Tuckahoe resident Nicholas Naber, a teacher in the Yonkers school district, has told the Review that he plans to seek the Democratic nomination for village trustee in the upcoming March election.
Naber, 31, who has taught seventh and eighth grade history and social studies in Yonkers for 10 years, said that he’s been interested in politics and government since he was a teen, but that interest was invigorated by the recent presidential election. “I felt sort of empowered to make a move in politics and to make a difference on the side of Democrats,” he said. “I feel like Democrats were wrongly labeled during this election; and I don’t think what we truly stand for was represented in the presidential election.
“Democrats stand for working families,” Naber added. “They stand for the middle class; they stand for the environment; they stand for unions. They stand for smart government.”
Naber, who has lived in Tuckahoe for four years, added that he wasn’t interested only in Democratic issues; he also hopes to focus on issues affecting the entire Tuckahoe community. “Obviously, [living] on Sagamore Road, I’m extremely close to Marbledale Road, and once I heard that they were going to build this hotel on a toxic landfill, I was obviously concerned,” he told the Review, referring to the site of a cleanup project proposed by a developer planning to build a Marriott, which has been approved by the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“My platform really consists of making sure that this development is held to the highest environmental standards. Being a Democrat, I feel obligated to defend this village from big developments and big business. That doesn’t make me against big business; I just want it to be done smartly and the right way,” he said.
Naber added that he thought his different perspective would balance out a Tuckahoe Board of Trustees, which is currently all-Republican. The village board has not had been home to a Democrat since May 2015, when then-Trustee Stephen Quigley, a Democrat, died. Quigley was replaced on the board with appointee Antonio Leo, a Republican.
Three seats are available in this year’s election, which will be held on March 21. The mayor’s seat, currently held by Steve Ecklond, a Republican, and two trustee seats held by Greg Luisi and Tom Giordano, both Republicans, are in play. All three incumbents plan to seek re-election.
The village’s Republican nominating caucus is scheduled for Jan. 30. The Tuckahoe Democratic Village Committee’s nominating caucus is planned for Jan. 31.
