By Nancy Peckenham
Republicans and Democrats are each fielding two candidates to fill two open seats on the Newburgh City Council. A fifth candidate, Michael Gabor, is asking people to elect him as a write-in candidate.
The Republican candidates are both long-time city of Newburgh residents who have been in politics for decades.
John (Jack) Penney
John (Jack) Penney
John (Jack) Penney, won’t give his age but he was a lieutenant in the city of Newburgh Fire Department in the 1960s when he served as president of the firefighters union. After retiring from that department, he went into his father’s appliance business, then into an auto business. He also serves as a member and secretary of the Industrial Development Agency.
Penney is the chair of the Newburgh Republican committee and he says he has been in politics for 30 years. He ran unsuccessfully for a council seat four years ago. One of his concerns is the green hillside overlooking the river that was taken off the tax rolls under urban redevelopment. He’d also like to re-organize the police and fire departments to run more efficiently. Penney is also a candidate of the Conservative and Independence parties.
John Giudice
John Giudice
Fellow Republican council candidate John Giudice, 65, is a member of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District school board and he is no stranger to City Hall. He was a city councilman in the mid-1990s then ran an unsuccessful run for mayor of the city. Giudice is also a familiar face to many residents who know him as an employee of the city water department, where he worked for years before retiring earlier this year.
Born and raised in the city, Giudice supports the hiring of more local residents in city projects and sees fighting drug-related crimes as central to the city’s future. He would also work with local property owners to help them improve the housing stock. Giudice is also a candidate of the Conservative and Independence parties.
On the Democratic side, candidates Cedric Brown and Gay Lee won the party’s primary in September and ensured them a spot on Tuesday’s ballot. They both have the backing of the Working Families Party as well.
Cedric Brown.
Cedric Brown
Cedric Brown has been a business owner in the city of Newburgh, running a restaurant/bar on Broadway before turning to the trucking business. He has said that his experience in business has led him to see how hard it is for people who want to invest here and he believes that the city should do more to help set up new businesses.
Brown says that the city should focus on children, helping them to stay in school. He also has spoken in favor of working with non-profit organizations to revitalize the city’s housing stock in way that takes pressure off the taxpayer.
Gay Lee.
Gay Lee
Gay Lee has worked as a housing advocate in New York City before moving to Newburgh several years ago. She is a commissioner of the city’s Housing Authority and believes in providing safe, affordable public housing to those in need.
As she campaigns for a city council seat, Lee, 55, has identified five areas that she would focus on that she calls R.E.A.C.H.: Revenue generation, Economic development, Accountable leadership, Community action and Housing. Lee has a vision of a thriving downtown Broadway, a place with a grocery store for residents or a movie theater and a public transportation system to help people get to stores and jobs. She also questions city policies that lead to locking up children and adults instead of promoting education and job training.
Michael Gabor.
Michael Gabor
Michael Gabor is the proprietor of Newburgh Art Supply. For years he has spoken up at City Council meetings where he often speaks about development issues and freedom of information. Visit his website here.
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