Sullivan Challenges Fusco for Legislature

The New Year is only one month old but a Carmel man with roots in the greater Carmel-Mahopac area has announced his intention to seek the legislative seat now filled by Tony Fusco of Mahopac Falls.

Neal Sullivan said he decided to enter the political arena because “I care about my community and my county.”

Sullivan, a 1981 graduate of Carmel High School who received a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Fredonia and his Masters in Business Administration at Pace University, was employed as an accountant for a major accounting firm for nearly a decade, as well as the Chrysler Corporation.

“It was great. I loved the work being in charge of business strategy and business development for the financial services, but when my brother Tim suddenly passed away, I decided to return to Mahopac and be with my parents while assisting my dad with his insurance business—Sullivan Insurance of Mahopac,” he said.

Nine years later the agency has grown and expanded under Neal’s direction to become one of the most highly respected businesses in Putnam County. Sullivan said his dad opened the business in the 1960s: “I come from a struggling small business family that understands what people throughout Putnam County are going through today.”

Sullivan is involved with a number of local organizations, including the Greater Mahopac Chamber of Commerce, where he serves as treasurer. He is also a member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Board as well as the Carmel Recreation Committee. Sullivan also serves as co-chair of the Putnam County Commission on Fiscal Vision and Accountability along with Putnam Legislator Mary Ellen Odell.

Sullivan calls himself a “hands-on guy who wants to improve my community. We live in a great town. I live and breathe this county every day and my desire is to keep Putnam on the right path. Change is needed because people often become entrenched in the old way.”

Sullivan is fearful that “if we continue down our current path, many residents will be chased out of town because they will be unable to afford the cost of living in Putnam County. The old model no longer works. Ways must be found to change that make sense.”

Sullivan and his wife, Patrice, have been married for 19 years. The couple has two children—Jaclyn, 14, and Ryan, 11, who happened to have been born on his dad’s birthday: “Talk about a great present,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan was asked if he had any prior dealings with the incumbent: “I don’t really know Mr. Fusco. I have decided to seek the Ninth District seat because want to help change our county for the better, not because anything Mr. Fusco has said or done during his first term in office.”

Fusco, who is now completing his first term as legislator, having defeated long term legislator and Putnam’s first Deputy County Executive Regina Morini in 2007, told the COURIER that he will seek reelection in November.

Fusco said he was seeking another term this fall because, “I care and am fiscal watchdog while advocating for the taxpayer. I constantly challenge wasteful spending and often vote against the status-quo. Government must be introspective and should police itself while trimming wherever possible.”

Sullivan also believes in lower taxes: “Reducing taxes has been my mantra since I was in college studying accounting. Government must exist for the critical basic services, but it has gotten into too many areas these days and has driven up the cost of living.”