by Bea Peterson
On Tuesday, March 15, Hoosick Falls voters will go to the polls to re-elect a Mayor and Village Justice and elect three of four candidates for Trustee. Mayor Matthew Monahan and Trustees Paul K. Haynes, Jr. and John Hickey are running on the Progressive Party ticket for a second term. Riccardo DiDonato is also on the ticket, running for a third term. Thomas Restino is running again for Village Justice.
The Taxpayer Party has cross-endorsed the Mayor, Justice Restino and Trustees Haynes and Hickey. Their candidate for Trustee is Sharon Davendonis.
Mayor
Matthew Monahan, 30, was elected Mayor in 2009. He was first appointed to the Village Board in 2007 to replace the late Tom Barton and was elected the following year to complete that term. The Mayor is a Hoosick Falls native. He graduated from St. Mary’s Academy, LaSalle Institute and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He lives at 16 Barton Avenue and works in Bennington, VT.
Trustee Candidates
Trustee Paul Haynes, Jr. was appointed to the Board in August 2004 to complete the term of Brian Dooley. He declined to run in 2006. In 2008, when Robert Becker resigned from the Board, the Mayor at that time, Laura Reynolds, asked him to serve again. He completed Becker’s term, and in 2009 he ran and was elected to the Board.
Haynes, 43, is a lifelong resident of Hoosick Falls. So is his wife Mary and both of their parents. The couple live on High Street with their four year old twin daughters. Haynes is a Siena College graduate and is comptroller for Interface Solutions.
Trustee Riccardo (Ric) DiDonato, 49, and his wife Suzanne live at 25 Abbott Street. They have three sons. DiDonato first served on the Board when he completed the term of Margaret Casey, who resigned. He is running for a third term. He holds a BFA from Syracuse University in Advertising Design and is a Senior Educational Designer for Research Foundation of NY.
John (Ersel) Hickey, 68, retired from Saint-Gobain two years ago after nearly 30 years. He has been driving a school bus for 29 years and will retire this June. For a few years he drove limousines for CLS. Hickey has always been interested in Village politics and has found his time on the Board very interesting. His son Michael Hickey is also a Village Trustee. Ersel and his wife Sue live at 12 McCaffrey Street. They have three children and six grandchildren.
Sharon Davendonis is running for office for the first time. She has been a regular at Village Board meetings for the last five years. She was encouraged to run by her friend Trustee Ann Bornt. She looks at serving on the Board as a new adventure and a way to help the Village if she can. Davendonis is a HFCS graduate. Years ago she worked at the Riverview Plant until it closed. She and her husband Ralph live on Cummings Street. They have been married for 46 years and have four children.
Justice
Thomas Restino is a Hoosick Falls native and a HFCS graduate. He and his wife Margaret have three children. Justice Restino said he has been in the automotive business his entire life. He is presently Vice President of DePaula Chevrolet. Restino has been Hoosick Falls Justice for 15 years and Hoosick Town Justice for 12 years. He is running unopposed.
Voters Must Be Registered With The County
The Village is now using the Rensselaer County role to determine eligible voters. County Voter Registration forms are available at the Village Clerk’s office.
Polling Places
The polling places are Ward 1 – the CEO building on River Road; Wards 2,3 and 4 – the Municipal building on Main Street.