Candidate Profiles: Thomas Atkinson

Thomas Atkinson is running for his first term on the village board after being .

Atkinson currently works as an attorney, with 12 years of experience and a law office in Lynbrook. He previously served as the village prosecutor and counsel to the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce.

His community involvement includes chairing the Our Lady of Peace Golf Outing, coaching flag football, serving as a third degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus.

Atkinson is also a graduate of Our Lady of Peace School. He is married to his wife, Jennifer, and has two children, Tommy and Sean.

Why are you running for village board? 

You run for the village board, first and foremost, simply because you love Lynbrook. I think many people have a burning desire to work for their neighbors and community. I know I do. People get involved in a myriad of ways; fire department, school board, coaching, all kinds of things. I think legal training tends to steer you toward the policy-based and legislative decisions which the village board makes. 

How do you feel about the job you personally have done so far on the Lynbrook village board? 

I was appointed in January 2011. I know that I have put an incredible amount of time in becoming as informed as possible on the outstanding issues the board deals with. At the same time, that time put in has been incredibly satisfying and interesting to see how every decision the board makes works together. I know I can be an asset to this team, and you can see it already with some of the tax lien and other legislation we have passed. 

What are some of the key challenges facing the village? How do you plan to address them? 

As with all municipalities in the state, the issues of state mandates requiring ever larger payments into the state pension fund and health care costs are huge challenges facing lynbrook. Lynbrook is well-run administratively, but the state repeatedly asking for more and more funds each year is a challenge. We need to actively support a legislative agenda in Albany that tackles these issues.  Locally, we need to do more with less. Anyone can see that government is being reinvented in places across the nation, we must strive to have Lynbrook at the forefront of that innovative thinking. We have the capability and will to do that.

What would you like to see accomplished in the next four years? 

We are going to work very hard to continually enhance our recreation programs, work tirelessly to resolve the issues with the MTA stores on Atlantic under the trestles, and the potential movie theater renovation.