Pleasantville Elected Officials Take Office [VIDEO]

First-term Trustee Colleen Griffin Wagner took her seat with the village board for the first time Monday evening during Pleasantville's annual organizational meeting.

Griffin Wagner, along with fellow elected officials Jonathan Cunningham and Mayor Peter Scherer, were sworn into office by Village Justice John Curley.

The three officials on March 20. Cunningham and Griffin Wagner defeated incumbent Stephen Lopez and candidate George Dolce.

"I look forward to serving this village to the best of my ability," said Griffin Wagner. "I'm very excited about this process and I hope that I can do Steve Lopez justice for the job that he has done."

Cunningham has begun his fourth term as a trustee and Scherer is in his second term as mayor. Scherer also served as a trustee for seven years prior to being elected mayor. Trustees serve three-year terms in the village.

During the meeting, Trustee Mindy Berard was named deputy mayor for one year.

"While it's uncomfortable to go through contested elections, I'm glad that I did and I think we should do it more often," said Cunningham, "because quite frankly, at the end of the day, it encourages more people to come out."

Scherer about the past three years, noting there were "times of significant accomplishment" as well as tragedy.

"I think collectively the community has risen to those challenges and has performed admirably," he said.

Looking forward, Scherer said he believes the village "is in as solid a position as one could hope to be...and perhaps the envy of some of our peers."

He added, "We have to earn it every year—this name called Pleasantville—but I think this year we've earned it and we will try our darndest to earn it this year and every year."