HILLTOWNS — Political parties in the Hilltowns are gearing up for what will likely be a heavy election cycle this year, due to the number of positions available. 

Although town elections are held every two years, it’s generally every four years that residents have a chance to vote in an all-new majority government because of the way the four-year town-board terms are staggered, with elections alternating between two and three seats open out of five. 

The exception is Knox, where the supervisor’s term is two years, not four, like the other board members, meaning that three seats are up every two years. 

This year, Berne, Knox, and Rensselaerville each will have to fill a majority of their town board seats, including supervisor. 

In Knox, Supervisor Russ Pokorny, a Democrat, Councilwoman June Springer, and Councilman Dennis Cyr — both of whom ran on the GOP line — are up for re-election. In Rensselaerville, it’s Democratic Supervisor John Dolce, and  councilmen Peter Sommerville and Edward VanAuken, who both were elected on the GOP line.

Berne will have to fill every seat on the town board because two of the three members who resigned suddenly last August were not up for election until 2027. While the board is authorized to make temporary appointments, voters have to choose who will fill out those terms. 

Westerlo is the outlier, with just two board seats available — Republican councilwoman Amy Pecylak and Republican councilman Josh Beers. The only other position open in Westerlo will be a four-year town justice seat. 

In Berne, residents will also be voting for a town clerk, highway superintendent, town justice, and tax collector, all of which are four-year terms. 

Knox residents will vote on a town clerk (two years), highway superintendent (two years), tax collector (two years), and town justice (four years).

In Rensselaerville, voters will choose a highway superintendent and town clerk, both of which are four-year terms. 

Background

In the Hilltowns in recent years, town board positions have tended to be either very hotly contested, or lightly, if at all. 

Berne and Westerlo have both been hotbeds for partisanship for the past decade, while the governments in Knox and Rensselaerville have been fairly stable with little drama between candidates in the few contests there have been. 

In 2023, Westerlo had seven candidates competing for just three town board seats, with Democrats and a local third party attempting to dislodge Republican Supervisor Matt Kryzak’s three-member majority. 

Key issues then were Kryzak’s support for town attorney George McHugh, whose perceived influence over the town has generated significant criticism, along with concerns about transparency and fiscal management. Among the critics were Councilman Beers and Councilman Peter Mahan, who had first been elected as part of the Republican slate, but have since broken off from their colleagues on the board. 

Although the incumbents all won their seats in 2023, those displeased with Kryzak could still cost him his majority this year, if both seats go to his opponents. 

Meanwhile, it’s anyone’s guess in Berne, where extreme partisanship exploded into total political disorganization, with voters yet to show their allegiances at the ballot box. 

The town came under Republican control after the 2019 elections and the GOP defended its seats so easily against Democrats in 2021 that, despite their angst, the Democrats didn’t put up any candidates in 2023, with party organizers claiming then that to run for just two seats would be a waste of time. 

Although the GOP control was considered an existential threat to the town by Democrats, it seemed that Republicans were at least pleasing their own, until three of the board’s five Republican members resigned — one of whom, Joe Martin, was and still is chair of the town’s Republican committee — in protest of GOP Supervisor Dennis Palow’s leadership. 

Palow, who returned his former colleagues’ harsh criticism with his own, and Councilman Tom Doolin remained the only two members of the board until Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Democrat Melanie laCour to serve until at least November. 

Palow has said that he will not seek re-election, and parties have not yet announced their candidates, so it remains to be seen what factions might emerge.