Biography of Sandra L. Frankel
During her 25 years of involvement in public and community service in the Rochester area, Sandra Frankel has established a standard of excellence that has earned her the bipartisan respect and admiration of government, business, labor, education, and community leaders. The citizens of the Town of Brighton know they can count on Sandy Frankel to address complex issues of critical importance to make their community a better place in which to live, work, and raise a family.
Leadership, tireless dedication and a willingness to build consensus are trademarks of Sandra Frankel’s career in government, education, as a speech language pathologist and community activist.
Sandra Frankel is Supervisor of the Town of Brighton, New York. Brighton is a developed, urban suburb of 35,500 people adjacent to the southeastern quadrant of the City of Rochester in Monroe County.
Ms. Frankel was elected Supervisor in 1991. Despite a larger Republican than Democratic voter registration, she became the first Democrat and first woman to hold the office of Elected Executive/CEO in the Town’s 177-year history. Under Ms. Frankel’s leadership, the council changed from a Republican majority to an all-Democratic Town Board that has continued to win and govern successfully. In 1998, Democratic voter registration in Brighton surpassed Republican registration for the first time.
Prior to her election, she served for six years as a school board member for the Brighton Central School District, nationally recognized for excellence in education, and oversaw annual budgets of $35 million. She was a member of the BOCES Monroe # 1 Board of Education for 10 years, providing cooperative special, vocational, and technology education programs for the 10 eastern Monroe County school districts, and overseeing budgets of $50 million. She held the position of Vice President on both boards. She has served as President of the Monroe County School Boards Association, and has distinguished herself on numerous community boards and commissions, including Greater Rochester Fights Back drug prevention task force, Early Childhood Intervention Council of Monroe County, Arts and Cultural Council of the Greater Rochester Area, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, Continuing Developmental Services Foundation, Children Awaiting Parents, Brighton Chamber of Commerce, and Odyssey for Humanity, which oversees the Mosaic Partnership Program (formerly Bi-racial Partnership Program for Progress). She is a member of the Rochester Rotary Club and Brighton Kiwanis.
She is a member and past President of the Board of Governors of the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR), a not-for-profit insurance company owned by and serving the insurance and risk management needs of nearly 600 subscribing counties, small cities, towns and villages, or more than 30 percent of the state's municipalities.
She has worked to strengthen cooperation between suburbs and city through her work as a member of the Rochester Stewardship Council for the city's comprehensive plan update, "Rochester 2010: An Urban Renaissance". She also served as a member of the executive board of the Istituto Europeo Di Integrazione Culturale "Robert Schuman" (USA) in cooperation with the European Parliament. Sandy Frankel earned her Bachelors of Science Degree with Distinction from Newcomb College of Tulane University and a Master of Arts from Northwestern University, and she did additional graduate studies at Stanford University and San Jose State College. She worked in health care and education in the public and private sectors in New York, Pennsylvania, and California as a speech language pathologist for more than 20 years. She and her husband, Dr. Neil A. Frankel, retired, Xerox Corporation, have three grown children and seven grandchildren.
Sandy Frankel has created an impressive record of
accomplishment.
As Chief Executive Officer, Sandy Frankel has prepared annual budgets of approximately $20 million, kept spending within the rate of inflation and controlled taxes, and run a government that has improved the community’s quality of life and won the approval of voters in eight elections. She understands how to forge consensus and is committed to open government and citizen participation. She knows the importance of education in building tomorrow’s workforce, the centrality of jobs and economic development to the future of our community and state, the imperative of fiscal responsibility and prudent management of essential services, the compelling need for strong public safety programs, the concerns of citizens about health care, and the value of preserving open space and protecting the environment for future generations.
In 1998, Sandra Frankel won the Primary Election to become the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York. She won all 62 counties in New York State and 82 percent of the Democratic votes cast in Monroe County. As the first Democrat from upstate, western New York to win a statewide primary, she opened the door for Democrats from her region. She championed many issues, including the need for fiscal responsibility; economic revitalization and job creation; access to affordable quality health care for all New Yorkers; and support for education, public safety, and a safe environment. Although she and her running mate did not win the General Election, she represented her community with dignity and honor in a positive campaign, and put Monroe County on the map. In 2002 she served as co-chair of H. Carl McCall’s campaign for Governor, and in 2000, as Monroe County co-chair of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for United States Senate.
