Ilion's most recent Alumnus Mayor, John Gilmartin, graduated from Ilion High School in 1943 and was a graduate of Siena College. He is a Veteran of World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific aboard the USS Benevolence and the USS New Jersey and the Occupational Forces of Japan. John was Vice-President of Marmotech Corp. of Ithaca, NY, a company dedicated to Hepatitis B virus research a major cause of liver cancer in humans. John has had a distinguished and honorable career as an Associate Director, Center for Research Animal Resources Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. He also was an Associate Director, Laboratory Animal Facilities SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. In his ealier career, John was Manager Laboratory Animal Facilities, Norwich Pharmaceutical Co. Eaton Laboratories, Norwich, NY and Manager, Tumblebrook Farm Brant Lake, NY & Frederick, MD.
John Gilmartin continued to serve his community in retirement. He served on the Ilion Alumni-All Classes/Sesquicentennial Mega-Reunion. Without John Gilmartin's help and the VOLUNTARY participation and help of fellow Ilion Alumni, former mayor - Jim Garnsey '49, former Ilion Village Clerk/Treasurer - Gale (Wells) Hatch '65, former Village Trustee - Lois (Murphy) Manley '55, and many other Ilion Alumni, the Ilion Alumni-All Classes/Sesquicentennial Mega-Reunion would not have been possible!.
John Gilmartin, Jim Garnsey, Gale (Wells) Hatch, Lois (Murphy) Manley and other Alumni public servants have spent countless hours volunteering their services to their community and they all deserve the highest of praise for their unselfish dedication to their community.
John is a Parishioner of Church of the Annunciation and serves on the Pastoral Council.
IHS Alumnus, Honorable Mayor John Gilmartin '43, served as a full-time mayor, on a part-time salary ($5,000 per year), from June 2002 until June 2006. When John retired in 1990 as Associate Director, Center for Research Animal Resources, at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, he returned to live in his hometown, Ilion, NY. In June 2002, he was elected as Mayor of Ilion.
When John Gilmartin was elected mayor in June 2002, the village's Reserve Fund of $800,000 had been depleted and the village gas program was losing money and adding to the village's deficit.
Many in the village were opposed to changing the village charter, in 2005, to create a Municipal Utilities Board to oversee the Department of Public Works and Water and Light Departments. Many apparently also forgot that a variant of this idea was first proposed by current Mayor, Mark Cushman back in May of 2000. Cushman's 2000 plan/study was to disband the commissions and replace them with one utility department, made up of three elected officials and one private citizen representing each utility; water and electric. One objection to Cushman's study, raised by 2000 Commission Members, was that the abolition of the boards would eliminate the non-political operation of the utilities. Commission members urged all registered voters to make their voices heard on June 6, 2000 and challenged each village election candidate to state his or her position on this issue. The letter was signed unanimously by all of the Commission members - Electric Commission: Vito Tisci, Robert Rathbun, Maureen Champoux, Albert Pestar, Ernest Savage and Water Commission: A. Frank Dolan, Robert Steele, Dr. Arthur Applegate, James Smith and Mitchell Pezdek.
John Gilmartin's move to combine the Electric and Water Commissions into one Municipal Utilities Commission resulted in attrition that led to additional cost savings for the village. A total of 10 positions were eliminated either by retirement, resignation, contract separation agreement, or layoffs, saving the village salary and benefits. The village saved more than $400,000 with the elimination of the positions.
John Gilmartin was not a 'career' politician. He had no particular political allegiance to any one and he had the courage to follow his convictions to do what he thought was fiscally and strategically correct for the Village of Ilion. John Gilmartin treated all he dealt with, on a daily basis, with dignity and respect. He was not demeaning or disrespectful. He did not bully.
Other changes in the village's benefit, during John's term, were direly needed renovations to the Ilion Municipal Building Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, purchase of a new fire truck, privatizing trash collection, a restoration of the downtown walking mall area (which, thanks to John's foresight and efforts, can now be safely used for this year's Holiday on Main Street Celebration), renovation of the Municipal Swimming Pool, other improvements using Small Cities funding, upgrades at the marina, and purchase of the former Ilion Mall by Slocum-Dickson for the opening of medical offices.
The village's adopted 2006-07 budget included a 0 percent tax increase and was accomplished through careful review of expenditures and cutting costs across all departments.
Under John's term as Mayor of Ilion, a new GPO Federal Credit Union branch was built in the Central Plaza and a Kinney Drug Store was built. These new buildings added tax revenue and enhanced the downtown area. Modifications at the Municipal Building allowed for handicapped accessibility to the main office and the village courtroom was relocated from the top floor. Under John's term, the Village of Ilion celebrated the Village's Sesquicentennial and the Ilion Alumni Mega-Reunion.
Republican Mark Cushman, (perhaps the only Ilion Mayor elected who had previously filed a lawsuit against the Village of Ilion, then lost the lawsuit, and was subsequently elected mayor) and his Republican running mate, John 'Spanky' Stephens, disabled fireman and Alumnus of Paul Smith's College '87, defeated John Gilmartin and Trustee Lois Manley in the June 2006 election.
Republican Trustee, Doug Richards, resigned his position shortly thereafter. Mark Cushman then appointed David W. Murray, to serve out the term of Trustee for Doug Richard's vacated seat.
I sincerely hope that local politics do not become so ugly that QUALIFIED citizens shy away from participating in public service. Here's hoping that our civics classes and teachers gave us the skills to recognize the difference between real civil servants and self-serving imposters.
God Bless John Gilmartin and I personally thank him for his honorable and distinguished 4 years of service to the Village of Ilion. Some Ilionites appreciate that John Gilmartin served out of the goodness of his heart and not because he had some axe to GRIND or a personal vendetta to settle.
A sincere thank you to all Ilion Alumni, Faculty and Staff who voluntarily participate as public servants. We know you try to exemplify the motto of "Never be less than the Best!". We appreciate your dedication, time and efforts, from the bottom of our hearts. Your hard, selfless work does not go unnoticed!
Created and maintained by Aileen Carney Sweeney
Class of 1974, Ilion, New York
Updated September 13, 2014
Published Dec 3, 2006
Digital Image Copyright & Copyright © 1997 - 2003 Aileen Carney Sweeney
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