Four candidates are running for three open positions on the Mamaroneck School Board, in the district’s first contested school board election since 2006. The Larchmont-Mamaroneck League of Women Voters is producing a conversation with the candidates, which will air live on LMC-TV on Monday, May 7 at 8 pm and on tape at various times throughout the week leading up to the Tuesday, May 15 election. Check www.LMC-TV.org for the broadcast schedule.
The four candidates include: Victor Gatti, Melany Gray, Roger Martin and Robin Nichinsky. Mr. Gatti is running as an independent; Ms. Gray, Mr. Martin and Ms. Nichinsky have been endorsed by the Committee for the Selection of School Board Nominees. Ms. Nichinsky is the current president of the Mamaroneck School Board and is seeking her third three-year term, while the others are running for the first time.
Alice Bloom, long-time LWV member and host of LMC-TV’s A Town and Village Two, will moderate the discussion as the candidates outline their qualifications, reasons for running and views on the budget, bond and other major issues facing the Mamaroneck schools.
Below is biographical information from the Selection Committee or the candidate.
Victor Gatti, Melany Gray, Robin Nichinsky and Roger Martin (r-l) are running for the three open seats on the Mamaroneck Board of Education.
Roger Martin and his wife have resided in Mamaroneck since 2008, when they returned to his family home. The Martins have two grown daughters. Dr. Martin attended Mamaroneck Avenue School, and graduated from Mamaroneck High School. He holds a bachelors degree from Drew and Yale and the doctor of philosophy from Oxford. Currently, Mr. Martin volunteers with seniors at MHS, as they prepare for the college admissions process.
Mr. Martin served as president of Moravian College from 1986 – 1997 and Randolph-Macon College from 1997 – 2006 and was associate dean of Harvard Divinity School. Dr. Martin is author of Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again.
Melany Gray and her husband have lived in Larchmont for 21 years. Their two sons attended Central School, the Hommocks, and MHS; their youngest is a senior at MHS. Ms Gray received her BS from the University of North Carolina, and her J.D. from St John’s University School of Law, Summa cum laude. Currently, Ms Gray is a part-time associate attorney for Collazo, Florentino & Keil in New York.
Ms Gray has been a past president of the Central and Hommocks PTAs, the MHS PTSA, as well as PT Council. She has written about everything from district budget negotiations to school awards ceremonies for the on-line local news resource, The Larchmont Gazette (no longer in publication).
Robin Nichinsky is a practicing attorney with a law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, Cum laude, and a masters in guidance and counseling from the College of New Rochelle. She was chair of the Mamaroneck-Larchmont Human Rights Commission, co-president of Central School and a PTA vice president at Hommocks and Mamaroneck High Schools. She also co-founded Central School’s CORE conflict resolution program. She and her husband Seth Schafler have lived in the district for 24 years. Their three daughters attended Mamaroneck district schools.
In her first two terms, Ms. Nichinsky was involved in a national superintendent search and collective bargaining negotiations. She is on the district’s Finance and Communications committees and is a board liaison to Chatsworth Elementary School and the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation.
Victor Gatti is a partner in the accounting firm KPMG LLP International Corporate Services practice. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut, a J.D. Magna cum laude from Western New England College School of Law, and an LLM Master of Tax from New York University. He and his wife Alexandra moved to Larchmont from New York City in 2008. Their daughters are kindergarteners at Murray Avenue School.
This year, he has been a volunteer with the district’s Citizens Financial Advisory Committee, working on forecasting the budget for the next five years.