Westbury Village Hall was filled to capacity on Thursday evening as community members watched Pedro Quintanilla’s historic appointment to the Village Board of Trustees.
“It is a privilege to serve as your new Village of Westbury Trustee,” Quintanilla said on Facebook. “I extend my gratitude to Mayor Cavallaro and my fellow board members for your trust and warm welcome. I am excited to collaborate with all of you to advance the interests of our community and make a positive impact in Westbury.”
Quintanilla was sworn in by his wife Sasha and son Lucas as the village’s first-ever Hispanic trustee, filling a vacancy created by Bill Wise’s death. He will run for election to a full four-year term in the village election on March 18, 2025.
“I am honored and humbled to follow in his footsteps,” Quintanilla said about Wise.
Quintanilla thanked the many organizations and people who supported him throughout the years. He is currently on the Westbury Board of Education, a member of the Village of Westbury Latino Advisory Council and a board member of the St. Brigid Parish Millennium Fund.
“Please get involved and help one another in the community,” Quintanilla said.
Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said Quintanilla would make an excellent village trustee. He said Quintanilla is well qualified and well prepared to fill the board vacancy.
“It is important to fill vacancies as they occur with people who are capable and Pedro was the person that I selected and he agreed to come onto the board,” Cavallaro said. “He has a tremendous background in the community and a tremendous sense of the community.”
Quintanilla lived in Westbury for 34 years. He and Sasha have two children. Olivia and Lucas. Quintanilla and his family are active parishioners of St. Brigid Parish.
While working full-time at Chase Bank and helping to raise his younger siblings, Quintanilla graduated from SUNY Old Westbury with a Bachelor of Science in finance. Quintanilla has pursued several careers, mostly in the financial services industry.
Cavallaro said Quintanilla worked for many decades in the community and will do a “tremendous job” for all the residents, specifically the Hispanic residents.
“My nine-year service on the school board is rooted in my personal and professional success due to the community, the educators, and my mother, who supported me in my journey,” Quintanilla said in a press release. “I strive to pay it back through service and advocacy for the best education Westbury can provide to all our students. Equitable resources for all our scholars, enhanced facilities, world-class curriculum and programs are the hallmarks of our achievements.”
