NEW SCOTLAND – A lawyer who says New Scotland needs to implement "a policy of smart, controlled, responsible growth" is running for supervisor on the Democratic ticket. An eighth-generation Feura Bush dairy farmer may step up to the Republican plate and challenge him to lead the still-rural town now feeling intense development pressure.

With permission from his reluctant wife, Thomas Dolin announced this week that he will run for town supervisor in the fall election. Republican Councilman Douglas LaGrange is considering a run as Dolin’s opponent.
Dolin resigned from his duties as a town justice in late March after 14 years on the bench, to "explore the possibility of running for other elective office," he said at the time.
Dolin’s decision to run, he said, was because he had been told of Supervisor Ed Clark’s retirement, and, was encouraged to run by "party members and town citizens," he told The Enterprise.
He is running "to invigorate what he considers a too-passive approach to the decisions the town is facing regarding its imminent growth pressures," Dolin said in Monday’s announcement.
Clark has held the post for three two-year terms. Prior to being elected supervisor, he was the mayor of Voorheesville for 17 years. Clark said this week that he has informed the Republican Party that he will not seek re-election. He said he is "leaning" on LaGrange to run.
"It’s an important decision, and it has to be done for the right reasons," said LaGrange, adding that he doesn’t take it lightly.
"Tom Dolin is a really nice person" but doesn’t have the experience with the issues in the town right now," LaGrange told The Enterprise this week. "Because of that inexperience, I feel I should run" That’s the only reason I’m considering it," he said.

Dolin
New Scotland Democratic Party Chairman L. Michael Mackey said this week, "No one has approached the committee other than Tom." In addition to his Democratic endorsement, Dolin has sought support from the Conservative Party and the Independence Party, neither of which have yet decided.
"From a personal perspective, Tom Dolin has been a fantastic judge" I think he’s a great candidate," said Paul Caputo, the Independence Party chairman for Albany County. Caputo said that the party has endorsed Dolin in the past, but the interview process is not yet complete.
"We’re really excited to see him run for this position," Caputo said, adding that Dolin is the "type of guy who has his community interests at heart."

Dolin is 68 and has lived in Voorheesville for nearly 40 years with his wife, Nancy; they have three children and four grandchildren.

In the nearly two months between Dolin’s resignation and the announcement of his run for supervisor, he told The Enterprise on several occasions that he was discussing possibilities with his wife. On Wednesday, he said that his family was "finally" supportive.
"I sat down with my wife and told her I thought I could be effective and that I wanted to do it," Dolin said this week. "We’re a team," he said of himself and his wife, adding that he didn’t want to make the decision without her support. "My wife is reluctantly giving me permission," he said.
Before becoming a judge, Dolin practiced law for 29 years. "I did a lot of commercial lending and trusts and estates work," Dolin said earlier of his years as an attorney.

He was the managing partner of a 14-lawyer law firm with more than $3 million in gross revenues, he said, as proof of his abilities to manage the town’s finances. He was the attorney for the town of Westerlo for seven years, and the attorney for the planning boards in both New Scotland and Voorheesville.
In his 20 years as a planning board attorney, Dolin said that he became familiar "with the issues that rural towns and villages face with development pressures and the competing demands of established residents and developers."
The town needs to implement a "policy of smart, controlled, responsible growth," he said. "We obviously have to try and attract some commercial enterprises" in an attempt to combat the school-tax burden, which many residents feel is "becoming unbearable," Dolin said.
"He’s in favor of development that will not change the fundamental character of the town," Mackey said of Dolin. "The town particularly needs development to ease the school-tax burden."
Dolin said that water is another concern of his. "I just recognize that there are a lot of people who are suffering without adequate water," he said of town residents. The town needs to work at determining "how to distribute it at an affordable price," Dolin said.
"I think the town’s need for water really should be addressed in a number of ways," Mackey said. Voorheesville has expressed a willingness to provide water outside the village, he said, adding that the city of Albany is willing to sell water, and New Scotland needs to continue to explore its options with the neighboring town of Bethlehem.
In response to the "likely observation" that his career as a lawyer and judge doesn’t make him qualified to manage a town government with a $3 million annual budget, Dolin said that he "does have substantial business and managerial experience." While managing the multi-state law firm office in Albany, he said, he was "responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business, including the hiring of professional and support staff, overseeing the billing and collection of fees, monitoring of expenditures, and the preparation of an annual budget."
Mackey said that he is "thrilled" that Dolin is running for supervisor. "I think Tom will make an outstanding supervisor," he said. "Tom has a tremendous amount of experience in municipal matters" He’s really a tireless worker," Mackey said. "If he sets his sights on something, I’ve never known him to not achieve it."
Dolin said that he respects Clark and believes that he has "worked hard" as town supervisor. "He’s retiring and I’d like to step in," Dolin said. "I think I would try to be more aggressive in addressing the growth issue and the water issue," he said of how he would differ from Clark, if elected. "I’m looking forward, not backward," he concluded.

LaGrange
LaGrange said this week that he has "made no decision" as to whether he will run for town supervisor.
Some town residents have told him, "We’ve had a lot of lawyers run our town, and it’s time for another businessman to run it," he said.
LaGrange has been a town board member for two years, and spent four years on the planning board before being elected to the town board, he said. "I firmly believe people should spend some time on the town board" before running for supervisor, he said. If he decided to run and were elected, LaGrange said he would have to forfeit his town board seat. If that were the case, he said, he would "certainly look toward" appointing Dolin as his replacement.
LaGrange, a Republican, and Clark – who ran on the Republican ticket for all three supervisor elections – are outnumbered by three Democrats on the five-member New Scotland town board. LaGrange said that he takes a "let’s work at it together" attitude on the town board.
"I think having two viable parties in the town is really great," Mackey told The Enterprise. "Both parties have a history of running good candidates," he said.

The town’s Republican Party is currently without a chair. Lance Luther, the former chair, did not want to comment on the upcoming election, and said that the party is in the process of selecting a new chair.
"I’ve spent a lot of time in Ed Clark’s office" having intelligent discussions about what’s going on in the town," LaGrange said. He is the liaison for the town board to the zoning and planning boards, and chaired a preliminary committee that the town board established to make suggestions regarding the town’s comprehensive land-use plan. He was also a member of the town’s Residents’ Planning Advisory Committee.
"I’ve certainly attended more meetings than other board members," LaGrange said.
Though LaGrange is a dairy farmer,"if something comes up, I’m available on a moment’s notice," he told The Enterprise, adding that he was on his cell phone while working in the field. "We don’t live in the dark ages anymore."

The full-time supervisor’s post pays $49,400 annually.
LaGrange said that farming has helped him develop a strong work ethic. "I take things seriously; I don’t do things halfway," he said.
Compared to the time commitment that farming requires, the supervisor’s job "is a somewhat part-time position," LaGrange said. He isn’t concerned about time constraints if he were to run and be elected. "I don’t think Mr. Dolin or anyone else would put in more effort," he said.
LaGrange has spent a lot of time speaking with friends business people, residents of the town, and, of course, his wife. "I want her to be totally behind it," he said of the role of his wife in his decision.
"I want people to know me, know my capabilities," LaGrange said.
"I think he’d be great supervisor," Clark said of LaGrange. "He’s very well qualified, and would serve the town well," he added.
"This is a very important decision," LaGrange reiterated. "It’s all about the town; it’s not about me.
"I’m not someone’s puppet, and I’m not doing what the Republican Party wants me to do," LaGrange said.
"I’m the anomaly out there when it comes to politicians" And I’m proud of that," he concluded.