Bill Cook, head of the Rotterdam Democratic Committee, is confident that all of the candidates running on the Democratic line are strong choices.
We have an excellent slate and I believe that they’re probably going to be successful in November. I think that’s good for Rotterdam, said Cook.
Appearing on the ballot are Matt Martin, Robert Godlewski and Nicki Di Leva. The Rotterdam Democratic Committee has endorsed all three.
`Bob Godlewski and Nicki Di Leva are both vote getters. Bob was elected to Town Council three years ago and then he vacated and went for the county and got over 6,000 votes,` said Cook.
He added that Martin, 24, is `what all the communities are looking for ` a young, intelligent man. He’s what we’ve been trying to find for years ` young people who are up front, talented and intelligent.
Martin said he was encouraged to try to break into politics when he was following the election in the fall.
`I thought that rather than just sit around and wait for things to happen, I figured that the best thing to do would be to get involved,` said Martin.
His main concerns are examining the town’s tax base and `getting taxes under control,` poviding accountability and transparency and an overall paradigm shift of the town, `rather than keeping things going the same way.`
He wants to try to look at things in a different perspective ` `to not only look at the inner segment of the age population, but to try and look on the outbound – to look at the 18- to 30-year-olds,` said Martin.
Being only 24 himself, he thinks he could relate to the younger population more than anyone else on the ticket.
He said that he would also like to come up with solutions to better promote economic development in the town.
Martin was born and raised in Rotterdam and is a graduate of Schalmont High School. He holds a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology and is pursuing his M.S. from Union Graduate School in Engineering and Management Systems. Martin is employed at GE Energy as a mechanical design engineer.
Di Leva said that she’s running for Town Council because she cares.
`I believe that Rotterdam needs a change, one that everyone can believe in,` Di Leva said in an e-mail.
She said that she is a team player who believes that town officials must listen to their constituents.
`We need a more transparent and open government where our residents have a voice that is heard. We need to create fair assessments with continuous updates so the tax rolls stay current,` said Di Leva.
She said that she believed the town’s reassessments were `very painful to many, myself included.`
She wants to promote more programs for youths, teens and senior citizens.
Di Leva is mother to Nicholas Di Leva, 19. She holds a master’s degree in education from The College of Saint Rose and is the assistant principal of Mont Pleasant Middle School.
She is a former Schenectady County Legislator, District 1, and served as the county legislature majority leader.
Godlewski has lived in Rotterdam for 50 years and believes he knows his town well. He held a position on the Rotterdam Town Council for one year in 2007.
`People are looking for tax relief,` said Godlewski, who calls himself fiscally conservative.
`I have a philosophy. You shouldn’t be bonding anything until you know what your budget is going to be,` said Godlewski, who added that he understands when something needs to be bonded because of an emergency.
He said he has a `critical eye` when it comes to spending money.
`I don’t like to spend it. I like to invest it,` said Godlewski. `I have a Democratic heart, but I have a conservative wallet and that’s my philosophy.`
He would like to see more open government, park development and improvements in the Rotterdam Senior Citizens Center.
Godlewski served on the Rotterdam Planning Commission for four years, the Mohonasen Board of Education for five years and has served on the Rotterdam Democratic Committee for 10 years.
He is a graduate of Mohonasen High School and holds an associate’s degree in applied science from Cobleskill. He retired in 2007 from Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. He resides with his wife, Rose, and has three children.“