Tom Pirro will be Old Field’s next mayor

When Stephen Shybunko decided not to run for mayor in Old Field — a position he has held for the last few months after the resignation of Bruce Feller — current trustee Tom Pirro stepped up to the plate.

On March 15, the unopposed Pirro won the election with 139 votes as well as village justice Mitchell Birzon, who also ran unopposed, with 132 votes according to village officials.

“It will be an exciting year,” Pirro said in an email the day after the election. “I’m looking forward to working as a team for the benefit of the village and its residents.”

Joining Pirro on the Village of Old Field board as trustees will be Tom Gulbransen and William Schaefer for two-year terms with 132 and 122 votes respectively and Morgan Morrison for a one-year term with 131 votes.

Adrienne Owen netted 88 votes in the two-year category, and Tom Cottone 81 votes in the one-year. 

Schaefer served as village trustee in 2007-08 and had an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2008. In a March 10 The Village Times Herald article, Schaefer said he regretted seeing an increase of vitriol and conflicts of interest in Old Field and said he believed he could bring “an independent voice of reason and replace litigation and contention with compromise and mutual respect.”

In the same article, Morrison said he believed his experience working in IT would be an asset to the village. One idea, he said, “would be to utilize modern technology — such as license plate readers — to build upon the human presence of our constabulary.”

In 2020, Gulbransen, who was a former village trustee and deputy mayor, won a seat as a write-in candidate. In an email, he said he was impressed by the March 15 voter turnout: “It’s encouraging to see so many residents actively turn out to vote. Community communications have been challenging during the years of COVID sequestration.”

All told, 203 people voted.