RENSSELAERVILLE — Dale Dorner, the town’s newest councilwoman, is an attorney who has a law firm in Medusa with her son. She grew up on Staten Island, and lived in Coxsackie before moving to Rensselaerville in 1976.

John Kudlack, who chairs the town’s Democratic Party in addition to being one of its newest councilmembers, said that Dorner was a good candidate for the appointment because she is “very knowledgeable.”

“She’s an attorney — very fair-minded, so, we figured she was a good candidate for the office,” Kudlack said; Brian Wood and Keith Nigel were also considered by the Democratic Party for the job; Councilwoman Marion Cooke pushed for Robert Bolte, a fellow Conservative and citizen watchdog who was the third-highest vote-getter in November’s four-way race for two board seats.

Dorner said that, after giving it a lot of consideration, she decided to seize the opportunity and take the job.

“My goal is to do everything in an orderly, honest, unreproached way,” Dorner told The Enterprise. “We want to be fair, and we want to do the town’s business. I don’t have an agenda; I don’t know what needs to be done, but whatever takes care of the town is what we’re going to do. And there’s not going to be any partisan squabbling. I think everybody on the board feels the same.”

She is a partner at Dorner and Kosich in Medusa; John Kosich, Rensselaerville’s deputy attorney, is the other partner, and her son.

“And that’s a consideration I looked into before I accepted — there’s no conflict,” Dorner said. “We’re both working on the same side, and it’s not a problem.”

Dorner has four grown children and seven grandchildren in Rensselaerville.

“I think the board members will work well together,” Dorner concluded. “I know them, and I think there’s going to be a definite team approach. My goal is to listen to people in the community. And, if they get nasty, I’m not going to talk to them,” she laughed. “Reasonable, sane people will be listened to.”