Joseph Indelicato
Joseph Indelicato. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
Joseph Indelicato, 40, a system manager at the Highland Hannaford Supermarket, is a fourth generation Lloyd resident and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He’s owned his own catering business and has 15 years of management experience.
“I take pride in where I live,” Indelicato said.
Locally, parents might know the Democratic newcomer as the manager and league director for the Highland Little League teams.
In terms of why he’s running for office, Indelicato said he felt fortunate to have come from the Town of Lloyd in the first place. “I’d like to give back to the community that gave me such a strong foundation,” he said, adding that people in town had set him on the right path. “I’d like to give that back to the next generation.”
Big issues for Indelicato were the transparency of government, how development plays out and planning for future disasters.
If elected, he’d push to limit the amount of executive sessions the Town Board goes into, and he’d work to make people feel free to speak and feel like they’re being heard at meetings.
“I want to bring the town back — the town community,” he said. “I’d like to bring back where the Planning Board, ZBA and Ethics Board all have their rightful place in the government.”
In the wake of Irene and Lee, drainage is a huge issue for the town. Indelicato would hope to address future natural disasters by pursuing a Red Cross storm shelter.
“There are things out there where we can do this. We have a plan,” he said. Indelicato added that the Democrats have already been working on a storm plan, but that voters would benefit from voting for him, Mike Guerriero and Jon Decker as a slate to make sure that plan happens.
Indelicato would also like to resurrect the town’s drainage committee.
“This hurricane that just happened, it’s indicative,” he added, saying that flooding will continue to happen. “We knew it was coming. We need to have a plan to evacuate days ahead.”
As far as development goes, he’d push for smart growth that would balance residential, commercial and industrial development.
He’d also rely on the strengths that the Town of Lloyd already enjoys. “We have the infrastructure with the water and sewer,” he said.
“It’s taxable.” Small businesses in the hamlet could also use some help. Indelicato would like to see some revitalization of the hamlet.
People who vote for Indelicato can look to his 15 years as a manager and his ability to listen, he said.
“Growing up here, I know a lot of people. They’re like my family,” Indelicato said, who added that he would bring a fresh new perspective to the Town Board.
Herb Litts
Herb Litts. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
Herb Litts, 55, comes from a farm family that’s been in the area since the 1600s, and one that started farming in Highland in 1919.
In January, Litts, a Republican, came onto the Town Board as an appointee to fill Mike Horodyski’s vacant board seat. He’s running this year to get back on the board for a new term.
An engineer by trade, Litts had left his jobs at the state Department of Transportation and the New York State Thruway Authority to retire — but it was a retirement that didn’t last long. He went back to work to pay bills and also got a seat on the Town Board.
“I went from being retired to working more than I had before I stopped working,” he joked.
Right out of college in the 1970s, Litts volunteered with the Lloyd Town Planning Board, and he served there from 1977 until 1981. He also served on the town’s economic development committee and sat on the Zoning Board of Appeals for 28 years.
“Actually, I’d still be there right now if it weren’t for getting appointed” to the Town Board, Litts added.
Despite his impressive resumé of long-term civic service, Litts has never technically run for elected office. This November will be the first time he’s put himself out there at the mercy of voters.
He’s running for re-election based on tradition.
“Obviously, you can see from my background that my family is very grassroots based,” he said. “My family believes devoutly in giving back to the town.”
Litts added: “I think it’s very important for people to give back to their community.”
For the town councilman, the important issues facing Lloyd have to do with development in the town. He’d push for balance in development and for smart growth. “We need to look at tax ratables,” he added.
An open and accessible government is important to him as well. “I believe in transparent government,” he said, adding that everyone in town should feel free to participate at meetings.
Litts would look to make replacing the broken infrastructure in the Town of Lloyd a priority. Prior to the hurricane, Highland was in the midst of a sewer plant renovation. Now the town is facing up to $1.9 million in repairs at the plant from storm damage. Litts said he’d work to see that sewer plant repaired. “A lot of work needs to go into that to bring it back up to speed.”
He’d also like to study the needs of the highway infrastructure into the future, looking for possible improvements to the roads.
“I think we’ve got a good start on that. We really do. But it’s a task that needs to be kept up on,” Litts said.
If they place their vote in Litts, voters can expect him to bring his 33 years of volunteer service to Highland to the board — as well as his engineering skills.
“I’m a very practical person. I’m a very forthright person,” he said. “I draw on my engineering career, and I draw upon my life on the farm.”
Litts compared his approach to town government to life on a farm. In an agricultural household, you have to prioritize and find practical ways to do things or you could lose your whole livelihood.
