Democrat Ann Lindau-Martin, who has served 20 years and five terms as a board member; and fellow Democrat John Sloan, who has served 16 years and four terms as a board member; have said they will not seek re-election. Board members serve four-year terms.
Lindau-Martin said she was retiring largely because she's interested in spending more time traveling.
Referring to her 20 years on the board, she said, "That's a nice long time to be there and contributing. Sometimes new people have new ideas," Lindau-Martin said.
Sloan said he was "looking forward to doing something different, because I look at these things as chapters. Sometimes the chapters are three months. Sometimes, in this case, they're 25 years," he said. Sloan served as a Planning Board member for 10 years before being elected as a board member.
"Also, I have a successful financial advisory firm, and lately it's been vying with municipal time," he said.
"It's a change, and we have worked together for many years," said Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi of the departing board members. "We have accomplished a great deal for the community, so it's sad to see them leave. They're not going away, because I've got committees for them. I said, 'I know where to find you both,'" Puglisi said
Both the Cortlandt Democratic and Republican Committees intend to nominate candidates for the open positions.
"We're out recruiting candidates for both positions, for the committee to endorse," said John McBride, acting chair of the Cortlandt Democratic Committee.
Suzanne Sedofsky of the Cortlandt Republican Committee said, "Definitely, we plan to have at least two candidates running." She also said it's likely the Republican Committee may run candidates for both Cortlandt Town Clerk and Cortlandt Town Tax Receiver. Both incumbent Democrats, Clerk JoAnn Dyckman and Receiver Mary Breining are running for re-election.
Democratic Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi is also up for re-election in November, although Sedofsky said Republicans don't intend to run a candidate against the 22-year Supervisor.
Cortlandt Town Board members can have the final say in almost any decision that takes place in the town. Often, the only exception is development, which is handled by the Planning Board. The Town Board has a say in new hires, approving bids for construction projects, and planning new initiatives.
Board members receive a $21,105 stipend and are considered part-time employees. Members are also eligible for free health care; there is no individual contribution for board members. After 10 years of service, board members using the health care are eligible to lifetime health-care benefits. An individual plan is valued at about $9,200 annually, according to town Comptroller Glenn Cestaro.
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