Ti Supervisor Joe Giordano seeks another term

TICONDEROGA | When an improbable write-in campaign in 2015 for a candidate with an unspellable last name proved successful, few were as surprised as supervisor-elect Joe Giordano, who had to drive home from the election board and explain his victory to his wife, who had not been entirely convinced he was doing the right thing. On taking office, the condition he found the town to be in surprised him more. Ticonderoga was well-loved, but not well-maintained. Past boards had bristled at being bossed around by state and federal governments, a sentiment Giordano said he understood — but the failure to comply with their orders was starting to threaten citizens' health, and was costing taxpayers large sums of money through fines and inefficiency. The town's drinking water was not being treated for parasites, untreated sewage was flowing into the La Chute river during heavy storms, the town budget was not up to state accounting standards and its planning laws and zoning codes were out of date and didn't always agree with each other. Agencies from the New York Comptroller's Office to the U.S. Justice Department had run out of patience; in 2018, the federal government fined Ticonderoga $50,000 for ignoring a more than a decade's worth of orders to provide citizens with clean drinking water, As he seeks his fourth term, Giordano said he's most proud of restoring good bones to the town, which will allow it to grow and thrive on a solid foundation. And it's that initial write-in campaign that hardens his resolve. "In 2015, 782 people wrote in the name of this guy they didn't know; they had enough faith in what I wanted to do," he said. "It's grounded me, because I know there's so much work that needs to be done." While not glamorous, Giordano said new water lines, stormwater sewer systems, modernized land-use ordinances, grant-writing and precise budgeting — which reduced the tax levy by $245,000 in 2017 — are necessary for a healthy town that's hospitable to new development. It's this consistency and quality that attract investment, he said. Deep dives into the minutiae of government is part of the job, but also part of the fun. "I like problem solving, so the community can elevate itself to where it wants to be," he said. "While I've only been here for 11 and a half years, in many ways I feel as though Ticonderoga is my hometown, and it's why my wife and I have chosen to raise our two sons here." Along with revamping town infrastructure, Giordano said the board over the past five years has also implemented "reality based budgeting," that has kept taxes flat and passed community solar-farm policies that will be a model for other towns in Essex County. He also said the town and its partners during his tenure has added more than two dozen businesses, planned for streetscape and beautification projects and worked to get rid of abandoned, blighted properties. Going forward, Giordano said he and the board want to upgrade town buildings, most notably the police station and highway shed. Other issues include softening water from the town's new wells, providing safe drinking water for Chilson/Eagle Lake, re-establishing a town Economic Development Committee, extending broadband services and strengthening town youth programs. As an aerospace engineer, Giordano is attentive to detail, which he knows have sometimes frustrated people who want faster action. But he compares governing to running a marathon, noting that cutting corners leads to unnecessary setbacks."The issues town governments face are expansive as they are deep and sometimes complex," he said. "To resolve these issues, I have exercised a caring approach, a patient understanding, and an open-minded problem-solving mindset to build the firm foundation from which the aspirations of Ticonderoga can flourish." Giordano will face off against fellow Republican Mark Wright in the June primary.

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Ti Supervisor Joe Giordano seeks another term

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