[Home]     [Back to Letters of Support]

LETTERS Supporting Deborah Sill Kliman FROM:
Bob McVaugh    Mary Moran & Jordy Kerber    Jim Bona 

 Carolyn and Bill Todd   Ruth Hartshorne    Harvey Kliman     

To the Editor: From: Deborah Sill Kliman, herself

I'd like to introduce myself because I'm running for the Village Board of Trustees in the June 15 election and want to ask for your vote.

I was born and grew up in Hamilton, graduating from HCS in 1959 as Valedictorian. Many of you may remember my mother, Patty Sill and my aunt, Prudence Hawkins who was Hamilton's public librarian for many years. Harvey and I visited family often, now live in the family home on West Pleasant Street and are delighted to live here.

Why vote for me? I believe I have the education, skills and personal qualities to be an active, effective and informed member of the Board of Trustees. I have a doctorate in clinical psychology and have taught at the University of Delaware as well as running a psychology private practice for 25 years. These experiences have given me keen insight into working effectively and supportively with people from many different walks of life, as well as operating a small business. I am an excellent team player and skilled in helping groups reach compromise.

I am known as a "get things done" person. If given a job, I'll do it promptly and effectively. I also know when to consult others who might be more informed about an area than I am.

Growing up in Hamilton gave me a valuable picture of the village in the '40's and '50's when the business community was thriving, yet I've seen both the positive and negative changes which have occurred since then. 

I am a very active member of the community and serve on several boards and committees, including appointments by Mayor McVaugh to the Historical Commission and the Zoning Revision Committee. Through this work, I'm aware of many concerns about high property taxes, the need to bring more businesses to Hamilton and increase the residential stock, issues about Colgate student behavior in the village, and the half empty Ames Plaza.

I am eager to serve as a Trustee for the reasons mentioned above. I have the energy, strong interest, ability to learn quickly and skills to be an effective Trustee.

Thank you for your vote.
Deborah Sill Kliman
[back to top]

I have gotten to know Deb Kliman through her work on the Village Zoning Revision Committee to which she was appointed last year because of her steady and informed interest in Planning and Zoning in Hamilton.  Her participation within the Committee is marked by deep familiarity with the Village and a willingness to engage a wide range of ideas and options.  
She does not come to the committee's important task with an axe to grind, and she is wise enough not to look for simple solutions to complex issues facing the community.  She takes on and completes assignments reliably, and I am sure she will carry the same wisdom and energy to a term as Village Trustee.

Deb has a deep understanding of local traditions at the same time that she recognizes that communities always evolve if they are to remain vital.  I believe that she could be counted on to safeguard and support the special quality of life that characterizes the Village of Hamilton.

Bob McVaugh
[back to top]

We are writing in strong support of Deborah Sill Kliman's candidacy for election as Hamilton Village Trustee. We have known Debbie for many years, as the daughter of our late neighbor across the street, Patricia Sill, and later when she and her husband moved to Hamilton in 2006. Debbie is a native Hamiltonian and graduate of Hamilton Central School who chose to return after a distinguished career as an educator and clinical psychologist in private practice. After receiving her B.A. from Vassar and M.A. from The Bank Street College, Debbie began her career as a first grade teacher and director of a Head Start program in New Jersey. She received a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and was a professor at the University of Delaware, as well as a staff psychologist at a private agency. She later began a private clinical practice which she maintained for many years.

When Debbie and her husband Harvey decided to move back to Hamilton, they began a very "active" retirement, full of volunteering and community service. Debbie serves as Treasurer of Mid-York Senior Homes (Madison Lane) and Secretary of the Southern Madison Heritage Trust. She is an active volunteer at Community Memorial Hospital and a member of the Auxiliary. Among the other local organizations that have benefitted from Debbie's energy are the Chenango Canal Association, the Life Long Learning Steering Committee, the Hamilton Historical Commission, the Zoning Revision Committee, the Syracuse Symphony Committee, and the village Democratic Party.

These life experiences and commitments make Debbie a wonderful candidate for Village Trustee. She brings to the position previous work in public education, academe, and as a small business owner. She clearly has the background, ability, and desire to work with all the constituencies in our small but complex village, including the university, the business community, and all the stakeholders who value our beautiful rural location. She is a vibrant and enthusiastic neighbor who brings great zest and energy to everything she does. We are delighted to support Deborah Sill Kliman for Village Trustee.

Mary Moran and Jordan Kerber
[back to top]

We all know how great the village of Hamilton is as a place to live.  Many of us also know how great Hamilton is to raise your children and send them to school here.  There are also many who know how great Hamilton is as a place to retire to.  Debbie Sill Kliman knows how great Hamilton is because she grew up here as a child and went to school here.  She and her husband, Harvey, have also decided to return here to Hamilton to retire.

Retirement is not a passive activity for either of the Klimans.  Since their return here, they have both thrown themselves passionately into many volunteer and civic organizations to offer their unique talents and energies.  (To name a few that Debbie is involved in:  Treasurer of the board of Madison Lane, Secretary of Southern Madison Heritage Trust, member of the Village Zoning Revision Committee, member of the Village Historical Commission,  member of the Syracuse Symphony Committee, secretary for the Town of Hamilton Democratic Committee.)

This is why I am heartily recommending that you vote for Debbie Sill Kliman for village trustee on election day, 15 June.  She will devote herself to working for the people of the village of Hamilton as a public servant, as she has devoted herself to the many organizations that she belongs to here in the village.  You have to know that a person who moves back to the place where they grew up as a child after being away for many years must hold that place in very high regard.  If what Debbie has already offered back to Hamilton is any indication of what she will do in the future, you can be sure that casting your vote for her will be well worth it.

Jim Bona, Trustee, Village of Hamilton
[back to top]

Deborah Sill Kliman is a candidate for Village Trustee. Debbie has qualities which will make her an important addition to the Board. 

 First Debbie is thoughtful. Whether she sits on the Zoning Revision Committee or the Board of Mid-York Senior Homes (Madison Lane) as Treasurer, Debbie considers all aspects of a problem before making a decision. The future of housing in our village is a question facing many current and would-be residents; Debbie’s experience on these boards has given her insight into the needs and expectations of citizens.

 Debbie is generous. Since moving back to Hamilton with her husband Harvey in 2006, she has committed herself to volunteer work at Community Memorial Hospital, and is a member of the steering committee of Life Long Learning. Debbie is a great cook, and she shares her homemade loaves of bread with many in our community.

 Debbie is intelligent. She was Valedictorian of her class when she graduated from Hamilton Central School. She has degrees from Vassar, The Bank Street College and the University of Delaware. As a professional Psychologist, now retired, she is a proven collaborative team builder, a problem solver, an expert at communication.

 Debbie’s roots are deep in Hamilton. As a third generation Hamilton native, Debbie has the perspective of life here as it has been, and life as it can be in the future. Perhaps this is why the Mayor appointed Debbie to the Historical Commission for the Village. 

 Debbie is an athlete. She can be seen on her morning walk throughout the beautiful streets of our fair village. During the summer she rides her bike, and in the winter she snowshoes or skis on nearby trails. She cares about open space and about the future of agriculture in our area, is active in the Chenango Canal Association, as well as serving as Secretary of Southern Madison Heritage Trust.

 After college, Debbie and Harvey moved to Chadds Ford, PA, where they lived and worked for thirty years. Now that they have returned to live in the Sill family home on West Pleasant Street, they have become valuable members of the community. Debbie is eager to continue contributing to her beloved Hamilton by serving as Trustee.

 Please join us in voting for Debbie Sill Kliman for Village Trustee on June 15, 2010. 

Sincerely,
Carolyn and Bill Todd
[back to top]

Deborah Sill Kliman was born and brought up in Hamilton. She attended Hamilton Central School where her mother, Patty Sill, taught 2^nd grade for a number of years and then became the elementary school administrator. Her aunt, Prudence Hawkins, was librarian at the Hamilton Village Library for many years. Debbie frequently spent summer days at the Scott farm, even driving a tractor when she was underage! She was very much a part of Hamilton. 

When she went to college and to graduate school, she still spent vacations here. After she and Harvey Kliman were married, they continued to visit Patty. After Patty died and they were about to retire, there was no problem in deciding where to go – back to Hamilton, of course. 

When they arrived here, Debbie immediately became involved in a number of community activities. And almost invariably the other members of any group she joined, were soon aware of her considerable abilities and made her an officer. She is very much a part of our village.

With the leadership skills which she honed in her vocation as a clinical psychologist and in community groups in Chadds Ford, PA where she and Harvey lived for many years, Debbie Kliman would be a very valuable member of the Village Board of Trustees. Please vote for her!

Ruth Hartshorne
[back to top]

It has been gratifying to read the outpouring of support for my wife of 43+ years in her run for Village Trustee. It's clear that people in Hamilton have recognized her talents and abilities to serve as Trustee. I’d like to add some further insight, not as a spouse, but as an observer of the person whom I have known and loved for all these years.

Debbie has that wonderful combination of brains and compassion that will make her an excellent trustee. She has taught preschoolers in the first Head Start program back in the 1960s and difficult college students as a professor at the University of Delaware. She reinvented herself with a post doctoral fellowship and entered into private psychology practice after achieving tenure at U of D. All the while she was engaging in her productive professional career, she served on various Boards of Directors, The Newark Day Nursery, Big Brothers Big Sisters of DE, The Fairville School, to name some and also supervised therapists at the battered women's shelter in DE. With Ron Hamlen in the Lyme disease support group we founded in 2003, she has published three journal articles and a book chapter on the effects of the disease on children. Other letters illustrate her participation in Hamilton area organizations, Madison Lane and the Southern Madison Heritage Trust, etc.

Community service with compassion and professional excellence are qualities that will serve her well as a Trustee. Her knowledge of village history and the view of changes over the decades give her a special perspective and her willingness to speak her mind will make sure new ideas are brought forward at trustees' meetings. I heartily support her candidacy.

Harvey
[back to top]

6/9/10