To the Editor:

I am running for the New Scotland Town Board. I have raised my family here and rejuvenated for my public-service career here. This is my home and the community that I love.

As a lawyer, I have spent the last 30 years in public service, representing the poor, the disenfranchised, and women in their quest for an equal shot at the American dream. I have served on the New Scotland Zoning Board and as an advocate for small-business owners and worker-owned businesses.

I have represented children’s interests in receiving an appropriate education, defended victims of domestic violence, educated and mentored law students, and served as a leader in higher education. Throughout my career, I have always put my words and my beliefs into action.

So now that there is an opening on the town board, I feel that I must step forward. Because I believe in the mission of the current board and because I believe that a community is stronger when both men’s and women’s voices are heard.  

But mostly because I love New Scotland. In 1995, when I saw my house for the first time, I fell in love — the views of fields and the Helderbergs and the aroma of fresh-cut hay and the honeysuckle.

The price was a stretch, but my husband and I tightened our belts to buy it, because we knew this is where we wanted to raise our family. We placed a bench out front of our new home and every evening we took our son out to watch the sunset on that bench.

As our family grew, we outgrew this house, but we could not imagine leaving this spot or this town. Rather than move, we renovated, adding space and sustainable heating and electric systems to our home.

Under Doug LaGrange and the current town board, the town of New Scotland has, just like my family, treasured the beauty and character of our town, while ensuring the town’s future resilience. The recent Comprehensive Plan Update Committee’s survey of town residents showed that most of us love country living, don’t want a big-box store, and value fiscal responsible.

New Scotland’s town board has accomplished a great deal toward those goals without raising taxes:  obtaining more grants than any prior town board to fully support the rail trail, improve public safety, and lower the town’s dependence on fossil fuels, and approving a comprehensive plan that allows the town to encourage development without destroying the character of the community.

I want to help them continue that work. I want to make sure that other young couples will come to this town, fall in love with its rural character and sense of community, and be able to buy a home and raise a family here.

That’s why I’m asking New Scotlanders for their vote in this year’s election.

Bridgit M. Burke, Esq.

New Scotland