Our Commitment

Kate Pringle

I am honored to seek your support for election, together with Mark Cardwell, to the Pelham Manor Board of Trustees. I am running because I want to use my skills and experiences to help Pelham Manor make the most of the challenges and opportunities it faces.

I am an attorney with thirty years of experience in commercial and constitutional litigation. I am a partner in a Manhattan law firm, where I advise major corporations and nonprofits on how to reduce legal risks, strengthen governance, implement best practices, and craft consensus and solutions.

I have used my legal training to help Pelham organizations manage change and grow stronger. I served for years on the boards of Huguenot Memorial Church and the Pelham Art Center, and on the Personnel Committees of Huguenot and the Hudson Valley Presbytery. I am also on the School District Community Outreach and Advocacy Committee.

Just a few months ago, I completed a nine-year board term, including three as Board Chair, at Bread for the World, a national, bi-partisan advocacy and policy organization. Through Bread, I worked to build coalitions among people of different faiths, and worked with Members of Congress from both parties, to support and improve policies to prevent hunger in the United States and around the world.

Finally, I have worked with many of you on the projects that bring our community together in generosity. I help run the annual Huguenot Charity Christmas Tree Sale. I ran the Huguenot Hoops kids’ basketball program, have hosted Novel Night dinners, and join in Hope Community Kitchen and Thanksgiving in a Box food efforts.

My husband, John McCormick, and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the Pelham Manor community for the past 16 years. We raised our three children in the Pelham schools. As we now see them graduate and go on to college, we are especially mindful of the many ways that this community has supported our family, and instilled in our sons and daughter a sense of community, responsibility, and pride.

I am excited to apply my experience in service of the community I love. As Trustee, I will focus on the following:

Flooding: Now is the time to solve our flooding problems. Pelham Manor has already identified the need to spend millions of dollars on drainage improvements. We must ensure that we are spending our money wisely, in ways that actually solve our flooding problems. I will invite peer review and real community response to the existing plans. I will work with our elected officials to advocate for grants to fund necessary work. And I will insist that, in addition to solving our immediate problems, we also plan for the future. Living in a 130 year-old home has taught me that preservation requires diligence and planning. We need to study the long-term needs of our shoreline, parks, and infrastructure, and make a plan to ensure that we preserve the community we love while enhancing our quality of life.

Budgeting: Our taxes are high and a significant burden for many residents. Our Trustees have an obligation to be careful stewards of every tax dollar. We can save money, while also improving services, by coordinating services with neighboring jurisdictions, modernizing our elections to minimize cost, and upgrading our practices in ways that reduce costs while improving air and water quality. I will invite a public review of every line of our budget, to increase transparency and community involvement, and ensure that we are getting real value for every dollar we spend.

Safety and Walkability: We should prioritize public safety and maintain the safe, walkable and rideable streets that attracted many of us to Pelham Manor. A decade ago, my son was hit by a car as he walked home from school – he was ok, but I will never forget how close our family came to tragedy. The experience has made me a vocal advocate for pedestrian safety, and I have worked with both villages to address safety measures. We need to continuously work to improve our traffic flows, address aggressive driving, and ensure pedestrian and rider safety. There are attractive solutions that can enhance safety, reduce traffic, make our community more beautiful, and improve quality of life for us all.

Management: Pelham Manor should instill best management practices. With our new Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Village Administrator, we have an opportunity to move beyond past scandals and expensive lawsuits. To do that, we need to ensure that our employees and safety officers are strongly supported and deliver the highest professional services for our residents. I have worked on these issues for years with my clients, and in local nonprofits, and I am eager to apply that expertise as a Trustee.

Coming Together to Improve Our Community: Finally, I want to engage our community in dreaming bigger. Our parks can be more beautiful and lively. We can do more to preserve our history and architecture. We can attract exciting businesses. We can improve recreational spaces for our young people and increase support for our seniors. We can enhance stewardship of our air and water. We can do more to ensure that every member of our community is respected, supported and included. The Board cannot do all of that alone, yet Pelham Manor has resisted the kinds of collaborations and committees that have helped other communities advance. In Pelham Manor we have expert architects, planners, historians, landscape designers, developers, business leaders, artists, volunteers and organizers. Let’s invite people in, listen to their ideas, and work together to achieve an even better vision for our community.

I look forward to hearing more about what you want and value. Please contact me at Kate@ManorTogether.com, join me at an event, or join me for a walk with my dog Duncan. I am interested in your ideas for our community.

I hope I can earn your vote.

Kate Pringle

Mark Cardwell

I am honored to be a candidate for the Village of Pelham Manor Board of Trustees with Kate Pringle.

I love our village, and I'm running because my background and experience qualify me to help keep our community safe.

I have lived in the Manor with my wife Margaret and sons Jack and Sam for over 13 years. I have dived into roles in our community where I make a difference, volunteering as a firefighter in Pelham Manor and as an EMT with Mamaroneck EMS, serving on the frontlines throughout the height of the pandemic. I have also served as a Scout leader in Pelham Troop 1 and as a food rescue volunteer with County Harvest.

I am running for the Board to continue my work to improve public safety in our community, ensuring that everyone in the Manor is safe in their homes. I've been proud to play a part in bringing an ambulance to Pelham, helping educate neighbors and elected officials about our dangerously inadequate emergency services. Many in the Manor did not know that long waits for an ambulance were common – sometimes with tragic results. But much more needs to be done to improve the safety of our families – through faster emergency services, improved pedestrian crossings, and better allocation of resources to ensure the best public safety services. And my EMS, fire, and law enforcement experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure we have a genuinely safe village. When you call 911, you should get the help you need.

I will also focus on the increasing threat to our safety in our homes and streets as we confront the growing storms and flooding in our community. The Manor fire department was forced to rescue drivers from their cars this past September, and I never want to see this happen to my neighbors again. This threat looms large as we are sandwiched between the coast and a river notorious for overflowing, an aging infrastructure, and limited ability to manage our watershed. We must take real action – now – to meet this threat, protect our families, maintain property values, control taxes, and help our village flourish.

And finally, I'll work to stop the growth in local spending, ensuring that we get the best possible value for our tax dollars. Our village budget has ballooned to more than $18 million annually, an increase of $4 million in just the past eight years.

Meeting this defining moment will require a different approach to leadership--more listening, collaboration, and fiscal transparency:

Listening - to understand and leverage our community

As an experienced leader in government and nonprofits, I will bring my professional training to public engagement. Listening, and hearing, is a skill. Our neighbors have a wealth of knowledge and need to be more utilized for identifying problems and solutions. I'm committed to respectfully listening to everyone more and talking less.

Collaboration - to reduce taxes and meet our challenges

I'll collaborate closely with Manor colleagues and staff, our sister village, our Town, our neighbors, and our county and elected officials to ensure our voices are heard. Collaboration with public safety partners to ensure we get the right help – fast – in emergencies is critical. We also must work with various government partners to address the flooding problem – water doesn't stop at the village line. Our village faces lawsuits and flooding remediation work that will cost many millions – this issue requires skilled governance and collaboration. Our community has several layers of government; it can be confusing. I'll collaborate closely with Manor colleagues and staff, with our Town, our sister village, the school board, and other neighboring municipalities, and with county and state elected officials, who can be a source of significant assistance not always fully utilized by our current Trustees. I'll also increase communication with residents about how each layer works to lessen confusion so people can approach the right organization for their needs. During my professional career, I have navigated complex situations working for New York City and the federal government and understand how to get governments and partners to work together -- and I know I can do this in the Manor.

Transparency – for financial accountability

I will also leverage my professional experience to ensure our village is more transparent and stop the growth of the $8 million sitting idle in village coffers. I'll work for participatory budgeting so that our community knows – and approves – how the village budget is spent. I've led work to improve financial transparency and accountability at the UN – getting the organization to publish a detailed accounting of how tax dollars are spent and changing operations to ensure accountability -- and am committed to ensuring we get the best possible value for our property taxes in the Manor. This is particularly important as we tackle our multi-million-dollar flooding problem.

Our village is wonderful, and I want to keep it that way. To keep our families safe, homes dry, and taxes manageable, we must work together to find affordable, practical solutions to our challenges while maintaining the unique character of the Manor.

With our clear record of commitment to the village, Kate and I are uniquely positioned to lead the Manor through these times.

I respectfully ask for your vote.

Mark Cardwell