Salvatore, former Albion mayor, may run again for position

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – Ed Salvatore says his phone has been ringing often in recent days. Several people have asked him to run for mayor in March.

Dean Theodorakos, the current mayor, announced this week that he won’t be running for re-election.

Salvatore served in the position from 1998 to 2006. He lost a very close election to Mike Hadick for mayor in March 2006. Hadick pulled off the upset, 440 to 438. A paperwork filing snafu kept Salvatore from running as a Republican in that election. He was forced to use an independent line, which showed up at the bottom of the ballot.

Salvatore didn’t want to leave village office. He said he had three unfinished initiatives: downtown revitalization, improvements to Bullard Park and the continuation of a sidewalk replacement plan.

The village has worked on those issues, but Salvatore said he would like to see a faster pace of progress. He thinks it could be done with a full-time mayor.

The Kodak retiree and past Albion fire chief put in full-time hours when he was mayor, despite a salary of about $9,000.

“Albion needs a full-time mayor because there are so many problems and things that need to be done,” he said. “It’s not something that can be done a couple hours on the evenings and the weekends.”

Kevin Sheehan, a village trustee for nearly eight years, said he intends to run for mayor.

Sheehan works full-time as a maintenance mechanic at the VA Hospital in Batavia. He said the position offers a flexible schedule.

Salvatore is 83, and he said some people may think he’s too old to be mayor.

“People may say I’m an old man, but I have the energy,” he said. “I’m in good shape. I take care of myself.”

Salvatore is a registered Republican. He said he intends to decide next week if he will run for a four-year term as a mayor. The election is in March and the term starts April 1.

“I got to make some phone calls and talk to people,” he said. “If I do it I will commit to it full-time.”