Tom O’Brien for Re-election as Trustee


To the Editor:

I have been asked by many residents if I will be running for Mayor.  I was asked to run for Mayor by For a Better Garden City (FABGC), and I was also invited by the Eastern Properties Owners Association (EPOA) to run for Mayor through the Community Agreement rotation process. Although I appreciate the vote of confidence from both organizations, and believe I have the necessary qualifications to serve as Mayor, I have respectfully declined. FABGC will soon be announcing a new candidate for Mayor.

I will, however, be running for reelection as a Trustee. If reelected, I will continue to draw upon my leadership experience as a Village Trustee for the past two years, along with my management background as an Executive with large global Management and Technology firms, while in parallel leveraging my experience serving on several not-for-profit boards of directors.

I love Garden City.  As background, I have lived here my entire life and it was a special place for my six siblings and me to be raised by our parents Jerry and Lucille O’Brien, and for me to raise my family. My children Patrick and Mary Beth, and my wife Donna Murphy O’Brien were also raised here as was Donna’s mother Eileen Murphy. There are so many kind and generous people in our town, and we are fortunate to have wonderful friends …many lifelong.  I have been active in the Village as a coach of many town football and baseball teams (including the Garden City High School football teams!!!), as a Trustee of St Joseph’s Parish, and Member of its School Board.

I have been honored to serve all of you as a Trustee! I believe I have made a positive impact on our Village and residents and I remain committed to being transparent, to give thoughtful and sound consideration of issues, and to treat all with courtesy and respect. I am an independent thinker and believe all residents have a voice in our government, and I always try to make myself available and value input.

When I ran for and was elected as a Trustee in 2021, I along with my fellow new and incumbent Board members and Mayor were able to bring about some positive needed changes that the majority of the residents wanted to see. One of my goals if reelected, is to continue to work very hard to unify all our residents, FABGC, the POAs, and other organizations for what is best for our Village during a time when there are so many big issues before us. We need harmony and to foster consensus on issues as much as possible. 

We are very fortunate to have a long tradition of unselfish volunteerism, community and civic service in our Village. As many know, I respect the Community Agreement and have not attempted to change it, but I do think it is time to consider updating it to reflect current times and circumstances to enable residents to vote on the most qualified candidate regardless of where they reside. 

Now is the time to preserve the values that make Garden City such a great place to live and raise our families. I ask you to please support me for Trustee. 

Tom O’Brien
Trustee, 
Village of Garden City

One response to “Tom O’Brien for Re-election as Trustee”

  1. Margaret Kelly says:

    Tom: Thanks so much for your willingness to devote another two years to the BOT. We are indeed fortunate as a Village to have someone as excellent as you step up on behalf of FABGC to sacrifice so much of your time for the Village. Many thanks.

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