Candidates

Charlie has been serving the residents of Garden City since the age of 9, delivering newspapers to over 100 homes in the Central section where he grew up. A product of St. Joseph’s school and Garden City High School, Charlie has a BA in Accounting, a MA in Sociology and a JD with Honors from Brooklyn Law School.

In addition to Charlie’s professional accomplishments, his record of community service is second to none. He has coached St. Joseph’s CYO basketball, both boys and girls, for more than a decade, as well as being a Co-Founder of the John M. Kelly Christmas Tournament which ran for 12 years at St. Joseph’s gym and raised thousands of dollars for charities. He coached both boys and girls GC Centennial soccer for many years and was a Manager of GC Little League baseball teams. Charlie is a longtime parishioner of St. Josephs Church where he served for many years as an altar boy in his youth. For the Village Government, Charlie is presently serving as Chairman of the Law and Rezoning Subcommittee of the St. Paul’s Committee and is Chairman of the Village of Garden City Board of Ethics. Lastly, Charlie was a Co-Founder of REVAMP, a group of concerned residents that felt the Monster Poles being installed by the MTA/LIRR with no opposition from the Village Government, would permanently damage parts of his beloved Village

Michael grew up in the Western Section of Garden City, attended the Garden City public schools, and graduated from Garden City High School. Upon graduation, Michael attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, graduating with a BS in Marine Engineering and a commission in the US Naval Reserve. Shortly after graduation, Michael was selected to train with the US National Men’s Team Handball Team in Colorado Springs, CO, and later participated in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. After working for an engineering firm in NY for several years, and becoming a NYS licensed Professional Engineer, Michael attended New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and earned an MBA in finance. Michael is currently a Managing Director at Webster Bank, and has previously worked at GE Capital and Capital One where he gained extensive experience underwriting leveraged finance, project finance, and equipment finance transactions.

Like many people who have grown up in Garden City, Michael recognizes what a unique and special place it is. Michael grew up going to Tullamore Park and the Garden City Pool every day during the summers, both institutions that have helped to foster fond memories and lifelong friendships for countless village kids, and he wanted to offer his family the same great experiences that he remembered. In 2001, Michael and his wife moved back to the village and have raised their three boys here.

In the 22 years since, Michael has volunteered, in various capacities, in the youth sports programs in town. Michael coached for 10 yrs in the Thunder Football, and Garden City Youth Lacrosse programs. Michael also served as President of the Garden City Youth Lacrosse program for five years. Having spent many hours on the athletic fields at St Paul’s coaching against neighboring towns, Michael has been told numerous times, by visitors, how lucky we are to live in a town that has such a great facility.

Michael has known current Trustees Terry Digan and Tom O’Brien for more than 35 years, Mary Flanagan for 15 years, and Larry Marciano for 10 years, and he has greatly admired their commitment to the village and what they have accomplished during their time on the BOT. Most recently, the efforts of Trustees Flanagan and Marciano to reach out to the residents near the Country Life Press Station to get their input on the future of the aging Country Life Press Train Station structure demonstrated that commitment. It is this type of concern and outreach that Michael feels is critical to keeping Garden City residents informed and that Michael would be committed to.

Michael was excited to join a group that was passionate about making sure that Garden City remained the kind of place many of us grew up in and moved back to to raise our families. Emphasizing transparency and open communication, FABGC is an organization that has been intent on making sure the residents have their voices heard.

The position of Trustee is a serious one, and the decision to participate in local government is one that Michael has given much consideration. The time and effort that is required to do the job well is not to be underestimated, and the rewards for the time and effort expended are not always evident, but, if elected, Michael would commit to transparent processes, to putting best efforts toward to find pragmatic solutions, and encouraging Garden City’s residents to take ownership of the future of St. Paul’s.

After attending Vanderbilt University and working for several years, Larry attended New York University’s Leonard N. Stern’s School of Business earning an MBA with an emphasis in Finance. He was awarded the distinction of Stern Scholar and Elected to the membership of Beta Gamma Sigma. Presently, he is part of the Adjunct Faculty at the New York University School of Professional Studies.

As a resident in the Eastern section for the last 24 years, Larry’s passion was coaching his daughters Celia and Olivia on the playing fields of St. Paul’s. While coaching Garden City Rams Lacrosse, Larry is now in his near-record 15th year of coaching GC Centennials Soccer. As Larry’s coaching responsibilities have tapered off since his children’s graduation, Larry has allowed himself to be recruited to help the Village with his unique business skills and continue to serve the Village as he has done for so many years in his coaching capacity.

A near lifelong resident of Garden City, Richard was just 18 years of age when he was introduced to his future wife and lifelong resident, Jeanne Savoldy Williams. A few years after they were married, they moved into the Village and have been residents since.

Richard will bring to the role, diverse interests and experiences. He has recently volunteered for the Village Business Development Committee to propose creative collaboration between residents and the commercial/non profit sector. Early in his career, he was engaged in the Marine and Aviation insurance industry in both large claims and as an internal auditing role. Later, had roles as an officer at both Citi Corp and Chase Manhattan. At Chase, Richard was involved in foreign money transactions tasks. At Citi, he had an expanding role crafting their credit card operations where he led a large team as that industry so very rapidly evolved. Later, he gained experience leading private firms involved in energy marketing and hospitality services serving corporate and individual clients. Currently, Richard helps manage a family business in Corporate Event planning crafting Meetings, Incentives and Events throughout North America and the Caribbean for a national and global clientele. Throughout his business career, Richard has developed and managed organizations ranging from 10 to 1,000 employees.

To the role of Trustee, he will offer a consultative nature, an inquisitive, problem-solving mind, and an eagerness to do the very best on behalf of every resident. In that regard, he considers relationship building and listening among his best traits as well as a commitment to the future of the village. Richard is an avid reader, enjoy classic movies, family events, traveling, and meeting new people in many places.

Richard graduated with a Bachelor of Science from St John’s University where he also received his Juris Doctorate. Admitted to the New York Bar, throughout the years Richard has provided pro-bono legal services to residents of Garden City, Nassau, Suffolk, and NYC.

On a personal basis, Jeanne and Richard raised their five children in Garden City. They attended St. Joseph’s School, Locust, Stewart School, the Middle and High School. Richard’s children played on school, town and traveling teams for Lax, Field Hockey, Basketball and Track and Field. Married, with children of their own, his entire immediate family live in the Village at their homes in the Estates and Eastern sections