March 19, 2024 - Village of Warwick Board Elections

The Sustainable Warwick (SW) Green Screen Committee recently met with Barry Cheney and Mary Collura, the two candidates, both incumbents, running this year for seats on the Village of Warwick (VoW) Board. Since they are running unopposed, the focus of the interview was not comparing the views of opposing candidates, but rather how these candidates felt about sustainability and what the Board had accomplished.

What the VoW has achieved is very impressive.

Topping the list is the Bronze level status it has been awarded as a Climate Smart Community (CSC), the only Village or Town in Orange County to do so. Importantly, the VoW continues to earn points as it pursues Silver status, and has already amassed enough points to qualify for $50,000 grants.

There is more:

— The Village has been designated Monarch Butterfly Village in recognition for the work they have done in creating pollinator pathways throughout the Village.

— The work that has been done on VoW parks, on Stanley Deming several years ago and most recently on Veterans Memorial Park are testimonials to the focus on stewardship of the environment and creating beautiful, multi-use recreational assets for Vow residents.

— The VoW has improved its infrastructure and systems, saving money with more efficient interior and street lighting and water pumps, the practice of considering electric vehicles replacement wherever practicable, creating more “walkability” by extending the Village sidewalk network, and assessing the costs and benefits of Community Choice Aggregation for the Vow’s electric power.

One other achievement deserves special mention.

The Village Board and the Village DPW have partnered with SW and the Warwick Farmers Market to create a Composting Program, whereby large amounts of food scraps are collected, kept out of the landfill, and turned into compost that can be used by the VoW to make the Village even “greener.” The program has grown steadily since its inception in 2022 and is now a major factor in the plan for a County composting facility that may come on line as early as this year.

It is the policy of SW not to endorse candidates, but in view of the unopposed nature of this election, we are comfortable sharing this positive assessment of the sustainability records of Mary Collura and Barry Cheney. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19th at the Goodwill Hook and Ladder Co., 25 Church St Extension in the Village.

While these candidates are running unopposed, we urge you to find the time to vote because a) a weak turnout can be misinterpreted as weak voter support and b) in uncontested elections, there is always the possibility of anti-sustainability write-in candidates looking to gain control when many voters think “Oh, my vote won’t count this time around."