Hi Neighbor,
My name is Tom Bock, and I live in the Fulton Park neighborhood in the Town of Greenburgh, NY. I am a life-long Greenburgh resident and when I got married, twenty one years ago, I moved to Fulton Park with my wife, Sue. We had the dreams that most young couples have when they are starting out and began to plan. We worked non-stop on our fix-er-upper house for a year, slowly making it nicer for us. My son, Cameron, was born 17 years ago. He is quite an accomplished musician and hopes to pursue his education in music, following in the footsteps of his teacher and mentor, my dad, John. My parents live in Greenburgh as well.
I've been a firefighter in the Elmsford F.D., for 36 years and am still active in firefighting. In 1989 and 1990 I served as the Chief of the department. On a County level, I have been a member of the Westchester County Hazardous Materials Response Team and am a co-founder of the Westchester County Technical Rescue Team. Both of these teams are all-volunteer and serve to protect the entire County and it's guests. I am a director on both the Westchester County Association of Fire Chiefs and the Westchester County Volunteer Firefighter's Association.
When Hurricane Katrina struck, I organized a one-weekend fund raising drive for the fire service and the Chiefs' Association. We raised and distributed over $180,000 to the emergency services in the Harrison Fire District in Mississippi. I also helped coordinate a delivery of $35k in Christmas gifts to this same Gulf region with our great corporate neighbor, Modell's Sporting Goods.
I am also proud to be a founding Board member for the Just Imagine Making Miracles Yours (J.I.M.M.Y.) Foundation, of Somers, NY, helping terminally and seriously ill children and their families. I have also been involved with the Burn Center at the Westchester County Medical Center.
I responded with many of my fire service colleagues to NYC when we were attacked on September 11, 2001. As a result of my involvement in the fire service, I was asked to sit on the Westchester County WMD Planning Committee and the Special Operations Oversight Committee. These very important organizations work to help Westchester's residents and guests be safe and be prepared for many types of emergencies that we never dreamed of before 9-11.
Like most of you, I am disgusted with the exorbitant tax increases we've suffered with over the years. I have witnessed first hand dealing with the County, how difficult, obtrusive and unresponsive getting help from this lumbering giant can be. Rob Astorino, the candidate for County Executive wants to reduce County government and I agree with him. We have seen patronage positions given out without regard to need, expertise, or expense. We've seen Playland, a national and local treasure, lose money and be mismanaged to the tune of a $3 million yearly. The medical center, which I have a love-hate relationship with, hasn't been managed well for years and yet we keep increasing it's size yearly. Their expertise saved my father's life and I'm grateful for that. But, the abuses and waste are pervasive and need to stop! I want to work to end these abuses, reduce the size of the County government and return accountability and responsibility to the people of Westchester County!
I'm running in the election for Westchester County Legislator for the 8th District to try and take back control of our County government. I am not a career politician. In fact, I never thought of myself as running for anything until my neighborhood got hammered by the County. They purchased a .7 acre of property and decided without discussions with the neighborhood to create a social services hub in Greenburgh. No neighborhood should be treated this way!
I will no longer sit back and hope others will step up and do something. I am stepping up to challenges we face and will work to represent all the neighborhoods in District 8, which includes portions of White Plains, Greenburgh, Sleepy Hollow and Mount Pleasant. If you feel your voice has been ignored, if you are tired of being abused and if you want to see honesty and accountability in County Government, help me. Join my campaign.
Together we can make a difference.
Thank you.
Tom
Tom Bock
White Plains, Ny
ElectTomBock@gmail.com
ElectTomBock.blogspot.com
