Current Slate of Old Field Candidates Leaves One Seat Open

When it comes to one trustee position, Old Field residents will find no candidates on the ballot during the Sept. 15 election.

While trustee Bruce Feller is running for mayor this year, only current board member Tom Pirro, a certified public accountant, will be on the ballot for the two available trustee seats. Both candidates were elected to their current positions in 2018.

If there are no write-in candidates, the trustees will appoint someone to the seat.

Feller said he knew in 2019 he would run after current Mayor Michael Levine decided not to run again after 12 years in the position. While elections were originally scheduled in March, they were moved to September due to the pandemic.

Feller, besides his current two years on the board, served as a village trustee in 1998 after taking over the expired term of Barbara Swartz when she became mayor. He and his wife, Marianne, in the past have also served on a village committee to preserve the Old Field lighthouse.

Feller said regarding the board, which includes a mayor and four trustees, he plans to treat it as “a hand.”

“Those five fingers have to work together,” he said. “They each have different roles — each finger including the opposing thumb — and those roles can shift through any of the five of us. My view is I’m no more or less than one out of five votes.”

He said usually after a March election the trustees would be sworn in during April and wouldn’t hit the ground running until the next board meeting. He said this year after the election and the votes are counted, elected officials will serve in their positions immediately.

The Village of Old Field will hold its election Tuesday, Sept. 15, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Keeper’s Cottage located at 207 Old Field Road.