Q & A With White Plains Common Council Candidate AnneMarie Encarnacao

AnneMarie Encarnacao is one of six candidates running for the White Plains Common Council on Nov. 5. She is running under the Republican and Conservative lines

Encarnacao is a lifelong resident of White Plains for 46 years and has lived in 5 different neighborhoods throughout the city: Prospect Park, Soundview, Battle Hill, Fisher Hill, and now The Highlands, where she currently resides. She and her husband, Rui, have been married for 26 years and have two adult children, Ashley and Rui, who attended the White Plains Public Schools kindergarten through 12th grade.

Besides living in White Plains, Encarnacao also works in downtown White Plains as a Real Estate Associate Broker and an Insurance Broker.

Below are Encarnacao's responses to a questionnaire sent out by Patch.

Age: 53

Occupation: NYS Licensed Real Estate Assoc Broker & Insurance Broker

Patch: Why did you decide to run for election?

Encarnacao: I decided to run for election because instead of sitting back and complaining about the decisions that have been made, I decided to get involved by running for Common Council so I could be one of the decision makers!

Patch: What personal or professional experiences qualify you to serve on the common council?

Encarnacao: My personal experience is that of a lifelong citizen living here for 46 years, who has grown up here, got married here, and raised our family here. I’ve seen the city grow from what we called the country before any mall was built, not even The Hamilton Avenue Mall where the DMV is located and watched it become the thriving city it is today!

My professional experiences are those from working in restaurants, being a manager to district manager in retail, an insurance broker who has done everything from sales, marketing, and running the office, and then as an associate broker in real estate giving me a sense of the value of such. All of which are careers dealing with people and for me, it’s always been about people and my desire to help and make a difference and I want to do that for our city!

Patch: What is the top issues facing city residents?

Encarnacao: My opinion would be the continual rising taxes and public safety.

Patch: Describe your campaign platform or how you differentiate yourself from your opponents' platforms?

Encarnacao: My platform is simple. Listen to people and make decisions that help people. A few of the things being: the situation with our rising taxes, open space, parking, & public safety. This would include, which would include a contract for our policemen and a return of neighborhood patrols; along with the return of both the police and fire department positions that were let go that made us undermanned. I would also like to address the parking situation and doing something about parking for the citizens.

Patch: Should you be elected, what would you like to achieve over the course of your term?

Encarnacao: I would try to achieve the things I spoke about as my Campaign Platform above and try to stabilize taxes from constantly going up, as they have doubled in the last 13 years! I would try to achieve obtaining Open Space for the community, as we have lost out on two large open spaces over the last decade because of decisions that were made! Parking as a nuisance to visitors who aren’t coming as much to our main street businesses and for our citizens/residents/homeowners. Then there are several items dealing with Public Safety I‘d like to see get resolved: our police not having a contract and our neighborhoods not having patrols any longer. Another is the size of the fire department and the fact that we have less fire staff than we did in 1966 and the need for a new fire truck at the Ridgeway Fire House.

Patch: If elected, how do you feel you will balance of the concerns of the city’s businesses community with the concerns of all your other constituents?

Encarnacao: I would balance it by listening to both and making decisions that benefit both and not hurt one for the other.

Patch: Is there anything we haven't asked that you would like the public to know about you or your candidacy?

Encarnacao: The thing I would like the public to know is that I truly will listen to them and work in their best interest by making decisions with them and not without them or against them, as I feel has been done in the past.