Mount Vernon — A diverse coalition of Mount Vernon Business leaders officially endorsed Councilman Richard Thomas for Mayor of Mt. Vernon, at a meet and greet, Saturday afternoon, where Thomas revealed his economic prosperity plan to revitalize Mt. Vernon.
Thomas focused the majority of his economic action plan around getting the city’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) back on track after New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli slammed the beleaguered agency for not keeping records for the monies and tax breaks it gives to development projects. The scathing audit on the handling of approximately $60 million in deals concluded that, “there is limited assurance that the MVIDA projects have met their performance goals and benefited taxpayers.”
Thomas made the claim, that the IDA has been under the management of Ernest Davis, Maureen Walker, and Clinton Young, for the past decade or more. Thomas added, ”It is important that the city properly utilize its resources to create jobs and the mismanagement of the IDA by Davis, Walker, and Young diminishes Mt. Vernon’s long-term economic revival. We must reject their poor management skills and pursue a new approach to energizing our economy to create jobs and lower property taxes, which is what my administration will do.”
While others are making speeches, Thomas is the only candidate in the race to have a plan to energize Mt. Vernon’s economy, according to the business leaders we spoke to afterwards. Business leaders that Thomas presented details of his “Five Pillars of Prosperity” plan to included:
Louis A. Giannini, Jr., ProSpec, LLC
Frank Fraley, chairman, Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce
Kyle Munoz, Partner, Munoz & Munoz Insurance
Pedro Coelho, owner, Padaminas Bakery
Phil Morvillo, owner, Phil’s Meat & Grocery
Andre Wallace, Creative Direction Construction & Design, LLC
Frank Trolio, Trusco Building Supply & Garden Center
JR Dorsainivil, franchise partner, Edible Arrangements
Hope Jones, owner, La Roose Catering Hall
Kenneth Bailey, owner, Best Care Construction
And more…
Mr. Fraley, chairman of the Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce, said, ”I have never seen an economic plan from any candidate for Mayor over the past 25 years and Thomas’ vision is the leadership Mt. Vernon needs to create jobs and prosperity for all of Mt. Vernon.” He added, ”I whole-heartedly endorse Thomas for Mayor and endorse his plan to re-establish Mt. Vernon as ‘Money Earnin Mt. Vernon!’”
Mr. Giannini, said, “Mt. Vernon needs a leader like Thomas who has the experience and know how to get the economy going in the right direction.” He added, “Thomas’ plan offers a new vision with concrete steps to create jobs, fix our crumbling infrastructure, and restore trust in City Hall. He represents the future of this great city and will be integral helping Mt. Vernon rise again.”
“By making Mt. Vernon business friendly, the city will attract new corporations and small businesses to Mt. Vernon. This will create new jobs for our citizens and new sales tax revenues for the city. It is the role and responsibility of government to create the infrastructure that sets the stage for development. ‘Build it and they will come’ has always proven to be the mechanism that revitalizes communities. It is time for Mt. Vernon to erect “Five Pillars of Prosperity” for the sake of Mt. Vernon’s progress.” Richard Thomas, Mt. Vernon Mayoral Candidate.
The group assembled in the conference room of Mt. Vernon based ProSpec LLC, a leading supplier of tile, terrazzo-stone, wood flooring and other construction materials to mega-developers throughout the northeastern seaboard.
