Holley mayor won’t seek re-election, thanks community for supporting big projects

Editor:

To the residents of the Village of Holley, it is with mixed emotions that I am announcing that I will be not be running for a third term as mayor of Holley in the upcoming election.

Due to COVID-19 our terms have been extended until the revised election date of September 15, 2020, therefore I will be resigning in mid-July. The main reasons are that the demands of my professional life and family life are such that I cannot commit to another term as mayor and both of these things have to be my priority at this time. I truly hope the residents of Holley can understand and appreciate this tough decision I have made.

I have served the Village for over 15 years now as Planning Board chairman, then village trustee, and as mayor for the last 4 years. When I decided to get involved in local government, my goal was to bring my set of professional experiences and leadership approach to the table to do my part to make Holley the best it can be.

I have always told people that when I got involved in politics it was not to simply sit on a board and vote yes or no at meetings. I wanted to take my vision, to do projects and tackle tough problems.

I believe that those I have worked with in the past would attest to that. To accomplish this, it had to be through building relationships with other local municipal, county, and state officials as well as the village staff and trustees.

It also involved engaging with residents and making sure they stayed informed and engaged in these efforts that were going on. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of it and will miss it!

There are many things I am proud of that we have been able to accomplish in my years of service but none compare to the revitalization of the old high school into Holley Gardens. It is truly awesome to see the lights on in that beautiful old building and to know that people are living there and that very soon the Village offices will be there as well.

Our community and officials at all levels pulled together working with the developer to make that project a success and it is wonderful to be a part of it! Our village will be a better place with that historic building revitalized and I am truly happy for our community.

I am also excited about the water and sidewalk projects in our village. We took on replacing about one-third of our aged water and sidewalks in the village which is an enormous project for just about any town or village. This construction work will begin in June, finishing up in 2021. These projects are in good hands with our staff and consultants and am confident of their success. I am so excited to see the end result of these projects and the transformation that Holley will go through in the next 12-18 months.

There are other accomplishments I would like to point out but I will stop with these. I point them out not to draw attention to myself as if they are “my” accomplishments but to our community, village staff, local officials, because these are things “we” have done together.

I am proud to have served the village as Planning Board chairman and village trustee over the years. However, without question, having the privilege to be your mayor and being able to work with everyone I have met along the way is a great honor and a time I will always cherish. Thank you for your trust and support!

Brian J. Sorochty

Holley