Morreale seeks reelection to Lewiston Town Board

Lewiston Councilman Rob Morreale has announced he will be running for reelection for a second term this fall.

By Rob Morreale

I was elected to my first term in 2015 and it has been my pleasure to serve the good people of Lewiston. During the past three-and-a-half years, I’ve reviewed budgets with the Town Board members, and together we made painful cuts and supported budgets that increased fund balances and improved our bond rating. We put our political affiliations aside and have worked together and are still working together today. If we fail to work with one another, only the taxpayers will suffer.

I have worked diligently to upgrade the town building’s lighting system to the newest LED lights available today. I also took on the project to replace the streetlights in the Town of Lewiston, which will be completed this fall. Over 510 streetlights will be converted to LED bulbs. This conversion will improve the lighting and also save the town over $8,500 per year in electrical costs.

The future is the electric automobile. Every auto manufacturer has a push for the electric car. So I moved forward and obtained a grant through NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to install a car charging station at the Town Hall for town and public use. I will be pursuing additional car charging stations to be placed within Sanborn and at the Lewiston Senior Center on Lower River Road.

With that, the town purchased two electric vehicles for town employee usage with a $5,000 grant from New York state. Not only are we saving on fuel and electric costs, we are helping to save the environment for the future for our children and grandchildren. All this was done with the assistance from town employees and full support from the Town Board. With these actions, we have taken to reduce the carbon footprint, and Lewiston has been named a Clean Energy Community by NYSERDA, which will assist us in obtaining future grants in a more favorable position.

Since my first week in office, I’ve personally requested to receive and review each and every bill that passes through Lewiston Town Hall, making sure that Lewiston is being charged fairly. As your elected representative, I will do my best to keep it that way.

I bring to this board my personal experience of running a successful collision repair business in Niagara Falls for the past 39 years. With extensive knowledge of having employees, payroll, budgets, purchasing, running the Town of Lewiston is no different. It mirrors a business, but on a much larger scale. With that said, I watch the Lewiston tax dollars being spent as if it was my own business.

I have been happily married for the past 37 years to my wife, Donna, who is employed at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital. Our daughter is a special education teacher in the Niagara Falls Central School District and is also the owner of The Rose Hanger Shop located in the Opera Hall in the Village of Lewiston. Our son, Robert, is a business analyst at Integer in Clarence. He is married to his wife, Lauren, and raising his two young sons: Dominic and Lorenzo. Lewiston has been my home for the past 29 years and I feel lucky to live in this great community and to have raised my family here.

I will not conduct any fundraisers or accept donations in my campaign. But I thank the Lewiston residents that did offer, of which I graciously declined. I will be running a self -funded campaign. You also will not see me knocking on your door, as I respect your privacy. But I am always available for you if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.

So with that, I hope I’ve earned your trust and support to give me your vote and four more years to be your representative on the Lewiston Town Board.