Cazenovia Pilot

Tom Tait Seeks Cazenovia Village Trustee Seat

As mentioned in an earlier post, two trustee seats are open in the June 19th village elections. Tom Tait, the former fire chief of the Cazenovia Volunteer Fire Department, is seeking election to one of those seats. His campaign provided the following press release:

Thomas C. Tait has announced his intention to run for Trustee of the Village of Cazenovia. Tait, who recently completed his term as the Cazenovia Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief, is seeking to fill the vacancy created by Trustee Troy Waffner who resigned on March 5th to pursue a position in Albany. The Village Election will be held on Tuesday, June 19th. Tait is currently passing petitions for the position and will seek the endorsement of the Village of Cazenovia Republican Committee.

Tait is a lifelong resident of Cazenovia and currently serves as the Business Development Manager for Burrows Paper Corporation. Tait is a 1990 Graduate of Nazareth College. He is the son of Retired State Supreme Court Judge Albert E. Tait Jr. and the late Peggy Hopkins Tait. “My parents have always been and continue to be my greatest inspiration to serve others. They have instilled in me the importance of hard work, loyalty and upholding the highest of standards, and I am committed to serve the Village of Cazenovia as Trustee in an honest, fair and dedicated manner”. Thomas has a brother Brian and sister-in-law Kate, brother Ed, sister Anne, brother-in-law Dan and four nieces and nephews.

Aside from serving as Fire Chief, Tait currently serves as the President of the Madison County Fire Chiefs Association. Over the years Tait has served as Chairman of the Fire Department’s Annual Easter Ball, President and Paul Harris Fellow for the Cazenovia Rotary Club, President of the Cazenovia Civic Club, Member of the Town of Cazenovia Planning Board, Executive Member of C.A.P.P. (Cazenovia Area Planning Project), Board Member for the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce, Alumni Liaison for Nazareth College and Governor of the New York State Arborists Association. He was a 2005 recipient of the “40 under 40” award and is an active member of the St. James Church community.

“It has long been my dream to serve the Village of Cazenovia as an elected official. Over the past 17 years I have strived to immerse myself in as many organizations and activities within our community as possible. My involvement has provided me the opportunity to fully understand the makeup of our community and serve the needs of ALL of our residents. My role as Village Trustee will be to maintain an open mind, understand the positions of all of my constituents and make well informed and objective decisions based on what is best for the Village of Cazenovia and its residents. While not every decision or stance I take will be popular, I assure this great community that I will exercise careful thought and research into every project, issue or debate.”

“I am concerned about our Village and the surrounding area and want to be a positive and productive part of the team that will ensure that the beauty and quality of life of Cazenovia is maintained”. Tait has expressed an interest in establishing a Village Tree Commission, maintaining a strong working relationship with the local businesses and exploring ways to further reduce speeding vehicles and cars that are disobeying stop signs within the Village. Tait has pledged to make himself available to all residents who are in need of Village assistance or who have issues that they want brought before the Village Board.

“I want to make sure that every resident of the Village of Cazenovia has the opportunity to have their voice heard. I am deeply concerned that we as a community are being divided by the issues before us, and I am committed to build consensus among these groups so that we can live in a more united and peaceful community despite our differences. We are too good a people and live in too good of a community to remain divided and to let issues, regardless of their importance, get in the way of mutual respect and understanding. We can turn the most challenging of times into the most productive of times and I intend to help in every way possible”.