idea that the announcement was coming. “I’m a little shocked,” she said. “I thought he’d say ‘yes’ and try again.”
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