I write in nonpartisan support of Josh Nathan’s candidacy for Rye City Council. As a former leader of the Friends of Rye City Schools and the Rye Fund for Education, I observed Josh’s impressive effectiveness as a results-oriented leader in our community and on the Rye City School District Board of Education. 

Josh, who has vowed to make flood mitigation his number one priority, is uniquely prepared to tackle this issue head on. He served on the Governor’s NYRCR committee for Rye that developed local and regional storm and flood mitigation projects for Rye and obtained a $3 million federal grant for work that will improve the Blind Brook floodplain from Indian Village to the harbor and Milton Road drainage. 

A Cornell-educated attorney, Josh served as a member of the School Board for many years, rising to the role of president for three years and winning his seat in a landslide. During his tenure, and despite the economic crisis, he led the School District through successful collective bargaining, as well as the effort to resolve decade-long and expensive tax litigation and engaged in sound fiscal planning — all without cutting teachers or programs and resulting in among the lowest tax-rate increases in Westchester. 

We need Josh’s talent for bringing people and organizations together to find common ground benefitting Rye. Given his legal training, his experience on the School Board, and his work on the Governor’s NYRCR committee, he offers important insights on how to improve coordination and communication across all levels of government to get things done for Rye.

We have been lucky to have Josh Nathan on our School Board, lucky to have him on the Governor’s flood prevention committee, and we will be lucky to have him on our City Council.

• Mary Payton Emery, Esq.