We in the Village of Cold Spring are blessed to live in such a vibrant community, filled with so many interesting, creative, and committed people. This letter is to endorse the candidacy of two of those people: Matt Francisco and Don MacDonald.
It is not often that the village has the opportunity to select trustee candidates with the qualifications these two men possess. They bring years of real-world experience in housing development and project management, architecture and building engineering, zoning expertise, as well as years spent working with the citizens of our community in public forums. We live in “interesting times,” where decisions made now will be with us for generations to come. All the more reason to value their experience, healthy caution, and their proven ability to listen to all sides in a dialogue without rancor.
I have seen both Matt and Don solving problems in this village for years, in ways that I am always impressed with. Consistently they are fair, well informed, and transparent in approach. Their work ethic is beyond reproach, and they can be counted on to always “show up” and do their job. They manage their own feelings well, never letting the behaviors of others affect their own professionalism. They have been vetted by the best measure: actual performance.
Though, for the sake of brevity I speak of both candidates in the same breath, they are completely independent in their thinking. They are not a coalition. They will not operate as a political unit with special interests and agendas. We can count on them to continue to bring their professional expertise, skill in negotiation and consensus building, and fair-minded integrity to our Village Board at just the moment when we need it the most.
I have known both Matt and Don for many years, and offer full endorsement for their proven skill and integrity. We in the village are lucky to have had them in our government up to this point; I emphatically hope we continue to vote them in.
They have earned it.
Phil Heffernan
Former Village Trustee
Cold Spring
