My election platform (sort of)
If you’re not interested in hyper-local Queensbury issues you might want to skip this post.
Having joined the race(s) for Queensbury town board and county supervisor at the last minute as a write in candidate I suspect voters may be suspicious that I am not a serious candidate. I want to assure residents that I am running a serious and thoughtful campaign.
The Post Star newspaper recently asked candidates for Town Supervisor in Queensbury to answer questions about why they are seeking office.
I have provided my response to the same questions below. I invite you to compare my answers to those of the supervisor candidates.
Describe yourself in 10 words or fewer:
Advocate for principled, effective government responsive to resident’s needs.
What sets you apart from your competition:
Holding public office while concurrently serving as a political party officeholder is unethical and a conflict of interest. I resigned from my party position before I ran for office in 2023. My opponent is and has been chairperson of the county Republican committee while also holding public office for years now.
What are your top 5 priorities for Queensbury:
Focus on proactive pragmatic oversight in order to resolve issues before they become more costly, such as repairing aging culverts or sewer lines before they fail and need to be repaired on a costly emergency basis.
Change county supervisor elections to a ward based system like on the town board so residents will know who directly represents them on the county Board of Supervisors.
Develop better municipal management such as bringing back the town comptroller position and hiring a town manager in order to be sure town funds are managed effectively and mistakes aren’t swept under the carpet.
Protect the Lake George watershed from salt pollution, septic effluent, and storm water runoff.
Address need for affordable housing. Ideas include legalizing appropriate existing Accessory Dwelling Units, finding grants and low interest loans for basic housing improvements for lower income residents which will improve housing stock, save families money on utilities, stabilize property values for everyone, and help families build generational wealth.
What is it you would like to change about Queensbury:
Improve local government for the benefit of residents by hiring professional management, reduce the salary of the Supervisor to compensate for reduction in duties, and returning the supervisor and town council to a role of providing direction and oversight rather than direct management.
Why, you may ask, is being head of a local political party a conflict of interest? Is there ever a real world situation that is an ethical conflict?
I’m glad you asked.
In November 2022 Republican county supervisor Rachel Seeber announced she would resign early in 2023. Hilary Stec, former wife of state senator Dan Stec, sent a letter of interest in being appointed to the remainder of Seeber’s term to the Chair of the Republican Party - not to the town board which has the duty to appoint a replacement.
The Republican Party, chaired by Tim McNulty (my opponent) rallied around Ms Stec, pushing aside a different Republican who expressed interest in the seat. 5 other candidates, 3 Democrats, 2 Conservatives sent letters of interest in the appointment and all, 6 candidates were interviewed.
The town board consisted of 2 Democrats and 3 Republicans, McNulty the GOP county chair and George Ferone who may have been Queensbury town Republican chair at the time. The Republicans voted in Stec who officially served for a few months and collected all the paychecks despite only sporadically showing up for work.
That was a clear ethical violation and the town was lucky none of the other candidates for appointment (including myself) sued the board and the Republican officeholders.
On target, Mr P !!