Walden Mayor Bill Trohanis is wrong on the big issues.  Bill is a good man with a great family but, in my view, his approach to decision making is often misguided. Consequently, his judgments on really important matters have been terribly wrong. 

In 2014, when Bill was running for alderman, he suggested that the town sell property around the perimeter of the McCoy Farm in order to generate revenue for the town. This idea was bad for two reasons. First, that plan would have ruined what is now known as McCoy Farm & Gardens. Second, the plan would have violated the restrictions in the deeds from Martha McCoy and her daughter. Bill simply did not take the time to think through this idea and determine whether his idea was even possible under the deeds. 

In January 2015, the elected mayor resigned, and Bill became mayor. Later that year, when it was determined that Walden needed a new firehall for the Walden’s Ridge Emergency Service, Bill’s reaction was: put it over at McCoy. Once again, Bill failed to take the time to understand the deed restrictions. More importantly, this idea would have been devastating to McCoy Farm & Gardens.  
Nevertheless, Mayor Trohanis seriously pushed this notion for months. He called Martha’s daughter, who lives out of state, and tried to gain her support.  He tried to convince her that placing the firehall complex on the McCoy property would be “consistent” with Martha’s desires for the property. He said that the firehall complex would provide many benefits to the community and to the McCoy property. The mayor even offered to name the new facility after Martha or the family. 

Martha’s daughter wrote a personal letter to the mayor and the Town Board expressing her great appreciation to the many volunteers who had worked to improve the property and stating that she and her family strongly objected to placing the firehall complex on the property. 

WRES decided to look for other property for the new firehall, and the mayor ended his misguided effort. Interestingly, with some effort and thought, WRES secured the perfect location for the new complex – right next door to the old firehall. 

Anyone who has looked at the size of the firehall complex and the amount of land cleared to accommodate that complex can readily see that the mayor’s plan would have destroyed McCoy Farm & Gardens.

Walden now faces decisions that will determine the town’s character from now on. We need a mayor who will not jump to quick solutions when dealing with matters of enormous significance. 

Vice Mayor Lee Davis will bring a thoughtful, collaborative, and careful approach to decision making. He will take the time to study and understand the issues. This is the approach Walden needs at this critical time, and this is why I support Lee Davis for mayor.

Margha Davis
Walden