Christine M. Bello, lifelong resident of the City of Newburgh, announces her bid for the City Council At-Large seat this coming November in the general election. The bid for a council seat sees Bello’s return to the political realm following her previous tenure on city council from 2008 to 2011.

“I think that we have every asset here in the city to truly thrive. We have people that have invested their entire lives here, we have so many newcomers,” said Bello. “I’ve seen Newburgh in the best of times. That’s why I know we can do better.”

Growing up in the city, Bello went through the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and graduated Class of 1972 from Newburgh Free Academy. She then went on to attend SUNY Farmingdale, graduating in 1974 Cum Laude with a degree in Dental Hygiene and went to work after she had graduated.

In 1976, Bello’s father passed away and so she became a support system for her mother during that period of time. In hopes of helping with the loss, Bello and her mother attended craft classes together and it was there that the floral making classes seemed the most attractive to the both of them.

As the years passed and the classes became more frequent, Bello and her mother eventually stumbled upon a storefront on Broadway that would become the future home of Chris-Dian Florist. Though her mother has since passed, Bello continues to run the shop, and 2023 marked 44 years of business.

As per her platform, the items of focus that Bello would be working towards if elected to the city council would be amending public safety, addressing transparency, maintaining budget responsibility, maintaining assessment responsibility and progressing overall city growth.

“I believe we need a business perspective on the council. We don’t have that, what we have right now is groupthink and that is not healthy for any community. Groupthink inhibits robust debate,” she said. “This government belongs to the people. Groupthink is not healthy.”

Within a four month period, Bello shared she had her business burglarized and her building was also vandalized by graffiti. For public safety concerns, she would work towards improving safety in the community and having more police available to deter crime. “After the second burglary, I found out that I was one of 16 burglaries of small business owners,” she said.

Bello also did not express support for the parking meters that were installed last year which she shared has been a hindering factor to her business on Broadway. Furthermore, the pay stations are mainly programmed for digital and card payments, which she has been told can be difficult for some of her customers who come to her shop.

Finally, she received notices with a 65 to 66 percent increase in her assessment at both her home and business. While Bello is a homeowner in the city, she is also a landlord. She said she has been hesitant to increase rent as she said she has great tenants but the increases are not making it feasible. Subsequently, these issues prompted Bello to seek a seat on the council once again.

Bello also said that she believes in wise spending and questioned the payment for a public relations firm for the city and the spending and need for a police and fire commissioner positions. She also expressed criticism for the city manager’s salary figure, the lack of communication between the city and the public and the limit on the ability to speak in the regular city meetings.

If elected to council, Bello expressed that if she were to serve once again that she would be working for the people of the city. During her tenure on city council, Bello sponsored legislation that equally divided tax payments for city residents. “I’m not a seat warmer, I am one to strongly advocate for the people in the city, and the businesses of the city,” she said.

In the general election, Bello will be running on the Conservative and Republican Lines alongside mayoral candidate John Giudice and at-large council candidate Donald Rehrey Jr. “I really feel that with my business background, with my previous experience, I’m really one of the best candidates for this job,” said Bello. “I look forward to November.”

In the mayoral race, Torrance Harvey will seek re-election for his seat, while Hael Stewart-Fisher will be running on the Liberty Of Newburgh independent line. For the at-large council seats, Omari Shakur seeks re-election, Robert McLymore is a newcomer to the candidate pool and Anusha Mehar shared that she is on the ballot on the Working Families party line but clarified she would not be campaigning it. Mehar went against Shakur and McLymore in the Democratic Primary but fell to Shakur after the recount period.