WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. By John F. Bailey. September 19, 2007: In the giddy atmosphere at Dunne’s Pub after the victory of Benjamin Boykin, Melagros Lecuona and Dennis Power in yesterday’s primary, the Democratic City Committee Chair, Liz Shollenberger, who lead the Democratic City Committee Candidates to prevail over incumbent Councilman Arnold Bernstein and challenger Candyce Corcoran, attributed the  nominees’ across-the-board win to having presented “better candidates with better issues, that’s why we won.”

Benjamin Boykin, leading vote-getter said it was a great victory, and promised a vision for White Plains. Shown, April, 2007.

Shollenberger said her Democratic nominees won “pretty much across the board. ” Bernstein only carried Battle Hill, according to a poll-watcher in that neighborhood. WPCNR asked what these results said to her, she commented, “The result shows we have a strong Democratic people and we’re going to win in November. This is a mandate on these three candidates.” 

Asked if  the party had done anything different to get out the vote,  “No, not really. We did what we could. Everybody worked hard. Everybody got behind our candidates. I hope all Democrats will come behind our Democratic candidates in November.”

Benjamin Boykin the leading vote-getter with 1,638 votes, said, “It was a great victory for the Real Democrats of the City of White Plains. It was a great victory for the people of White Plains, for the future of White Plains.”

Asked what he thought the result said, Boykin noted, “The result says that we have a strong field of outstanding candidates that won a strong race.”

I asked Boykin why he thought the  money barrage of mailings and attacks by the Bernstein camp the last few days leading up to Tuesday’s primary did not work, Boykin said, “It was sleaze money that had no impact because it was untruths and it was too little, too late and we are continuing to focus on the vision of the city of White Plains, and we’re not running a negative campaign but we’re talking about the great things that lie for the future of this city.”

WPCNR encouraged Mr. Boykin to elaborate on what he saw as a “vision of White Plains:”

Boykin said, “The vision for White Plains is smart growth, balanced development,  it’s for open space, including green space downtown. It’s for keeping property taxes low. It’s for having citizens’ input, which means we’re going to have open government.  It means we’ll have integrity in government. And that we’ll continue to keep our property taxes low.”

WPCNR  asked Mr. Boykin how he defined “balanced development:”

“Balanced development is smart growth,” Boykin warmed to the subject, “It means that you do due diligence, that you take your time , that you look at all angles, that you look at the needs of the citizens, and that you make sure development responds to and meets the needs of its citizenry.”

WPCNR queried as to whether balanced development meant one type of building in one section of the city, and another use or project in another part. Boykin said “no, balance has to do with planning, due diligence, and putting the right development in the right place at the right time.”