Aylward, Marshall, and Hout run unopposed in Altamont

ALTAMONT — Two trustees and one village justice are seeking uncontested re-election to their seats next week when residents go to the polls.

Village trustees William Aylward and Christine Marshall and village justice Rebecca Hout are seeking new four-year terms.

Marshall and Aylward are running together on the Altamont First party.

“We ran together on the same party line four years ago, and we’re doing it, again,” Marshall said last month. Village elections do not involve major party lines.

“They want it non-partisan, in that respect,” said Marshall. “You select your own party name and run on that. I think that it works very well in the village to have it that way. There really is no need for partisan politics at the local level.” Representatives should work “for the good of the village, not for the good of a party,” she said.

Marshall retired from the New York State Department of Civil Service in 2005.

“For me, it’s always been a duty. If the people think I can contribute, I stay,” said Aylward last month. Aylward, a retired Guilderland social-studies teacher, has been active in local politics since 1971, when he was elected mayor of Altamont. He served as mayor for 10 years, winning five two-year terms. All village terms are now four years. After that, Aylward served as chairman of the town’s Democratic Party. Aylward has been a village trustee while serving his third term as a county legislator.

Both incumbents are working on village beautification, shared senior services with the town of Guilderland, and the upcoming wastewater treatment plant upgrade.

Village Justice Rebecca Hout practices law out of her Altamont home. She has served as justice since 1993.

“I stand on my record of nearly 18 years and hope that the voters find I’ve served them well,” Hout said last month.

Annual salaries for village trustees are $2,623 each, according to Village Clerk Patty Blackwood. The annual salary for each of Altamont’s two village justices is $4,356, Blackwood said.  

Elections will be held in the community room at Village Hall on Main Street on Tuesday, March 15, from noon to 9 p.m.

More details can be found in the online archives for Feb. 10, 2011 at www.altamontenterprise.com.