A Conversation with Mayoral Candidates
October 29, 2007
“A Conversation with Mayoral Candidates,” featuring the three candidates running for mayor of Geneva, has been scheduled as part of the President’s Forum, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29 in Geneva Room.
Phil Beckley, the Republican-Conservative candidate; will be joined by incumbent Don Cass, running on the Independence Party line and Stu Einstein, the Democratic and Good Government Party candidate.
“When we unveiled the Geneva Partnership, we hoped that programs such as this would be one of the results,” said President Mark D. Gearan. “Our President’s Forum series has long welcomed members of the greater Geneva community to the Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ campus, and this Forum is designed specifically with our city neighbors in mind.”
Any mayor of a small city in New York State fills a demanding position with long hours and modest pay, and the job in Geneva is frequently described as a community service role. Serving a four-year term, the mayor works with the appointed City Manager and a City Council of eight members, one elected from each of the city’s six wards and two representing the city at large.
Beckley retired as publisher of the Finger Lakes Times in December 2005 after more than 35 years as a reporter, city editor, chief copy editor, managing editor and editor. He is a former vice chair of the board of the New York Newspaper Publishers Association and now serves on the board of directors of the New York Newspaper Foundation.
He is president of the Geneva Arts Development Council, secretary of the Geneva Historical Society, and a member of the boards of Geneva Growth, Literacy Volunteers of Ontario County, the Geneva Sports Hall of Fame and Quail Summit.
Beckley graduated from Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pa. He and his wife, Linda, the Geneva High School nurse, are the parents of three and the grandparents of one.
Cass, who retired as a lieutenant from the City Police Department, is a former director of the Geneva Boys and Girls Clubs and now serves as executive director of the Yates County Humane Society.
A life resident of Geneva, he is a member of the Geneva Fire Department’s Hydrant Hose Company, Our Lady of Peace Parish, and the Sons of Italy. He has coached Little League baseball, DeSales JV baseball, St. Francis-St. Stephen’s girls basketball, and served on the Little League board of directors.
He and his wife, Mary Rose, executive director of Cozy Days Nursery School, are the parents of three grown children.
Einstein retired after a 30-year customer service career with International Paper, including 24 years at the Geneva container plant serving the Upstate New York market. Since late 2003, he has served as executive director of Success for Geneva’s Children, and devoted more than 1,000 volunteer hours in Geneva Head Start classrooms.
He is chairperson of the Geneva Human Rights Commission, a city agency founded in February 1964 to promote mutual respect and understanding among all racial, religious and ethnic groups in the community.
Einstein attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. A widower, he is the father of three grown children.
Questions for the panel may be submitted in advance to Mary LeClair in the Office of Communications at mleclair@hws.edu; they will also be collected at the door.
The Oct. 29 Conversation is free and open to the public; The show will be broadcast live on WEOS-FM.
This information is accurate for the time period that this person(s) spoke at Hobart and William Smith.