Cindrich, incumbents to run on GOP, independent lines

Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora

Mount Kisco Mayor J. Michael Cindrich

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco Mayor J. Michael Cindrich and the pair of village board trustees who were victorious alongside him two years ago will run on the Republican line when they seek reelection this fall.

Cindrich, Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora and Trustee Angie Garcia-Guerra are also planning to return to the Village Inclusive Party line, when petitions for independent lines are due in late May. In 2023, they swept the Democratic candidates while running only on the independent line. 

This year, they will oppose Democrats Tammy Brown and Heather Bryant. Village Justice Anthony Markus will also be on the Democratic ticket running for a third term for the local bench.

Flora confirmed she and Garcia-Guerra had also been circulating petitions to force a Democratic primary, but she received a frosty response from the village’s Democratic Committee Chair Tom Luzio. Luzio had contacted Cindrich and Garcia-Guerra about considering the party’s nomination but not her, making them reconsider their options, Flora said.

“Tom didn’t want me. He was willing to accept Angie and Mike and he just didn’t want me,” she said. “I think we made the decision to do what we did last time, and the Republicans said that they would support us. I mean it’s good to be on multiple lines.”

Cindrich, who will run unchallenged unless an independent mayoral hopeful emerges, said he was mildly surprised that the Democrats declined to put up a candidate to contest him. During his Mount Kisco political career, which dates back more than 30 years, Cindrich has run on the Democratic, Republican and independent lines over that span. 

Before winning in 2023, he had served 14 years as mayor as a Democrat before losing in 2017 to former Mayor Gina Picinich, who ran as an independent. He was also a village trustee before that.

“I’m somewhat surprised because people have different opinions, and doing this as long as I have, I should say I’m not surprised at anything,” Cindrich said of the absence of a challenger. “I thought this would be a contested election.”

Luzio had previously confirmed to The Recorder that they expressed interest to Cindrich and Garcia-Guerra in running as Democrats because they have held longtime registration with the party, but that Flora had recently changed her registration. Cindrich had not responded to the committee’s overtures earlier this year, but Luzio said he has a good relationship with the mayor even when they disagree.

Brown and Bryant will run only as Democrats and not consider an independent line candidacy, he said. 

“Honestly, we were a little more surprised they started the (petitioning) process by trying to get the Democratic line,” Luzio said. “But we have 14 dedicated district leaders and we have an awful lot of folks behind these district leaders that were focusing on ideas and talking about the issues, getting signatures and letting people know a little more about Tony and Tammy and Heather.”

The incumbents weighed whether appearing on the Republican line in a heavily Democratic community was the right thing to do, especially with the political upheaval in Washington that is attracting so much attention, Flora said. 

She and Cindrich expressed confidence that the voters can distinguish between evaluating the performance of local public servants and national Republicans.

“There is a concern that people do focus on the letter, but here in Mount Kisco we’re such a small town and everyone knows us, so I’m hoping we get judged based on the amount of time, energy and effort that we’re putting in to try and make it better here,” Flora said.

“I represent everybody and anybody,” Cindrich explained. “If someone calls me with a complaint, I don’t ask, are you a Republican, are you a Democrat, and I’ve been somewhat successful with that.”

Despite his inclusion on the Republican line, Cindrich said he has deep concerns that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid remain intact with so many village residents depending on those programs.

Luzio stated that most of the key issues in Mount Kisco — taxes, protecting local businesses, the pending reconstruction of the Preston Way bridge and safe streets — are not defined by national politics. However, depending on decisions made by the federal government, there could be impacts at the local level, including effects of tariffs on local businesses and the cutting of funding for programs that deliver services many in the village depend on, he said.

“There are local issues that you’d like to think aren’t politicized, but we’re also elected politicians, and if we’re not going to stand up for what we believe in, then why are we entering this sphere? To tell other people to do our job? Sometimes we need to stand up for our citizens.”