Mike Guerriero
Mike Guerriero. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
Mike Guerriero Sr., 65, has been retired for about a year from his former position as the owner of Three Guy’s Pizzeria in downtown Highland. While born in the Bronx, the Democratic candidate has lived in the area most of his life, including summers spent on his aunt and uncle’s farm in Clintondale and his wholesale transplant to the Town of Lloyd after marrying a Highland native in the 1960s.
Guerriero’s never run for office before, but he did consider a run back in the mid-1980s when Jon Decker was supervisor.
The former pizza shopkeeper said he wanted to run to fulfill an ambition that had been blocked by his career as a small business owner before.
“Well, right now I want to give back to my community,” he said. “And now I’ve got the full time to do that.”
The major issues for the Democrat are the flooding from Lee and Irene, and the transparency of government with the citizens of Lloyd.
“Since the recent hurricane, I think we’ve realized that we’ve got a drainage problem here,” Guerriero said, who would push for more storm readiness and look to get a shelter established in town.
“Right now, we don’t have a place for our citizens to go,” he said. “But our citizens, they do deserve something.”
Guerriero said the town needs to set up a better plan storm plan, especially in light of the people trapped on Oakes Road during the storm. “We’ve never expected something like this.”
Being accountable to the people who vote for him and making sure the Town Board’s doings are transparent is also a big issue for him. “People should be aware of how their money’s being spent.”
The Democrat said he’d like to form a watchdog committee to oversee the town government. “Right now, our Town Board is strictly one party. There’s nobody there to challenge them. That’s not good government.”
In terms of why people might want to vote for him, Guerriero said his business ownership was a key asset. “I have 40-some years experience running my business,” he said. “I’m very careful how I spend someone else’s money.”
He added: “I’ve served the people for 45 years behind the counter. If I could do that, I could serve them behind the desk.” ++
