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by Joshua Maloni
All four Village of Lewiston trustees are supporting Mayor Terry Collesano's bid for re-election in the June 17 election.
"I wholeheartedly endorse the re-election of Mayor Terry Collesano," Deputy Mayor Bruce Sutherland wrote in a text message. He said Collesano has taught him a lot in four years, and pointed to the mayor's recent efforts to create a traffic plan in the wake of thruway construction.
"When Jon (DiBernardo) from Water Street brought up concerns about traffic around NYPA, the mayor immediately called Sen. (George) Maziarz, (Assemblyman John) Ceretto, NYPA and NYSDOT to meet (and) discuss solutions the next week."
"I'm endorsing him, I know the rest of the guys are, too," Vic Eydt said. "We've worked together very well for the last four years. We've done some good things together, specifically down on the waterfront updating the old docks, and getting that changed around and getting the security systems in there. And working on the park down there, getting the sprinkler and lights (up)."
"I think he has good leadership skills," Nick Conde said. "He's consistent. And one of the things I like the most in working with him is he has good coordination skills with the different department heads - you know, the DPW, zoning, planning, rec and then outside (in) the town, with the town supervisor and different departments."
"He's given me great direction - me being the new guy on the board," Dan Gibson said. "He gave me the seeds to work on the upper plateau, the idea. He said he wanted to do something with it. He gave me the tools and the contacts.
"I think he's a great leader. He really is."
Collesano was elected mayor in 2010. Trustees said his first term and two-plus decades on the Village Board (including 12 years as deputy mayor) give him an advantage when it comes to handling municipal issues and dealing with leaders from political and business sectors.
"Most definitely," Eydt said. "Anybody coming in there, they've got to know what is going on."
"It's not something you're going to learn overnight," he added. "Since I've been on the board, he's taught me so many different things - things I never even knew about, as far as the finances; how the finances work with the county and with the state, and all that."
"I think it makes a world of difference," Conde said. "He's been on these boards since the '60s. ... He's been involved with the village and all the different issues."
"What he has done in his last four years, he's done good things for the village," Gibson said.
"He knows a lot of this village, and he's passionate about his job," Gibson added. "He's committed to his job. ... He's an excellent teacher. Each day I learn something new."
Collesano said he is "overwhelmed" all four trustees want him to continue as mayor.
"I respect their feelings," he said. "They're each gentlemen in their own right."
"The guys are really good in their respective areas," Collesano added. "It's great working with these guys. They're all great workers, and they're all dedicated to the village - as I am - and they see that.
"We're just a good working team. And I'd like to continue that working team for the next four years, if I have the support of the people. If the people are happy with what we're doing, then hopefully it will be a winning election for us."
The election runs from noon until 9 p.m. June 17 at the Red Brick Municipal Building, 145 N. Fourth St. In addition to the mayoral race, three of the trustees - Sutherland, Eydt and Gibson - are running unopposed.