New village trustees take office in Albion, Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 April 2021 at 9:48 am

Zack Burgess, Jess Marciano, both in early 30s, are a new generation in local government

Photos by Tom Rivers: Zack Burgess takes the oath of office on Monday evening while his mother, Lynn Burgess, holds the Bible. Albion Mayor Eileen Banker, right, administers the oath in the board room at the Village Office. Burgess’s sister Amber Bedford, her husband Wes and their two children watched him take the oath.

ALBION/MEDINA – Two new village trustees were sworn into office on Monday, Zack Burgess, 31, and Jess Marciano, 34, are part of a new generation getting involved in local government.

Both were elected on March 16. Marciano was one of two trustees who were unopposed in Medina. She was elected along with incumbent Owen Toale.

Burgess won on March 16 with nearly 80 percent of the vote over retired social studies teacher Joe Martillotta, the former owner of the Crooked Door Tavern in Albion.

Burgess, a life-long Albion resident, has been active in the village, serving as co-chairman of the Rock the Park Music Festival at Bullard Park. He works as a sales representative at Bentley Brothers.

He has worked with many of the current Village Board members and many of the village employees through Rock the Park. He presented plans to the board for that music event many times in recent years and also connected with village department heads on the music festival, which was a fundraiser for the park.

Provided photo: Jess Marciano, right, took the oath on Monday with her daughter Cadence. Marciano’s wife, Rhonda Marciano, is shown holding the Bible.

Jess Marciano and her family were living in a small townhouse outside of Buffalo. They were looking for a permanent home with a “community feel.” Marciano and her wife Rhonda didn’t expect to move so far east as Medina. But the other communities they looked at didn’t feel like the right fit.

“We were hooked before we pulled out of the driveway of the new house, but the selling realtor, Renee Schuner, was a fantastic representative for Medina’s tourism committee,” Marciano said. “Renee sent us down Main Street, ending at Zambistro, for a full Medina experience. For nearly four years, especially the last two as a stay-at-home parent, I am reminded almost daily why this is such a wonderful place to live.”

Marciano joined Medina’s Parks Committee last year and is now on the Village Board. She worked at Walmart for 11 years, starting in loss prevention and ending as a co-manager, responsible for total store operations and directly supervising the salaried managers. In 2017, she started with ADESA Buffalo, where she worked for two years, one as sales supervisor and the other as the office manager.

The trustees start at a very busy time for the Village Boards, as they have several extra meetings in April, working to get the village budgets adopted by the end of April. Albion’s budget for 2020-21 totals $6,872,286 while Medina’s includes $5,925,742 in spending.

Zack Burgess signs the oath of office, which was administered by Village Clerk Linda Babcock.