The March 21 election in the Village of Dryden features a heavily contested race. Democratic incumbents Michael Murphy (Mayor), Jason Dickinson (Trustee) and Thomas Sinclair (Trustee) eye another term on the board of trustees. While Republican challengers Tom Corey (mayoral candidate), Fred Stock and Tim Arnold (trustee candidates) look to unseat their respective opponents.

This week, the Independent highlights the incumbents. All three Democrats candidates sat down with the paper to discuss their candidacies and their ideas for improving the village. (The Q&A’s with the Republican candidates can be read here.)

Michael Murphy (Mayor)

Tompkins Independent: How long have you been a resident of the village? 

Michael Murphy: I have lived in the Village of Dryden on Lee Road for 45 years with my wife Michele raising three daughters. The village was a wonderful place to raise my children. Now, my grandchildren are growing up in the village. I will strive to make the village a wonderful place to live.  

TI: What is your background in local government? 

MM: Since my retirement, I have served as a village board trustee for five years and mayor for five years. I have learned more about the village through action. Each knowledge has helped me be a better mayor.  

TI: In what ways (currently as well as in the past) are you involved in the community aside from  your  on the board? 

MM: Apart from my work in local government, I’ve enjoyed a wide range of volunteering and community service, namely – helping to plant 80 young trees along village streets; helping with the construction of a new playground in Montgomery Park; serving as a trustee of the Dryden Town Historical Society; attending and photographing its events; photographing and participating in Dryden Dairy Day events; studying photography techniques at TC3; and supporting Holy Cross Church.  

TI: A goal of yours and your running mates is to further increase the number of housings. In what ways do you plan on increasing the total?

MM: My running mates and I plan to increase total housing in Dryden (and thereby grow the village tax base and spread the cost of government) first by attracting quality apartment construction on vacant village farmland. To this end, we’ve already secured a highly respected local developer to buy 42 acres of farmland behind Dollar General on Route 13 and to build a totally non-subsidized apartment complex, starting with 48 apartments, this summer. New working families will not only be additional customers for existing businesses, but they will also be a draw for new restaurants and new businesses, and ultimately a way to encourage home construction as well. Growth is contagious, and a tax burden which is widely shared is a lot lighter for everyone to bear.                                    

TI: What “quality of life projects” do you hope to bring to fruition? In what ways will these projects positively impact the community? 

MM: I’m hoping to continue working on several “quality of life” projects – already started – with the goal of creating the most walkable and community-centric village possible. During my next two years, for example, we’ll continue to provide funding for the restoration of our older homes. To this end, the village will apply for a CDBG [Community Development Block Grant] Grant of $500,000, enabling our neighbors to do costly repairs, not only preserving the village’s housing stock but its beautiful architecture as well. Also, during my next two years, we will be applying for a one-million-dollar TAP-CMAQ [Transportation Alternatives Program-Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement] Grant to build more sidewalks to connect to the sidewalk built during our last grant. The grant will provide for remotely lighted (“smart”) crosswalks needed. Another goal is to build a dog park to bring people together in a vibrant new venue inside the village. The 2022 New York Forward Grant of $4.5 million was new with a short period to apply. We applied but did not win it. This year we will apply for the 2023 New York Forward Grant for villages. This year we will regroup last year’s superior forward committee. This year, the committee working with a winning consultant, the village will win the grant this year. This consultant and his staff have won five times the similar type of grant for cities, worth $50 million. 

TI: How would you describe the current state of commerce in the village? 

MM: The current state of commerce in the village is low. Like many other communities, Covid-19 has damaged us, but the village is a wonderful community. Its potential for thriving commerce is great. I believe it will happen. 

TI: What are your plans to recruit more businesses to the village? 

MM: Board members and I are committed to several things: bringing in more customers (residents of the new apartment complex); making sure that our downtown is as clean and inviting as possible; carrying on the beautification ideals of Mary Kirkwyland’s Beautification Brigade of volunteer gardeners; maintaining the spacious municipal parking area behind West Main Street; seeking a EV Charger Grant to provide charging stations for electric vehicles – future forms of transportation; seeking grant money to help West Main Street owners upgrade the apartments and façades; envisioning the process of becoming a attractive place to shop with services or products beneficial to our community.

Tom Sinclair (Trustee)

Tompkins Independent: How long have you been a resident of the village?

Tom Sinclair: My wife and I moved to the village 12 years ago and it has been home ever since.

TI: What is your background in local government?

TS: I served on the Village Board of Trustees from 2017-19 and I was appointed to the Village of Dryden Planning Board in 2021 where I am presently a member. I was the first Chair of the Department of Public Administration at Binghamton University and served in that position again between 2019-22. As a faculty member, I have been engaged in numerous projects with local governments throughout the Southern Tier.

TI: In what ways (currently as well as in the past) are you involved in the community aside from your work on the board?

TS: I am a past member of the Board of the Dryden Town Historical Society, and was a member of the Dryden Beautifiers Brigade.

TI: A goal of yours and your running mates is to further increase the number of housing. In what ways do you plan on increasing the total?

TS: We want to increase the number of housing units, because when Dryden grows our tax base expands and we can reduce the tax burden on established homeowners and businesses. Also, village residents will benefit because when the village grows, restaurants and other services will also expand giving people more to do close to home. 

I see a few ways to expand housing; first, we can support homeowners and local property owners who want to invest and improve our established housing stock. Recently, the Village helped renovate 14 homes using Community Development Block Grant funds and I hope we can do more projects like that to stabilize neighborhoods and help maintain our property values. Second, there is a lot of vacant land in the village that can be developed for market-value rentals, as well as single-family homes. With its library and parks, schools and trails, Dryden is a family-friendly community. I want to see that our housing investments align with those priorities.

TI: What "quality of life projects" do you hope to bring to fruition? In what ways will these projects positively impact the community? What is needed in order to make these projects a reality?

TS: Last fall, I was part of a great team of community members who worked on a NY Forward grant application. As part of that process, we had over 140 residents respond to a questionnaire about what they wanted to see happen in our village. They emphasized the good neighborhoods, the village’s walkability, Montgomery Park and the library as vital assets in the village. The village board can help support those assets by expanding our sidewalks and trail network. We can help people stay closer to home by building a safe dog park so they don’t have to drive to Ithaca to let their pets run. 

Over the past several years, the village has incrementally improved the park, added crosswalks and sidewalks, and planted dozens of trees throughout the village. The village board can continue to make these investments so that over time significant improvements will be made. We can also continue to seek grant funding like future NY Forward grants to fund more expensive projects. And, we can take a look at our nearly 20-year-old Comprehensive Plan to make sure that the future it envisions matches what our residents want the Village of Dryden to be for our next generation of residents.

TI: How would you describe the current state of commerce in the village?

TS: I’m actually quite excited about Dryden’s commerce and its prospects. I’ve done economic development analyses for communities that lost their grocery store or their pharmacy and their leaders were rightly concerned about their survival. Over the past few years, Dryden has actually expanded those essential businesses. I’ve met a number of young entrepreneurs who are investing in businesses in the village and they are bringing innovative ideas and a new energy that will benefit all of us. We do have some blighted properties, and it can be frustratingly slow to turn those problems around, but if the village continues [to] focus on bringing new residents and businesses, and the board of trustees continues to invest in the infrastructure to support them, I think we’ll see continued growth and the village will thrive.

TI: What are your plans to recruit more businesses to the village?

TS: In addition to supporting new housing and the rehabilitation of existing housing, I’d like to explore whether we have the critical mass of people and resources to create a Business Improvement District that will facilitate private investments in the village. That’s a multi-year process, but I think just starting conversations about it will strengthen our community by making connections and finding ways to support good things happening. I would like to see the village enhance its web page so that prospective businesses can see all the steps they need to take to get started. And I intend to work with the other members of the board of trustees to support new ideas that people bring to us; we have a lot of assets to work with. It would be an honor to serve on the board and be a part of growing our future.

Jason Dickinson (Trustee)

Tompkins Independent: How long have you been a resident of the village?  

Jason Dickinson: Twenty years ago, I bought my first and only house right next to Dryden Elementary.

TI: What is your background in local government?  

JD: I have served five years as a village trustee.  

TI: In what ways (currently as well as in the past) are you involved in the community aside from your work on the board?  

JD: I currently coach youth soccer. I have helped build the Montgomery Park playground and a bit of work for "Tree City USA."

TI: A goal of yours and your running mates is to further increase the number of housing. In what ways do you plan on increasing the total?  

JD: Currently, there is a proposal for a large development in the large field behind Dollar General.  Lifestyle Properties is a successful, local, established family business and I strongly support this project. The project is designed for middle income adults and families. The townhouses are environmentally friendly and very beautiful. This will significantly increase the population over 10 years.

TI: What "quality of life projects" do you hope to bring to fruition? In what ways will these projects positively impact the community? What is needed in order to make these projects a reality?  

JD: We want to help facilitate a dog park for the village. It can't be a local government project for safety/legal reasons. We have discussed different places and found a site that needs some development. The village board needs community involvement/support/organization. We have put in sidewalks and will continue to improve pedestrian traffic. Additionally, I would like to purchase a patrol bicycle for the police department so the trail, parks and downtown could be more easily patrolled.

TI: How would you describe the current state of commerce in the village?

JD: We have a number of stable businesses, which is an improvement from when I started on the board. It very well could be better, but business in the village has recovered from Covid. For example, The Village Taqueria has done well after a number of restaurants came and went. I believe this is due to the crosswalks allowing villagers to walk safely.

TI: What are your plans to recruit more businesses to the village?

JD: The development [behind the Dollar General] will bring a large influx of medium income consumers. This will attract more businesses. Business should grow organically.