Who They Are: Profiles of Our Elected
Officials
This week: Nancy Seligson, Town of Mamaroneck
Councilwoman
Other Profiles
by Paula Eisenberg
Nancy Seligson, Town
of Mamaroneck Councilwoman
(December 2, 2002) As a girl growing up on Long Island's
North Shore, Nancy Seligson never imagined she'd one
day be part of town government directly across the Sound,
in Mamaroneck. But that's what happened, through a series
of serendipitous events she outlined for the Gazette.
"I always loved to sail on Long Island Sound,"
Seligson said."I did collegiate racing at Northwestern,
and when I moved to New York City, I raced out of
Larchmont Yacht Club and City Island." An economics
major, she joined Chemical Bank's management training
program after college, then worked as an associate producer
for several television news/talk shows.
Another career shift took her into the environmental
protection movement, first with Save The Sound, in 1992.
Save the Sound is a non-profit, bi-state advocacy group
working to restore and protect Long Island Sound. This
work took her into the realms of government and policy,
with a focus on Long Island Sound issues. She became
chairperson of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Coastal Zone
Management Commission in 1995.
After living in Mamaroneck's Orienta neighborhood for
several years, she moved to Larchmont in 1993, gave
birth to a son in 1994, and became chair of Westchester
County's Environmental Management Council in 1998. The
Town of Mamaroneck Democratic Party came calling in
1999, asking her to accept appointment to the Town Board
to serve out the remainder of Valerie O'Keeffe's term
after O'Keeffe was elected Supervisor. "I'd always
thought of political office as a good fit for me,"
Seligson said, "And being appointed was a nice
way to do it!" She went on to win re-election twice,
running unopposed both times.
Although her focus is on environmental concerns, especially
those relating to Long Island Sound, Seligson spends
a lot of time on budget and land-use issues as well.
"We're lucky to have such a smart, hard-working
group of people on this Board," she said. "We
get along really well, which is a good thing since we
spend so much time together!"
Seligson's smile faded as she talked about one of the
most serious problems facing local officials these days:
the budget. "Our costs are skyrocketing,"
she said, "The economic environment of the State
of New York since the September 11 attacks isn't helping
the Town. There's been a 60% increase from last year
in the cost of our liability insurance, health and retirement
costs. And we now have to contribute to the employee
pension fund, which used to be doing well on its own
when the stock market was doing well."
Will Town taxes have to go up? Yes, Seligson says,
"About 6-7%, which isn't too bad compared to what
other towns are dealing with. Our retirement costs have
gone up over $312,000 in the last year, and our insurance
costs have increased over $350,000."
Asked to state her most important goals for the rest
of her term, Seligson says she wants to start an environmental
audit to establish processes and procedures to keep
tabs on how the local environment is faring. Another
dream is to complete the Greenway Project, which would
link a series of hiking and biking trails all over the
Sound Shore area in one cohesive trail system. New Rochelle,
Mamaroneck, Eastchester and Scarsdale have about 16
miles of trails, and the Greenway Project would provide
funding for consistent signage and standards. Communities
would have to provide matching grants and volunteers.
"We live in such an urbanized, developed area,
it would be great to have a trail system close-by, without
having to go far up-county," she said.
Another long-term goal is finding ways to fund more
affordable housing, especially for the Town's new immigrants.
"We're proud of the Hommocks Park apartments,"
Seligson said, "But we need more units like that."
Does she have plans for higher office? Seligson laughed
and said, "I wouldn't mind being a senator or head
of the EPA!" But for now, she stays busy enough
working full-time for the Town, mothering two children
and serving on myriad boards and committees .
We have contacted all of the elected leaders in the
Village and the Town, and the profiles will appear in
the order in which the interviews were conducted. Check
back frequently for more profiles.
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