When Yorktowners head to the polls, they will decide whether to keep incumbent Republican Ed Lachterman as town supervisor or elect Democratic challenger Jann Mirchandani, a longtime resident and financial services professional. (Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.)
Ed Lachterman holds an Associate of Applied Science degree in hospitality management and has more than 40 years of hospitality experience, progressing from busboy to executive leadership. He founded The Ultimate Service Agency and co-owns two businesses with his wife, Carol. After serving eight years as a Yorktown councilman, he became town supervisor in 2024. His work includes civic leadership, culinary training for at-risk youth and efforts to promote disability employment. He has received a statewide award for disability employment and was named a 2026 Hudson Valley Jewish Changemaker, an initiative led by Rep. Mike Lawler’s office.
What are the most important issues facing Yorktown, and why are you the most qualified to address them? I am the most qualified to lead Yorktown because I bring proven municipal experience, decades of business management, and a commitment to this community. After eight years as a councilman and serving as Supervisor since 2024, I understand our town’s operations, finances, infrastructure, and residents’ needs.
Our greatest challenges are maintaining essential services while keeping taxes affordable, improving aging infrastructure, protecting our neighborhoods and schools, and strengthening our commercial tax base. My administration has focused on these priorities through responsible budgeting, aggressive grant applications, commercial redevelopment, and investments in roads, parks, water systems, and police resources.
As a small business owner, I understand that every dollar matters. As a community volunteer, I understand that government must remain accessible and responsive. My approach is “Progress with Preservation”: moving Yorktown forward while protecting its character. I bring the experience, relationships, and judgment needed to turn plans into results for the people of Yorktown.
If elected, what will be your top priorities over the next year? My priorities for the coming year begin with completing the update to Yorktown’s Town Master Plan. This plan will provide the roadmap for our decisions on growth, infrastructure, preservation, and services, ensuring that individual projects support a coordinated vision for our future.
Complete the Master Plan: Establish clear goals that reflect residents’ needs, protect Yorktown’s character, and guide investment and responsible development.
Protect taxpayers: Maintain disciplined spending, aggressively pursue grants, and strengthen our commercial tax base to reduce pressure on homeowners while preserving essential services.
Improve infrastructure: Bring Phase One of the Hallocks Mills Sewer Extension to fruition through funding, planning, and coordination, while advancing road, bridge, drainage, and water system improvements.
Keep Yorktown safe: Support police resources, maintain school security partnerships, and develop sustainable funding for reliable EMS services.
Encourage responsible growth: Revitalize underused commercial properties, attract businesses, and align development with the Master Plan and infrastructure capacity.
Preserve quality of life: Maintain parks, recreation, senior services, and responsive constituent services while protecting open space and historic resources.
Strengthen accountability: Set project milestones and provide regular updates on spending, schedules, and results.
Together, these priorities advance “Progress with Preservation,” giving Yorktown a clear direction and delivering meaningful results for our residents.
On a personal level, what is the most important piece of advice you have received? The most important advice I received came from Al Capellini, who told me to always remember that when serving the town, I am not a Republican or a Democrat—I am a Yorktowner. My responsibility is to make the decisions that are best for Yorktown. That advice reminds me to put our community first, listen respectfully, and work with anyone who wants to help our town.
Another lasting lesson came from Mel Kaufman, one of my first bosses: leading by example, rather than position, is what distinguishes a person as a leader. A title carries responsibility, but leadership is earned through your actions, work ethic, and treatment of others. Together, these lessons guide me to put people before politics and demonstrate the commitment I ask of others.
Jann Mirchandani has owned Westchester Marketing Cafe, a certified woman-owned business that helps small businesses grow, for more than 25 years. She previously spent 10 years in financial services with international asset management firms. Mirchandani serves as chair of operations for the Greater Hudson Valley Council of Scouting America and previously served as council commissioner. She has also served on the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce board and as a trustee of a $4 million private trust. She is a graduate of Leadership Westchester and earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University at Buffalo.
What are the most important issues facing Yorktown, and why are you the most qualified to address them? Yorktown residents are paying more and getting less. Taxes rose 7.4% in 2025, water rates were just doubled for many residents, and the commercial tax exemption has cost residents nearly $1.7 million in revenue that taxpayers had to make up. Developers promise community benefits, but those benefits too often disappear after project approval. I'm best qualified to address these issues, having managed multi-million-dollar budgets, led organizations through mergers and financial shortfalls, and built consensus among people who don’t always agree. I’m a pragmatic leader. I care about what works. When there’s a problem, I want to understand it, hear from those affected, and find a practical solution. I’m running on an independent local line because these are Yorktown problems, requiring an independent leader to address them.
If elected, what will be your top priorities over the next year? My top priority is affordability. For years, Yorktown residents have faced big tax increases one year and none the next, with fee increases to cover the shortfall. That whiplash makes it hard for families to plan. I will build a five-year financial plan with clear goals, so residents can see what’s coming and plan their own household budgets with confidence. I will hold department heads accountable for meeting their budgets and give residents clear, regular reports on where the Town stands. I will also find efficiencies across Town departments and put the savings toward better services for residents. The goal is simple: steady, predictable taxes and fees that end the cycle of spikes and freezes and give residents the stability and services they deserve.
On a personal level, what is the most important piece of advice you have received? “Leave it better than you found it.” I learned it through Scouting, and it has guided me as a parent, a business owner, and a volunteer. It’s a simple standard, but it asks a lot. Whatever you are trusted with, whether it’s a campsite, an organization, or a town, you owe the next generation something stronger than what you inherited. That is how I will approach serving as Yorktown’s Supervisor.
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