Clockwise from top left: Jason West, Pete Healey, Jonathan Cohen, Sally Rhoads, Stewart Glenn, and Ariana Basco.
Although petitions are not due until March 29, some political hopefuls have already thrown their hats into the ring for the upcoming village elections, which will include a four-year term for mayor, two trustee seats for four-year terms and one trustee seat for two years.
Former Mayor Jason West, who lost to Terry Dungan four years ago, has announced that he is running. West, among many things, became most known for solemnizing 25 same-sex marriages in 2004, casting him in the international spotlight as a gay rights activist, and also causing him to have charges leveled against him by the Ulster County District Attorney. Those charges were later dropped.
West was also known as the first Green Party mayor in New York, and for his environmental initiatives, such as planting a reed bed at the sewage treatment plant, drafting a wetlands protection law and pursuing the creation of a bio-diesel plant for municipal use.
West said that he decided to run because he wanted to “finish what we started. There were so many projects that were critically important to the community that were put on hold by the current administration,” he said. “We had just formally adopted the Transportation and Land Use Study and that came to a screeching halt. The wetlands protection law was tabled indefinitely, the ban on chain stores, the B-3 rezoning. These are important projects to the health and vitality of our village and community, and I want to see them to completion.”
He also added that he wanted to “do more work towards growing and expanding our local businesses, protecting our housing market and making necessary environmental changes so that we can remain sustainable and vibrant.”
He has also been active in a community-wide ad hoc group of officials and residents attempting to challenge New Paltz’s high taxes, as well as working with GreenWorks on the greenhouse gas inventory.
Mayor Dungan, who recently suffered a stroke and is now completing occupational therapy at Woodland Pond, did not respond to the New Paltz Times query as to whether or not he’d be seeking a second term. At one point, prior to his medical condition, he did tell the Times Herald-Record that he would be running. More recently, a press release to the New Paltz Times stated that his physical health was steadily improving and that he would finish out his term as mayor.
Jean Gallucci, the deputy mayor, has stepped up to serve as the acting mayor in his absence. Although the acting mayor said she is giving serious thought as to whether she would seek a second term as a village trustee, she said that she has “not made my decision yet.”
Peter Healey, former village trustee and an active member of the New Paltz Government Efficiency Project Citizens Advisory Committee, has also announced that he will be running for mayor on a “One Government” party ticket along with village resident Sally Rhoads, who was formerly the school board president and president of Elting Library, Stewart Glenn and Martin Sherow.
Rhoads is seeking the shorter two-year term, while Glenn and Sherow are going after the full four-year term. Healey has yet to announce the fourth member of his slate.
Originally, Healey announced that he was going to run for a four-year trustee position, but then, after prodding, became convinced that he should run for mayor with a full slate of “One Government” candidates.
“It became apparent to me that there was no one interested in running for mayor who believed in and/or supported the concept of unified government for New Paltz,” said Healey, a steady advocate of consolidation. “Becoming mayor is the very best position to be in to ensure that the process moves forward, a plan is presented and a public referendum takes place.”
That said, Healey was quick to note that this was not a “one issue” race. “The current administration has been secretive to a fault, and the next administration needs to be open to a fault so that the public and the citizenry are fully engaged.”
Another self-pronounced candidate for mayor is Jonathan Cohen, owner of the Groovy Blueberry in the Village of New Paltz. Cohen has run for mayor once before, but his petition was successfully challenged, leaving him as a write-in candidate.
Local political blogger Jeremy Blabber announced on his blog that he had withdrawn his previously announced candidacy for mayor and instead, strongly endorsed West for the position.
As of press time, current village Trustee Shari Osborn had not responded to a New Paltz Times query about whether she intended to run for re-election.
Robert Feldman, who was appointed by the Village Board to replace the seat vacated by Patrick O’Donnell, said that he would finish up his year-long term, but would not run for any of the available seats.
Village resident and police commissioner Ariana Basco has said that she will be running for a four-year term on the Village Board, going solo on the “Positive Party” line.
“There is too much negativity in New Paltz politics right now, and I for one want to bring what’s possible and positive to the table,” she said.
Basco, 24, is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz. “I think that there are so many residents with so much to give that are not getting involved with local government, and I think I could help bridge that gap. We need their assistance and input.
“I’m someone without an agenda. I just want to see the village be more sustainable, strengthen our local retail, agricultural and SUNY New Paltz connections in a way that makes it economically and socially viable for all.”
Thus far, these are the candidates who have notified or identified as official candidates to this paper. The petitions are due on March 29. When petitions are official, this paper will conduct full interviews with all prospective candidates. The village election will be held on Tuesday, May 3.
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