2026 New York General Election

I have lived in Clarkstown for thirty years and raised seven children here. In the schools, on the fields, at the recitals and the fundraisers.

About Gina — Elect Gina DeFelice

I graduated summa cum laude from Purchase College and spent my career in hospitality and service. That’s not the résumé people expect, and it’s more useful than most of the ones they do. Service work teaches you how to fix problems that actually affect people’s lives.

I serve on the Board of Governors for the Rockland Youth Dance Ensemble and have volunteered in arts education across Rockland County for decades. I’ve met countless people through these programs, and learned what a great way it is to bring our community together.

Gina DeFelice graduated summa cum laude from Purchase College. She has raised seven children and serves on the Board of Governors for the Rockland Youth Dance Ensemble, where she has volunteered in arts education across Rockland County for decades.

Gina DeFelice graduated from Purchase College. She has raised seven children.

DeFelice is a 30-year resident of Clarkstown with a varied background which she feels makes it very hard to discuss it, but she was able to give the highlights of it.

“I have been a nursery schoolteacher, a circus arts instructor, I’ve worked in hotels and restaurants.
 I’ve done freelance work for a media company which is kind of how I got interested in public service. I’m currently a nanny for three small boys. I’ve been a volunteer with Rockland Youth Dance Ensemble for 25 years and I have served on the board since 2018. I’m very involved with the arts community. I think that art brings people together,”

GINA DEFELICE SETS HER SIGHTS ON WARD 4 SEAT ON CLARKSTOWN BOARD – Rockland Post

Gina currently works as a nanny for three small boys. She previously worked as a nursery schoolteacher and circus arts instructor, worked in hotels and restaurants, and freelanced for a media company.

Gina currently works as a nanny for three small boys. She previously worked as a nursery school teacher and circus arts instructor, worked in hotels and restaurants, and freelanced for a media company.

I lost this seat by 429 votes in November 2025. It is on the ballot again this November.

Town Council Clarkstown Ward 4

Cross-Endorsed Candidate Bob Axelrod won with 54.21% of the vote, or 2,755 votes. This was 429 votes more than Democrat Gina Defelice.

Day Trounces Parietti, Piermont Mayoral Race Neck-and-Neck | Rockland County Times Newspaper: Real News Since 1881

Gina previously ran for the Clarkstown Town Council seat in District 4 in November 2025 but did not win.

Day Trounces Parietti, Piermont Mayoral Race Neck-and-Neck | Rockland County Times Newspaper: Real News Since 1888

Continuing, she stated, “It’s great to bring in new business, but we have to weigh that against our existing businesses. I talked to someone who said yes, but that strip mall was really ugly, and this looks much nicer. I don’t disagree with that.
 I’m just saying we really should be taking care that we’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” She mentioned a number of businesses that were located in the strip mall where the Chick -Fil-A is and then said, “When we do something like that, I want to make sure that we’re taking care of the people who are being displaced.”

She says everyone talks about bringing in new business but her notion is if we can support the businesses that are already here and we can make the towns more walkable or encourage more people to stay and spend their money at home, and 50 businesses are so successful that they have to hire one more person, that’s the same as having a new business with 50 new people. It’s strengthening businesses that already exist.
If we do bring in new business, we have to make sure that it’s the kind of business that’s going to support jobs for people who live here.

How I can make your lives better.

Six things, in the order a town board could actually do them.
Stop shifting the tax burden onto homeowners.

THE COMMITMENT

Before the town agrees to cut a big property’s taxes, make it hire its own expert to say what that property is actually worth, and hold a public hearing. I will vote against any deal that moves the cost onto homeowners without both.

Elect Gina DeFelice — Platform

Stop borrowing for everyday expenses.

You borrow for things that last. A culvert. A firehouse. A road rebuilt from the base up.

THE COMMITMENT

Pay for equipment and yearly road work out of the regular budget. Put the full cost, including interest, in front of the board before it votes to borrow.

Said development should protect displaced existing businesses and ensure new businesses support jobs for local residents.

Said development should protect existing displaced businesses and ensure that new businesses support local residents' jobs.

Pledges to oppose property-tax agreements that shift costs to homeowners without an independent property valuation and a public hearing.

Proposes paying for equipment and annual road work through the regular budget and disclosing borrowing costs before board votes.

- Said development should protect existing displaced businesses and ensure that new businesses support local residents' jobs.
- Pledges to oppose property-tax agreements that shift costs to homeowners without an independent property valuation and a public hearing.
- Proposes paying for equipment and annual road work through the regular budget and disclosing borrowing costs before board votes.

Economy

As of October 27, 2026, Gina DeFelice’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Public Services

Build homes our parents and our kids can afford.

Older neighbors want to sell their big house and stay in Clarkstown. There is nothing smaller to move into, so they leave town instead.

THE COMMITMENT

Publish a dated tracker on those 1,500 homes so people can see whether it is moving. And exempt first-time buyers from the proposed tax on home purchases.

Keep heavy truck traffic out of our neighborhoods.

A developer wants three warehouses on 41 wooded acres along Route 303. That would require more than 1,600 trees cut down. Hundreds of truck trips every day, past our schools and driveways. 200 residents came out against it in July.3

THE COMMITMENT

Change the zoning on Route 303 so a project this size cannot be approved automatically.

Proposes publishing a dated tracker for 1,500 homes and exempting first-time buyers from the proposed home-purchase tax.

Proposes rezoning Route 303 so development projects as large as the proposed warehouse project cannot receive automatic approval.

- Proposes publishing a dated tracker for 1,500 homes and exempting first-time buyers from the proposed home-purchase tax.
- Proposes rezoning Route 303 so development projects as large as the proposed warehouse project cannot receive automatic approval.

Housing & Urban Development

Public Safety

Make our roads safer.

Pedestrians have been struck and killed on Route 304.4

The town and county started a safety study in 2024. Two years later, there is still nowhere safe to cross.5

I would fund the simple fixes first: a painted and lit crosswalk, a corner cleared so drivers can see, and the missing stretches of sidewalk connected up. None of it is expensive. None of it has been done.

Make our roads safer.

Pedestrians have been struck and killed on Route 304.4

The town and county started a safety study in 2024. Two years later, there is still nowhere safe to cross.5

THE COMMITMENT

Put a cost and a date on every fix the safety study recommends, and pay for the cheap ones this year.

Plans to fund low-cost Route 304 pedestrian-safety improvements this year and set costs and timelines for all recommendations from safety studies.

- Plans to fund low-cost Route 304 pedestrian-safety improvements this year and set costs and timelines for all recommendations from safety studies.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Energy & the Environment

Instagram

Facebook

Gina DeFelice

- Pledges to oppose property-tax agreements that shift costs to homeowners without an independent property valuation and a public hearing.
- Proposes paying for equipment and annual road work through the regular budget and disclosing borrowing costs before board votes.

- Proposes rezoning Route 303 so development projects as large as the proposed warehouse project cannot receive automatic approval.

Isaac Brickman

Edward Krutsch

Buket Urgen

How It All Started

Bob Axelrod has been married for 48 years and a resident of Clarkstown for the past 37 years, where he raised his family.

Meet the Candidate | Robert A. Axelrod Campaign Website

Robert A. Axelrod has been married for 48 years.

Bob is a retired Professor of Speech from SUNY Rockland Community College, where he was employed for over 33 years, and where he had been awarded the SUNY “Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Service” in 2009. Bob also coordinated a Speech and Hearing Clinic at the College that serviced hundreds of students and faculty with speech, language and hearing problems.

Bob is a retired professor of speech from SUNY Rockland Community College, where he also coordinated a Speech and Hearing Clinic.

(New City, NY) – Supervisor George Hoehmann and the Town Board voted yesterday to appoint Bob Axelrod to fill the vacancy of former Councilman Pat Carroll who is now serving in the NYS Assembly. Axelrod is a retired Speech and Communication Professor at Rockland Community College.

Supervisor Hoehmann, Town Board Appoint Bob Axelrod as Town Councilman | Town of Clarkstown

On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, our newly elected Town officials were sworn in at a public ceremony at Town Hall. Although each Town Council member and I had already officially signed the book and taken the oath of office, the public ceremony better marks the start of a new term and presents a great opportunity for residents to meet their newly elected officials. In addition to myself, four Town Council members – Jon Valentino, Mike Graziano, Don Franchino, and Bob Axelrod – took the public oath.

Town of Clarkstown Official Swearing in Ceremony | Town of Clarkstown

Each of the wards individually elects a member to the Town Council, while the other offices such as Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, Superintendent of Highways, and Town Justice are elected by voters town-wide. This year, Ward 1 will be represented by Councilman Jon Valentino, Ward 2 by Councilman Mike Graziano, Ward 3 by Councilman Don Franchino, and Ward 4 by Councilman Bob Axelrod. Council members serve terms of two years in duration, but due to changes to state election law all seats on the Council, including Town Supervisor, will be up for election again this November in order to realign local elections with Gubernatorial or Presidential races.

Bob currently serves as a Clarkstown Town Council member for Ward 4. He was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Town Council and was among the newly elected town officials sworn into office in January 2026. Town Council members serve two-year terms.

Keeping Clarkstown affordable

Responsible budgeting keeping taxes low.

S & P Global issued a AA bond rating to the Town of Clarkstown, which is the highest rating in Rockland County.

Supports responsible budgeting to keep taxes low.

- Supports responsible budgeting to keep taxes low.

Invested in over $90 million dollars to upgrade infrastructure

fixing flooding issues in West Nyack.

major enhancement of parks and sports field surfaces, renovating playgrounds.

Added 40 acres of open space and paving of our roads, ahead of schedule.

Said he improved parks and sports-field surfaces and renovated playgrounds.

- Said he improved parks and sports-field surfaces and renovated playgrounds.

Fighting for You

Fighting against Overdevelopment

Protecting Open Space

Enforcement of Fair and Uniform Zoning and Building Codes

Robert A. Axelrod Campaign Website

Cracked down on illegal housing and improved neighborhood safety.

Added three new code enforcers, including Spanish speaking for a total of seven.

created a Deputy Town Attorney for code enforcement and securing over 260,000 in penalties, a record in Clarkstown.

Opposes overdevelopment and supports protecting open space.

Said he expanded enforcement against illegal housing by adding three code enforcers and creating a deputy town attorney position.

- Opposes overdevelopment and supports protecting open space.
- Said he expanded enforcement against illegal housing by adding three code enforcers and creating a deputy town attorney position.

Keeping Clarkstown affordable

Responsible budgeting keeping taxes low.

S & P Global issued a AA bond rating to the Town of Clarkstown, which is the highest rating in Rockland County.

Supported mental health agencies to help educate the public on mental illness and addiction issues in the County, and avenues of recovery

Supported mental-health agencies that educate the public on mental illness, addiction, and recovery options.

- Supported mental-health agencies that educate the public on mental illness, addiction, and recovery options.

Said he invested more than $90 million to upgrade infrastructure and address flooding in West Nyack.

- Said he invested more than $90 million to upgrade infrastructure and address flooding in West Nyack.

Clarkstown Town Council Member, District 4

Candidates (2)