To the editor:
Serving on a town council or local government is a substantial commitment that many of us are unable, or unwilling, to do. For the past seven years, Frank Pizzella has made that commitment for the town of Hillsdale. He currently serves at the council president.
Over the years, we have gotten to know Frank and his family pretty well. Our children have celebrated birthdays, attended grammar school and played sports together. Throughout this time, I have witnessed his dedication to his family and also to our town. He spends a significant amount of his time trying to enhance the quality of life for Hillsdale residents. He genuinely cares about doing the right thing, listening to people, helping make improvements, and being fiscally responsible for the benefit of each Hillsdale resident.
Frank has accomplished a lot in his seven years. He has been instrumental in helping the council develop a vision for economic growth, including generating revenue through economic development to help stabilize taxes. Most recently, he encouraged council and planning board members to designate Hillsdale’s industrial zone for redevelopment, increasing the property value for the benefit of our community. These are just a few of his many accomplishments.
With another election upon us, it is our hope that Frank will continue to serve our town because he has its best interests at heart. So much so, that he will fight for what he thinks is right rather than fall in line. This has been particularly evident in recent months as our mayor, to our dismay, showed a remarkable lack of solidarity with his party by making critical comments in local media about council members, who disagreed with him on a particular issue. While disagreement is always beneficial since it fosters debate and thorough examination of an issue, it should not be used to publicly disparage council members who see things differently than you do. Especially when they are doing what they believe is the right thing to do.
We hope you will join us in voting for Frank on Nov. 5. Why? Because we believe he will continue to be open minded, consider all the pros and cons of every issue, and ultimately, make the right choices for our Hillsdale community.
Joanna and Mike Vargas
Hillsdale