During her three decades of involvement in public and community service in the Rochester area, Sandra Frankel has established a standard of excellence and integrity that has earned her the bipartisan respect and admiration of government, business and labor, education, and community leaders.  Citizens know that 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, raise a family, run a business, and retire.

Sandra Frankel was selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2008 Athena Award of the Women’s Council of the Rochester Business Alliance in recognition of her significant leadership and accomplishments. 

She received the 2012 Center for Environmental Initiatives Elizabeth Thorndike Environmental Leadership Award for achievements that have improved the environment, including development of town parks and the Green Brighton Task Force, among others.

Congregation Beth Sholom honored her in 2013 for significant contributions to the Brighton community and support of Israel. 

Sandra was among 50 women executives from across the country selected for the Leadership America Class of 2013, which represented a diverse group of women leaders from corporate, entrepreneurial, academic, not-for-profit, and government sectors. They met in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Detroit on leadership, public policy, education, the environment, economic development, civil rights, and government.

Sandy was named a Community Champion in honor of the Pride Agenda’s 25^th Anniversary.  In 2001, the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley Community Leadership Award recognized Sandy for her leadership in promoting equality and fairness for all citizens.

Leadership, tireless dedication and a willingness to build consensus are trademarks of Sandra Frankel’s career in government, education, and as a community activist.

As a recognized community leader and Chief Executive Officer of a large town’s municipal government, she had the vision to lead, the skills to select the best people for key positions within her organization, the ability to motivate people to do an excellent job, and the drive to achieve shared organizational and community goals.

Hon. Sandra Frankel served the community as Supervisor of the Town of Brighton, New York for 20 years (1992-2012).  Brighton is a developed, urban suburb of approximately 37,000 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 woman and first Democrat to hold the office of Elected Executive/CEO in the town’s 177-year history.  In her most recent contested election for Supervisor, she won with 72 percent of the vote. 

In 2007, Sandra was appointed by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness.  The 15 member commission, which included government, business and academic leaders from across the state,  developed recommendations to streamline local government for cost savings, increased productivity, and improved services, with the goal of making New York more competitive.

She is a member and past President of the Board of Governors of the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR), an A.M. Best A-rated not-for-profit insurance company owned by and serving the insurance and risk management needs of nearly 900 subscribing counties, small cities, towns and villages, or more than half 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," and currently as Inter-municipal Cooperation Official for the Town of Brighton.  She has also worked with Unite Rochester and Facing Race, Embracing Equity programs to address issues of racism, discrimination, and the impacts of poverty. 

Sandy Frankel has created an impressive record of accomplishments.  She knows that it takes a professional and dedicated team working in partnership with the people she serves to transform the community’s vision into reality.  During her tenure as the Elected Executive of the Town of Brighton, Sandy’s administration:

• Fixed a major fiscal problem inherited from the prior administration, stabilized Brighton's finances, cut taxes in five budgets, earned a high level Moody's credit rating upgrade to Aa2, and saved $2 million in health insurance costs over three years for the Town of Brighton
• Created a new town-wide park system of more than 425 acres, including Corbett's Glen Nature Park, Buckland Park, Meridian Centre Park, Lynch Woods Park, and the Lehigh Valley Multi-Use Trail, and protected environmentally sensitive areas; gained approval for an additional 70-acre park that will bring the park system to nearly 500 acres
• Built a new public library and provided support for needed materials and staffing
• Instituted Community Policing and other innovative public safety programs, expanded the police department and provided updated resources, closed a dilapidated crime-ridden motel, and strengthened fire and ambulance services
• Initiated inter-municipal cooperation with the City of Rochester, Brighton Central School District, and the towns of Pittsford, Irondequoit, Henrietta and Greece to provide more cost-effective, efficient, quality services—Emergency 911, road construction and maintenance, fire protection in West Brighton, assessment services, building inspection and plan review, purchasing, and joint grant applications for trail acquisition and construction
• Repaired dangerous neighborhood sidewalks with an award winning program, and instituted an aggressive road, sewer, and drainage construction and maintenance program
• Established an historic preservation law and commission to designate local landmarks, and created an arts council and an annual arts festival to promote local artists and the arts
• Worked with the University of Rochester to develop a regional complex for medical/health care services and to expand optics and laser technology research facilities in West Brighton
• Adopted an economic development and design guideline plan that revitalized the town’s main retail/commercial corridor, filling vacant storefronts; created a Business Improvement District to reduce the cost of exterior renovation for businesses; supported the establishment of Empire Zones; beautified the town center; initiated a cooperative plan for Monroe Avenue in partnership with the City of Rochester and the Town and Village of Pittsford, and completed two charrettes to plan for Monroe Avenue improvements, and secured a $1.56 million “Green Street” grant
• Championed the successful naming of I-490 within Monroe County as the “Erie Canal Expressway” to promote economic development, historic tourism and recreational use of the canal as a community asset
• Conducted the first town-wide revaluation in 40 years to restore fairness and equity to the assessment rolls, and maintained the roll with periodic updates
• Oversaw two Comprehensive Plan updates with a vision for the future--promoting economic development, preserving open space, and protecting and strengthening neighborhoods
• Re-codified the Town Code with new business friendly laws that respected nearby residential neighborhoods, and continued to amend the code to implement the Comprehensive Plan
• Adopted non-discrimination personnel policies for sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as domestic partner benefits for LGBT employees; promoted opportunities for women to advance within the organization, e.g. Finance Director and Assessor; hired women for non-traditional jobs such as police officer and highway heavy equipment operator; and diversified the workforce and volunteer citizen boards; hired professional staff based upon competencies, not political party affiliation
• Put Brighton at the forefront of fighting global warming and climate change in Monroe County with an aggressive environmental program that has won community-wide praise; instituted an urban forestry program that earned the Town of Brighton recognition as a Tree City U.S.A., established the Brighton Farmers’ Market and Community Garden

As Chief Executive Officer, Sandy Frankel has presented annual budgets of $24 million, kept the average property tax rate within the average rate of inflation and cut taxes five times.  She has run a government that has improved the community’s quality of life and won the approval of voters in 10 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.  

Communication is an essential element of leadership, and Sandy not only listens to the people she serves, but she also has broad experience working with the media.  She has been a guest speaker for many civic organizations and a guest lecturer at local colleges, universities and public schools.  She was honored as the 2014 Gosdeck Lecturer at The College at Brockport, SUNY.  She has given many speeches on various topics including but not limited to leadership, government, politics, the environment, education, breaking barriers, women’s issues, and book reviews; and she has participated in televised debates and on panels in local, state and national forums.  She has written a biweekly column for a local weekly newspaper, guest editorials, and letters-to-the-editor for the daily newspaper, as well as a chapter for a collaborative book on wetlands that has not yet been published.  Since leaving her position as Supervisor of the Town of Brighton, Sandy has given talks on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, women’s issues, leadership, government and politics.  

In 1998, Sandy won the Primary Election to become the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York.  She won 55 of New York’s 62 counties with nearly 51 percent of the vote in a three-way race, and 79 percent of the votes cast for Lt. Governor in Monroe County in the statewide Primary Election.  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 clean and healthy 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 the Town of Brighton and Monroe County on the map. During the campaign, she had the honor of traveling with U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Air Force Two.

In 2000, Sandy served as Monroe County co-chair of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for United States Senate.  During First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “Listening Tour” prior to running for the U.S. Senate, she stayed at Sandy and Neil’s home in Brighton.  Sandy was statewide co-chair of New York State Comptroller Carl McCall’s campaign for Governor in 2002. 

As a guest of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sandy attended events at the White House, including the State Dinner in honor of the King of Morocco.  As a participant in U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meetings in Washington, D.C., she met with President Barak Obama and other governmental leaders. 

Sandy has advocated for education, the environment, state aid, mandate reform, public safety, economic development, social services, and equal rights for all citizens with county, state, and federal officials in Rochester, Albany, and Washington.

In 2011, Sandy’s campaign for Monroe County Executive did well, but not quite well enough against a popular incumbent whose administration was riddled with scandal, corruption, and crime.  Sandy put these important issues on the table, as well as a vision for a brighter future for the community, but low voter turnout did not yield victory. 

Sandy served for six years as a school board member for the Brighton Central School District from 1985-1991, 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, from 1982-1992, providing cooperative special, vocational, and technology education programs and shared administrative functions for the 10 eastern Monroe County school districts, and oversaw budgets of $50 million.  She held the position of Vice President on both boards.  She served as President of the Monroe County School Boards Association, and has distinguished herself on numerous community boards and commissions. 

She currently serves on the boards of the Arts and Cultural Council of the Greater Rochester Area, Landmark Society of Western New York, Children Awaiting Parents, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Rochester Section (Immediate Past President), and William Warfield Scholarship Fund.  She is a member of the Rochester Rotary Club and Brighton Kiwanis, and is on the advisory councils of the Genesee Land Trust, GardenAerial, Rochester Hearing and Speech Center, and Turkish Cultural Center.  She serves as a Marriage Official in the Town of Brighton, and she was Honorary Chairperson of the Brighton Bicentennial Celebration. 

She has also served on boards of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce, Temple Sinai, Hillel of Rochester Area Colleges, and Continuing Developmental Services Foundation.  Sandy has been a volunteer member of the Jewish Federation Committee for the Rochester-Modi’in, Israel Partnership and Sustainability Subcommittee, Greater Rochester Fights Back Drug Prevention Task Force, Early Childhood Intervention Council of Monroe County, and Wilson Commencement Park.  She was an Advisor for the Mosaic Partnership Program and on the Freedom Celebration Committee of the Rochester/Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission, which produced a major national conference in Rochester on Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad.

Prior to moving to the Rochester, NY area, Sandy and her family lived in the Philadelphia, PA area where she was active in civic affairs.  She was appointed an Alternate to the Upper Providence Township Home Rule Study Commission, and participated in the drafting of a Home Rule Charter that was approved in a public referendum.  She was then elected chairperson of the bi-partisan Transition Committee that wrote the Administrative Code and redistricted. 

Sandy Frankel earned her Bachelor 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.  As a licensed and credentialed Speech Language Pathologist for 20 years, she worked in health care and education in public and private sectors in New York, Pennsylvania, and California.  She and her husband, Dr. Neil A. Frankel, retired, Xerox Corporation, have three grown children and nine grandchildren.   Their daughter, Janice Frankel Block and her family live in Israel where she practices pediatric and family medicine.  Her husband David Block is a technical writer.  Son Tom Frankel and his family live in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he and his partners created and own SSI, an international manufacturing and export management business specializing in industrial waste water treatment and other systems.  His wife Caroline Perrone Frankel is a nurse.  Son Eric Frankel and his family live in Grand Junction, Colorado where he practices emergency medicine.  His wife, Ashley Little is a yoga instructor and glass jewelry artist.  Sandy was born in Miami and raised in Miami Beach, Florida.

Personal interests include photography, travel, reading, time with family and friends, writing, gardening, politics, and attending cultural events.  She has produced original photographic note cards that several Rochester area stores have sold. In addition, she has sold photographs from exhibits at Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery and Image City Photography Gallery, retail outlets, and on Facebook.  She has created a photography website, www.Sandra-Frankel-Photography.com to share her images and offer a convenient outlet for sales. Her photograph, “Riverview from 30,000 Feet over the Western United States,” won the Partners’ Award at the 2014 Image City Photography Gallery “The Magic of Light” juried exhibit, and “Mud Patterns” was included in the gallery’s 2015 juried exhibit.