Pellegrini to Run Again

Committed to continuing her work on behalf of Somers, First Selectwoman Lisa Pellegrini has announced that she will run for re-election this fall.

The campaign committee, "Pellegrini 2011," has adopted "Still a Better Way" as the campaign slogan, building on Pellegrini’s first term accomplishments.

While the economy has seen little or no improvement, the Republican has brought numerous efficiencies to town government and has corrected unnecessary, long-standing expenses.

"We’ve been able to fix previous problems and implement town-wide projects, both at minimal cost," she said. "The Somersville Streetscape Project is case in point. We prevented a loss of $580,000 in STEAP Grant Funds by starting the project - we were in danger of losing those funds because nothing had been done with receipt of these resources from 2006 to 2008."

Pellegrini has obtained over $925,000 in grants during the first year and a half in office, including grants for two large solar panel projects -on on the and one on the .

In addition to securing monetary resources in the form of grants for the town, Pellegrini is conscious of the way tax dollars are being spent.

By researching companies and vendors and putting new processes in place, the current administration has been able to save the town nearly $150,000. This included cost savings in reforming insurance contracts after it had been discovered that taxpayers had been paying for outdated insurance policies on vehicles and property no longer owned by the Town.

"One savings measure we successfully put into action was to send the Town’s Workers Compensation Insurance out to bid," Pellegrini said. "A simple and straightforward idea like this saved the town nearly $52,000."

Pellegrini is vowing to continue her efforts to apply new ideas, address problems of the past, keeping track of the town’s fiscal circumstances, and propel the community forward.

Pellegrini moved to Somers in 2003 and said she became enamored with the quality of life there. 

"We have a superior , a recently renovated and expanded , superb recreational facilities, a dedicated , an outstanding  Program and a wide variety of volunteer groups all striving to make Somers the best possible community," she said. "If you have ever driven by and admired the gardens, chances are that you will see the volunteers from Somers Beautification working on them. The people truly make the difference here."