Candidate Ken Mazer: Community Service is in his DNA

Ken Mazer has been nominated by the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Party to serve as a Scarsdale Village Trustee. The election will be held at Scarsdale Library on Olmsted Road on Tuesday March 15 from 6 am to 9 pm. Meet Ken below and see why he is eager to serve Scarsdale.

Why do you want to serve as Village Trustee?

Engaging in community service has always been a priority in my life - it’s part of my DNA. Contributing to organizations bigger and more important than myself is enormously satisfying. Now I see the chance to give back to my town that has done so much for me and my family over the past 26 years as an amazing opportunity.

What do you do in your professional life?

I have been in the textile business since graduating business school from NYU over 30 years ago. In 2005, my partner and I started Global Textile Partners, which produces and imports textile products from Asia. With sourcing offices in China and Korea and customers in a wide range of industries, from advertising banner fabrics to automotive interior fabrics, our business has many moving parts which makes it all very interesting and satisfying.

What skills do you bring to the Board?

I believe my experience from business and the non-profit sector has enhanced my approach to problem solving which emphasizes objectivity, curiosity, creative thinking, consensus building, empathy and asking good questions. I expect to bring this approach to my service on the board.

You have an impressive resume of volunteer service. Tell us about some of your roles.

For 28 years, I have been the chairman of a grant-making foundation at UJA-Federation of New York that has funded programs in the USA, Israel and the former Soviet Union to address a wide range of issues, such as food insecurity, domestic violence, substance abuse, women empowerment, social justice and educational enrichment.

I also served for 15 years as a board member, 3 years as Chairman, of the New York Association of New Americans, an agency based in New York City that sought to provide one-stop services to refugees, including assistance for housing, healthcare, English classes, citizenship applications and vocational training.

For the past 22 years, I have been a member of the Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Department, Company #2. During this time, I was a Lieutenant for 12 years and elected President for 8 years.

What do you enjoy and value about living in Scarsdale?

I value most the people of Scarsdale. Our community is comprised of motivated and engaged residents who are passionate about creating the best environment for raising a family. They volunteer countless hours serving the PTA, sports teams, various civic committees and non-profit organizations to make life better for us all. And the work they do is mostly out of the spotlight and comes from the heart. We should all be proud that we and our neighbors care so much about our community.

How do you think your children are benefitting from growing up here – if they are?

Like most residents, It’s my hope that my children will benefit from the outstanding education resources Scarsdale offers. But I also hope they learn by example from observing how members of the community are committed to volunteering and to improving the world around them.

As a firefighter did you see anything more the Village could do to ensure the safety of the firefighters or the residents?

During my tenure as a volunteer, I have been fully equipped with modern gear and thoroughly trained on firefighting techniques and strategies. As far as I see it, the residents are in good hands with the professionals and volunteers of our fire department. I should also point out that having career professionals lead the training protocols and fireground decision-making has made me totally confident that the volunteers are being deployed with our complete and total safety in mind.

As a volunteer firefighter, I have no visibility, however, into the administrative interactions between the fire department and the village. I look forward to having the opportunity to learn more about that process as a member of the Board.

As a resident what, if anything, do you think the Village could do better?

I have always been impressed by the devoted and collaborative manner the Village Board has carried out its responsibilities. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to continuing that process.

What do you see as the primary challenges facing the Village Board?

The primary challenges of the Village Board are twofold. One, it needs to continually reach out to the general community to learn the priorities and concerns of the people who live here. And two, it needs to reconcile and balance the competing interests and objectives that are bound to emerge from any topic of significance.

For example, the board will need to consider costly infrastructure projects, such as updating the pool complex or the Freightway parking lot, while at the same time mitigating the impact on our tax rates and debt levels. It will also have to consider quality-of-life matters such as leaf-blowing ordinances and implementing historic preservation initiatives which will have vocal support on all sides of the issues.

I look forward, should I be elected, to working with the other board members and the experienced village staff to address the issues before the town in an equitable and sensitive fashion.