Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro has won this year”™s Groundbreakers Award from the Pace University School of Law”™s Land Use Law Center. The award is given to a graduate of the center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance Training Program for exemplary work using the types of land use and decision-making tools and techniques taught in the program.
Molinaro was selected, according to a press release from the county executive’s office, for his dedication to public service and his efforts in communication and collaboration between regional partners and stakeholders on land use issues to enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of the Dutchess County region.
“Taking part in the Pace Land Use Leadership Alliance Training Program restored my passion for public service and inspired me to work harder, to lead by example and to mold consensus when confronting community challenges,” Molinaro said in the press release.
John R. Nolon, a law professor and founder of the Land Use Law Center, commented on the impact Molinaro had on the program.
“During the graduation ceremony, Marc told his fellow graduates that the program had changed his attitude about being mayor. When he came, he said he was nearly burned out from ”˜putting out brush fires,”™” Nolon said. “Because of the program, he was returning home refreshed because he understood that he had a different role: that of stimulating dialogue about problems and ‘building community one conversation at a time.'”
Molinaro began his career in public office at the age of 18 in 1994, serving on the village of Tivoli board of trustees. He became the youngest mayor in the U.S. in 1995 as leader of the village, and during his tenure he attended the land use training program.
