Bill Greenawalt vies for legislative seat in 12th District

Hartsdale resident and attorney William “Bill” Greenawalt is seeking to fill the 12th District seat that will be vacated by Thomas Abinanti next year. Abinanti will leave the seat when he joins the state Assembly in January.

Greenawalt, who has expressed interest in the position since April, graduated from Cornell University before serving two years in the Navy. He attended Yale Law School, where he served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal and later worked as a Manhattan litigator for four years.

Greenawalt joined the public service sector and became a legal services director at the Office of Economic Opportunity, where he developed 75 programs for the poor during his two-year tenure. He later returned to a litigation career in New York City and Westchester County.

Greenawalt has been the Assembly District’s Democratic State Committeeman since 1978, serving multiple executive positions including treasurer and vice chairman. He has served on Greenburgh’s recreation committee; Westchester County’s Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board; and the Taconic State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission. He was chair of the Greenburgh Democratic Committee from 1997 to 2002. He chaired the county’s White-tailed Deer and Forest Regeneration Task Force and led a 2008 report that studied how to protect the forest and homeowners.

Greenawalt said the county’s 2011 has “severe budget cuts” that “sometimes cut beyond the bone.” He is favor of possibly merging departments for “sensible savings,” job creation, infrastructure projects such as adding sidewalks and bicycle paths, and better legislator communication.

District leaders will vote on a democratic candidate at their convention on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at Greenburgh Town Hall. MaryJane Shimsky, the community relations director for Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, is also seeking the district seat. District 12 covers central and southern Greenburgh including Edgemont and Hartsdale.

Read more about the two candidates in the Express on Thursday, Jan. 6.