A Voter's Guide to the Village of Rye Brook Election

On March 16, Rye Brook will hold an election for its Village Board of Trustees. Mayor Joan Feinstein, who was elected in 2008, is running uncontested. However, three candidates-Moge Agahian, Toby Marrow and Jeff Rednick- are vying for two spots that will be left vacant by Village Trustees Dean Santon and Patricia Sanders Romano, who aren't seeking re-election.

Rye Patch has previously featured Q&A's with all three candidates and covered a recent debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Today, we're giving voters a comprehensive guide to tomorrow's election, including information on where each candidate stands on important issues and where you can go to cast your ballot.

Candidate: Mayor Joan Feinstein

Bio: Feinstein was born in Kew Gardens, Queens, N.Y. but has lived in the Village of Rye Brook for 26 years. A corporate attorney at the firm Wertheimer Fredman in New York City, Feinstein is also a member of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York State Bar Association. Feinstein graduated magna cum laude from the University of Rochester, completed law school at Hofstra University and received a master's degree in taxation from New York University in 1982.

Running for: Mayor, uncontested

Political Experience: Feinstein has been involved in Rye Brook politics for a number of years. She has served as a member of the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free Board of Education, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Rye-Rye Brook-Port Chester Women's Division and the Westchester Women's Cabinet. She was elected a trustee to the Rye Brook Village Board in 2004. That same year, she was appointed deputy mayor. She was elected mayor in March 2008.

Where Feinstein stands on the issues: Feinstein has expressed disapproval of the Rye Town Hilton's initial concept plan for expansion, saying that she isn't opposed to new development in the village but that the project was too massive and would affect the character and aesthetics of neighborhoods near Lincoln Avenue and Rye Hill.

Feinstein has also lobbied for a hotel occupancy tax, a privilege currently awarded to cities and counties. With a decline in mortgage tax and sales tax revenues, Feinstein thinks the village can generate six figures in additional revenue from levying a tax on both the Rye Town Hilton and Doral Arrowwood.

Feinstein recently voted to amend the village's dogs in parks law, which doesn't allow dogs on playing fields and requires owners to leash their dogs at all times. Feinstein, a member of the Rye Town Park Commission, has said that a good way to resolve parking issues at the park is to have differential pricing between residents and non-residents, charging the latter group a higher parking fee.

Candidate: Moge Agahian

Bio: Agahian, a Rye Brook resident for the last five years, came to the United States at the age 17 from Tehran, Iran. She moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a few years later moved to California to attend the University of San Francisco, where she graduated with a degree in fine arts. She later went to law school in Seattle, where she graduated and practiced law for 10 years, serving as a clerk for a court of appeals judge and working as a civil deputy prosecutor. Prior to attending law school, Agahian was a systems analyst for Xerox Corporation.

Agahian has been married to her husband, Reza, for 20 years and they have a 14- year-old son attending Blind Brook Middle School.

Running for: One of two open spots on the Rye Brook Village Board. Agahian is an independent candidate.

Political Experience: Agahian has been active in the Blind Brook Parent Teachers Association and was president of the Arbors Homeowners Association. She also served on its board for three years.

Where Agahian stands on the issues:  Agahian supports a zero percent tax increase. She supports the consolidation of some government services to reduce expenditures and said the village may need to cut expenses and service, though she has declined to specify which ones since she is not privy to the budget process, she said.

Candidate: Toby Marrow

Bio: Marrow and her husband, Ted, have lived in Rye Brook for the past 21 years. She has two children, Nathan, 16, and Hannah, 10, attending the Blind Brook schools. Marrow works full-time in the finance area for Temple Israel of New Rochelle. She has also worked in accounting for an environmental graphics design firm and a commercial brokerage firm. Prior to that, Marrow worked for American Savings Bank initially in operations and then as a systems support officer. Like Agahian, Marrow is a former president of the Arbors Homeowners Association.

Running for: Rye Brook Village Board Trustee. Marrow is running with Jeff Rednick on the Rye Brook Together ticket, a local group that currently holds all five spots on the board.

Political Experience: Marrow has been active in the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District PTA. While serving on the Arbors Homeowners Association Board, including a term as president, Marrow participated in a homeowners consortium in Rye Brook. She also served on the Rye Brook Advisory Committee for the development of the Rye Brook Athletic Field at King Street.  

Where Marrow stands on the issues:  Unlike Agahian, Marrow isn't advocating a zero percent tax increase, saying that the board should "hold the line on increases, commensurate with these difficult economic times," but also declining to give specifics on how the village can cut expenses.

Marrow said that sharing certain back end administrative and other services could reduce the cost of government. She said an important issue the Village Board needs to address is balancing the preservation of open space with future development, such as the proposed Rye Town Hilton expansion.

Candidate: Jeff Rednick

Bio: Rednick was born and raised in what is now the Village of Rye Brook and attended the Blind Brook schools. Rednick has a wife, Lois, and two children, David, a third grader, and Samantha, a kindergartener. He is an attorney, focusing on real estate law, criminal defense and civil litigation. His office is located in Port Chester. 

Rednick graduated from the University of Michigan and St. Johns University law school. 

Running for: Rye Brook Village Trustee and is running on the Rye Brook Together with Marrow.

Political Experience: Rednick was previously a member of the Village of Rye Brook's Traffic Commission and currently sits on the Zoning Board of Appeals. He is a member of the Elks. Before moving back to Rye Brook, he served as Chairman of Port Chester's Planning Commission and was the village's prosecutor.

Where Rednick stands on the issues:  Rednick said the village will have to scour its budget to see where it can cut any spending which won't detrimentally affect services, though, like his fellow candidates, Rednick declined to say where service cuts should be made. He said that each department head at Village Hall should be asked to reduce their budgets by 5 to 10 percent.

Rednick said he is in favor of consolidating some government services, but isn't in favor of eliminating the Village of Rye Brook. He said the Town of Rye should be eliminated if a study showed that the measure would generate significant cost savings.

Voting Day Information:

The election will be held on March 16. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

Voters can cast their ballot at the following polling places, according to district:

Election District #20: Port Chester Middle School-Bowman Avenue (Main Lobby)

Election District #21: Port Chester Middle School-Bowman Avenue (Main Lobby)

Election District #22: Blind Brook High School-King Street (Main Lobby)

Election District #23: Ridge Street School-North Ridge Street (Gymnasium)

Election District #26:Port Chester Senior High School-Neuton Avenue (Main Lobby)

Election District #27:Ridge Street School-North Ridge Street (Gymnasium)

Election District #29:Ridge Street School-North Ridge Street (Gymnasium)

Election District #30:Blind Brook High School-King Street (Main Lobby)

Election District #31:BelleFair Meeting House (Main Lobby)

Visit smartvoter.org and type in your address and zip code to find more information about your specific polling place.

Where to get Election Results:

Visit Rye Brook Village Hall after 9 p.m. to hear the election results.