Nyack, June 8 — Trustee Steve Knowlton will leave Nyack’s Village Board when his term expires in December, 2012. Knowlton withdrew his name from consideration for reelection in a letter to the Nyack Democratic Party nominating committee last week.
Knowlton was appointed to the Village Board in 2009 by former Mayor Richard Kavesh to serve out the remainder of Kavesh’s trustee term. He was elected to his current seat in 2010. A partner with the Locks Law firm in New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey, Knowlton cited increasing professional responsibilities and health concerns as reasons for stepping down at the end of his current term.
“Steve Knowlton has been a powerful and intelligent voice not only on the Village Board but in all of his years as Zoning Chair,” said Nyack Mayor Jen White, who worked with Knowlton and trustees Doug Foster and Louise Parker to create Nyack’s Village Administrator position. “We will miss him so much and can only hope that he will continue to contribute his wisdom to the Village even if it is in an unofficial capacity. I will miss him tremendously.”
Knowlton sent the following letter to his fellow trustees and Village of Nyack employees.
I wish to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work, dedication and commitment to serving the citizens of the Village of Nyack. As some of you may already know, I have decided not to seek re-election as Trustee in the fall election. Increasing professional responsibilities and health issues this year have made it difficult for me to devote the time and attention that I would like to in fulfilling my duties as Trustee. For these reasons, and because I have been actively involved in Village government for the better part of 12 years (9 as Zoning Board Chair, 2 as Trustee and 1 as Deputy Mayor) I believe the time has come for a new voice to take my place.
Together, we have accomplished much in the last three years! The creation of the Village Administrator post and the hiring of Jim Politi to fill it was instrumental in helping to create a government that is ever more responsive to the people it serves. Each of you plays a critical role in the continuing effort to modernize and streamline operations at Village Hall, and your willingness to change, adapt to and learn new procedures and ways of doing business more efficiently was essential to our success. We will shortly be completing 2 of the largest Village infrastructure improvement projects in the Village in the last 15 years—the Marina and the Downtown Streetscape. With your hard work and assistance we have kept taxes the lowest they have been in a decade, without resorting to layoffs or service cutbacks.
These are just a few of your accomplishments. I encourage you to take pride in all that you’ve done, and to look forward to the future of our Village, which under Jen White’s administration is the brightest it has been in years.
Thank you for making my time as Trustee fulfilling and fun. I have been privileged to work with you, and I thank you.
