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OSSINING, N.Y. Tom Cambariere, a former mayor in the Village of Ossining, died on Wednesday morning in a nursing home in Jupiter, Fla. He was 69.
"Tom was a very good, strong leader of the Democrats who were making a resurgence at the time he was becoming mayor," said current Village Mayor William Hanauer. "He was very supportive of the Democratic candidates and although he had already moved to Florida when I ran as a candidate, he would call me to give advice, which I occasionally took."
William Reynolds, a former village historian who was friends with Cambariere for many years, said the former mayor had studied to be a priest, but he dropped out of a seminary in Newburgh one year before he was slated to graduate. He then entered into politics in Ossining in 1964 under the tutelage of Yvette Murphy, the Ossining Democratic chairperson at the time.
"This was at a time when a Democrat could not even get elected as a dog catcher, but he persevered and in 1984, with an all Republican village board he won an election for trustee," Reynolds said.
Cambariere served as a village trustee for 12 years from Jan. 1, 1985, to Dec. 31, 1996, and he was mayor for six years from Jan. 1, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2002.
In 1987, Cambariere narrowly lost an election for town supervisor to incumbent Barbara Fratianni.
"Tom is going to be sorely missed. He's not only a former mayor but a very good friend," said Ossining village and town clerk Mary Ann Roberts.
Cambariere has been cremated in Florida, Roberts said. There will be service for him in Ossining some time in January or February. Cambariere's family has asked that in lieu of flowers, anyone who would like to contribute should send money to the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps, an organization that Cambariere was very active in.
Cambariere is survived by his brother, Peter Cambariere, who lives in Jupiter, Fla., his brother's partner, Stephen Oldak, and an aunt and uncle, Nancy and Donald Cook, who live in White Plains.
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