Lewiston’s fiscal fate gets new direction
With different supervisor and board, town moves into 2010 with hope for ‘fresh ideas’
LEWISTON — Though the Town Board talked last month of a $14.4 million spending plan for 2010 that promises no town tax, healthy reserves and a 3 percent raises for all employees, it will be a decidedly different board and supervisor that make it work.
“People were in shock and in tears” at the Election Day party Tuesday, Supervisor Fred M. Newlin II said of his defeat.
“Most people think if you are able to reduce taxes and keep out the garbage trucks [at the CWM and Modern landfills], you’d think you’d get automatically elected. It doesn’t always translate to victory at the polls,” he said.
There was voter apathy, Newlin said, with voter turnout numbers the lowest they have been in 20 years. He said he felt that a lot of people either bought into the negative advertising and decided not to vote, or were content.
Highway Superintendent and now Supervisor-elect Steven L. Reiter, a Republican, told The Buffalo News that he was not surprised to be elected but that even he was surprised by his 16-point margin — 55 percent to Democrat Newlin’s 39 percent.
Reiter said Newlin’s 37 percent salary increase and “Fred’s power bill” (a decrease in the National Grid discount), not apathy, led to the supervisor’s defeat.
The board will also move from a 3-2 Democrat majority to a 4-1 Republican majority, with longtime Councilman Michael Johnson the only Democrat left on the board.
However, Republican Councilman Ernest C. Palmer said the board has always had a great working relationship, despite party differences.
“Rarely do votes come down to party affiliations,” Palmer said.
“I do believe that Lewiston is a better place than it was [before Newlin took office] six years ago, but I also believe effective leadership has an expiration date.
“I like the idea of having new people get involved in government. That’s how we cultivate fresh ideas,” Palmer said.
Reiter said he wants to be that facilitator to make things happen. “I hope all my meetings will run smoothly. I like working with people and listening to people,” he said.
Reiter said he will be making the effort to have a smooth transition and has started putting together a transition team.
Newlin said he already has been contacted by the transition team’s leader, Jeffrey D. Williams, a partner in Lewiston Management Group and Niagara Falls Properties who, until last year, had served on the state Thruway Authority board.
Reiter said he will be a visible leader. “It won’t be a struggle to find me,” he said. “. . . Each department head can pick up the phone, and I’ll be there.”
Newlin said he would like to give Reiter some advice about how much time the job takes.
“This job is all-consuming,” Newlin said. “I’m not ruling out a run in the future, but I’m not thinking about that at all right now. You’ve got to remember this job isn’t about you, but about the people you represent.”
Reiter said he realizes he will be required to take a $30,000 pay cut as he gives up the Highway Superintendent and Parks Department stipend and will lose full-time benefits. But he stressed that he will not take his pension, even though he is eligible because of 25 years of service for the town.
Some issues that Reiter said he would like to tackle upon assuming office include getting sidewalks into Sanborn by the end of 2010 and reopening negotiations with the New York Power Authority.
“I do think Lewiston got a raw deal in the power situation, and I’m going to work very hard to make sure we get a better deal,” he said. “I still can’t understand why we gave the deal to all our residents and not our businesses. Why were the fire companies and hospitals left out?”
Newlin said he will also continue to be concerned about development interests and will do everything he can to preserve Lewiston’s historic charm.
Reiter said he disagreed with Newlin’s zero-growth policies.
“If a pond is stagnant, it grows algae and tends to smell bad,” Reiter said. “I want to see a little bit of growth. You’ve got to have new people come in once in a while.”
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