Despite concerns over his residency, a candidate seeking to run for the Harrison receiver of taxes position on the Republican line has gathered enough petitions to trigger a September primary.
However, a general objection to Michael Giordano’s candidacy has been filed with the Westchester County Board of Elections, BOE, who will begin to vet the claims on Thursday, July 20, after press time.
Although property records indicate that Giordano may not actually live in town/village of Harrison, he has earned the opportunity to primary against the Republican Party-endorsed candidate Rosa Mastrogiacomo-Luongo.
According to data from the county BOE, Giordano, who owns a home in West Harrison on Woodside Avenue and a home on Blossom Lane in the village of Brewster in Putnam County, obtained more than the required 285 petition signatures qualifying him to run in the primary election. In total, Giordano amassed 377 signatures.
Giordano, who currently works in the Harrison tax receiver’s office, is one of four candidates seeking the elected position, along with Mastrogiacomo-Luongo, Democratic candidate Maria Mioli Pennella, also a registered Republican, and Helen Pesce who is looking to run in the general election as an independent candidate.
Earlier this month, Giordano told the Review that he lives in West Harrison while his wife and children live in his Brewster residence. However, on tax forms, he has indicated that his Blossom Lane home is his primary residence.
Additionally, his son, Anthony, graduated from Brewster High School in June.
According to information obtained from the town of Patterson in response to a Freedom of Information Law, FOIL, request, Giordano has been receiving a School Tax Relief Exemption, known as the STAR exemption, since 2001.
According to the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance, multiple-property owners in the state must collect a STAR exemption only on the property they consider their primary residence, the location where they spend the majority of their time.
However, Giordano has contended that a state election law only requires that a candidate for elected office have the means to establish a primary residence in the municipality in which they are seeking office when the term of that position begins.
He has been registered to vote in Westchester with his West Harrison address since Aug. 16, 2016. Before that, he was registered to vote using his Brewster home address, according to the Putnam County Board of Elections.
Giordano has been employed in the Harrison tax receiver’s office for 22 years and currently earns an annual salary of $70,666. He would benefit with a $30,000 per year raise if he were to be elected to the receiver of taxes position, which earns an annual salary of $101,050.
The receiver of taxes position is elected to a four-year term.
