About Sandra Frankel

A Community Leader

Sandra L. Frankel was re-elected to her ninth term of office as Brighton Town Supervisor in 2007. She has consistently received support from Democrats as well as scores of Republicans, Independents and Working Family voters who enjoy the quality of life in Brighton and appreciate her administration's style of open government.

Frankel was recently appointed to the Governor's Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. She joins local leaders and experts from across the state who will examine options for reducing redundancy and the cost of municipal government, in order to increase New York's competitiveness nationally and in the global marketplace.

Frankel is a member of the Board of Governors and Rules Committee of the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, an insurance company for more than 600 local municipalities in New York State, including counties, towns, small cities and villages. She is past President of the Board of Governors and has served as the organization’s Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair and member of its Board of Governors’ Executive Committee.

Frankel was the Democratic Nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York State in the 1998 election, having won a three-way Primary Election statewide. She put Brighton and Monroe County on the map, and opened the door for upstate candidates. She also chaired the New York State Democratic Committee’s Task Force on Domestic Partnership/Civil Union.

A Record of Distinction, Built On

} Breaking Down Barriers: Sandra Frankel was the first Democrat and first woman elected to the position of Brighton Town Supervisor in the town’s 177-year history. The Frankel administration reversed the trend of Republican control and has provided leadership with an all-Democratic town council for 16 years. In 1998, the town’s voter registration shifted to a Democratic advantage for the first time in the town’s history.

} Opening Up Government: As Supervisor, Frankel has built an impressive record of accomplishment. She is most proud of the renewal of citizen involvement in town government, which is the key to the town’s recent successes. When first elected in 1991, she kept her promise to throw open the doors of town hall and let the sunshine in. She formed several citizen committees to review everything from the budget to the state of the town’s recreational opportunities. Citizens are selected based on their interest, expertise, and enthusiasm for improving government. She has worked to make town government more inclusive in order to better represent the rich diversity of the community.

} Making Her Community Safer and More Secure: That spirit of community involvement led to improvements that have made Brighton safer and more secure. Among those were the establishment of Community Policing and the closing and demolition of a motel that had become a center of crime and drug activity. A town-led team worked with neighbors to close the motel, and a new pharmacy now stands on the site.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, Brighton has taken steps to improve public emergency preparedness through participation in the County's task force on terrorism. Brighton police also actively participate in the local multi-agency drug task force.

Frankel put more police on the street and formed the first Public Safety Committee of the Town Board, bringing police, fire, ambulance, highway, and public works agencies together on a monthly basis to share information, coordinate efforts, and review requests to enhance public safety. Under her administration, fire and ambulance services have been strengthened to the benefit of the people who live, work and attend schools in the Town of Brighton. The State accredited police department has become more efficient and effective through increased use of technology and the authorization for 41 uniformed officers. Brighton police now collaborate more than ever with other law enforcement agencies in the region and across the state and nation.

} Balancing Budgets, Cutting Taxes and More: Sandy’s administration has cut property taxes in four of the last 14 years, fixed a major inherited structural budget deficit, restored fiscal integrity and stability, and earned a high-level Moody's credit rating upgrade to AA3. Since 1993, the annual growth in Town property taxes has averaged 2.41%, while the average annual rate of inflation during that same period was 2.51%.

As the elected executive, Sandy created and implemented an inter-municipal economic development initiative for Monroe Avenue, the town's main retail/commercial corridor that extends from the City of Rochester through the towns of Brighton and Pittsford to the Village of Pittsford. She also initiated inter-municipal agreements that saved taxpayer dollars and expanded and enhanced code enforcement, assessment, purchasing, employee assistance, and fire services.

Unlike the trend in many other "inner ring" suburbs, under Sandy's leadership, residential property values have increased and business districts have been revitalized.

} Improving and Investing in Community Quality of Life: Sandy and her team have created a town-wide park system and acquired or developed more than 350 acres; Brighton's "Central Park" for active and passive recreation, Buckland Park, features many athletic facilities and the Buckland farmhouse, a historic landmark currently undergoing restoration for community use. She and her team, in partnership with the Genesee Land Trust, secured an environmental treasure, Corbett's Glen Nature Park, protecting its waterfalls and woods from development. The Frankel administration has protected environmentally sensitive areas, and cleaned up contaminated land, and the Town of Brighton has been designated a "Tree City U.S.A." by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The Frankel administration ended community conflict and created a consensus to renovate and more than double the size of the public library for lifelong learning, including a Children's Discovery Room and public computers.

The Town partnered with the Brighton schools to build a new, year-round community/school swimming pool, and her administration more than doubled the number of Town recreational offerings.

Sandy instituted an aggressive program to construct and maintain the Town's infrastructure, including roads, sewers, sidewalks, and drainage systems.

Recognizing the importance of the Erie Canal to Brighton and the Rochester Area, Sandy led a successful county-wide effort to secure designation of Interstate 490 as the "Erie Canal Expressway." The designation will help to promote economic development, stimulate heritage tourism and encourage recreational use of this unique resource.

An Educator by Training

These are the most recent successes that have come from twenty five years of involvement in public and community service. Prior to her election as Supervisor, Sandy Frankel served as a member of the Brighton Central School District Board of Education for six years, including three years as vice-president. She also served for 10 years on the Board of Education for the Monroe #1 BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services), and as its Vice President. She is a past president of the Monroe County School Boards Association.

Sandy worked as a Speech Language Pathologist for more than 20 years in education and health care settings in the public and private sectors.

She holds a B.S. with Distinction from Newcomb College of Tulane University, and a Master of Arts from Northwestern University. She completed additional graduate studies at Stanford University and San Jose State College.

A Volunteer by Choice

Sandra Frankel serves on the Board of Directors of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce, Children Awaiting Parents, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, and the Hillel Foundation for Rochester Area Colleges. She is a member of Brighton Kiwanis and the Rochester Rotary Club, and served as an "ambassador" for Greater Rochester Enterprise. She has been active in many other state and community organizations, including the United Way, National Organization for Women, League of Women Voters, Temple Sinai and the Jewish Community Federation, and the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester.

A Recognition of Achievement

Sandra Frankel has received recognition for her commitment to her community, her public service, and her accomplishments. Please refer to her resume for details.

A Focus on Family

Sandra and Neil Frankel have been married for 43 years. Neil recently retired from Xerox Corporation. He is the author of the website www.slaverysite.com, a non-commercial resource for information on the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in America. They have three grown children: daughter Janice Block (David) and sons Tom (Carolynn) and Eric (Ashley), and seven grandchildren; Hannah (14), Akiva (12), Ezra (9), Sarah (7), Jeremy (5), Natalie (2), and Yaakov (1).

February, 2008

2001 Photo

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Last Updated June 17, 2008

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