GUILDERLAND — Four candidates — two Democrats and two Republicans — are running for two seats on the Guilderland Town Board. The two with the most votes on Nov. 8 win.

Democratic Supervisor Kenneth Runion is running for his fourth term, unopposed.

Also without challengers are the Democratic town clerk and receiver of taxes. The only other contested race is for town justice. (See related stories.)

Currently, the town supervisor, all four council members, the receiver of taxes, and the clerk are all Democrats. This is the fifth year that the town has been dominated by Democrats. For nearly 200 years, it was Republicans who controlled town government.

About a third of Guilderland voters are enrolled as Democrats, about a third as Republicans, and about a third are enrolled in small parties or not in any party.

In the proposed 2006 budget, the supervisor will earn $91,881. Town board members will make $19,281 each, if the budget passes.

The supervisor’s post carries a two-year term and board members run every four years.

The town board race has already seen controversy. In May, as the Republicans announced their candidates for town board, Democratic incumbent Bruce Sherwin told The Enterprise that, although he wanted to run for re-election, he was not being nominated by his party.

Sherwin said that, because of his independent voice on the board, he was ousted and branded disloyal by David Bosworth, the Democratic chairman and town board member.

Most of the time, the board’s members — all Democrats — vote unanimously. Sherwin has at times cast the only dissenting vote and, most of the time, is the only board member to draw heated discussion.

Sherwin described a time when Bosworth was challenged. Bosworth made a motion that no one seconded. Sherwin said that Bosworth then sent an e-mail to town board members, scolding them for embarrassing him.
"I may have commented once that I didn’t get a second," Bosworth told The Enterprise earlier in response. "It’s good parliamentary procedure...Without a second, you can’t have a lot of discussion. I thought I should get a courtesy second."

Bosworth also said then that he does not decide who the committee endorses. He is only one of 64 committeemen and one of 8,500 Democratic voters, he said.

The Democratic party later chose planning board attorney Paul Pastore to run in place of Sherwin, but, Bosworth said, this was the party’s decision.

Last month, more controversy arose since leaders of the Republican party had complained to Patricia Slavick’s employer that the Democratic incumbent was violating the Hatch Act by keeping her job and running for town board.

Slavick, an accountant, told The Enterprise that she’d done all she could to clear her candidacy with her supervisor at the state’s Office of Mental Health. The Hatch Act is a law that prohibits federal and certain state workers from running for an elected office.

When told just before the Democratic caucus in September that her job was in conflict, Slavick decided to quit, she said.

Still, Republican candidate Michael Donegan told The Enterprise that Slavick’s leaving her job wasn’t good enough. She violated the law for too long and she should drop out of the race, he said.

In the 2003 election, Republican Brian Hartson, upon hearing his job also violated the Hatch Act, ended his candidacy. Then, only one Republican ran for town board.

The Republican committee said this February that it had no real contenders for the election. So, it put an ad in The Enterprise. The ad asked anyone interested in running for supervisor, town board member, town judge, receiver of taxes, or town clerk to send a résumé to the committee.

Tony Cortes, the party’s chair, said then that the Republican committee will endorse residents from any political party.
"We want people who are open-minded, who are willing to negotiate with our political compromises," he said.

He said later that the Enterprise ad led to a training process that brought local Republicans to the committee to find out about elected positions.

Still, the party only found two candidates — Donegan and Ed Glenning.

The issues

The Enterprise interviewed the supervisor and town board candidates and asked their views on four issues:

— Raising the reservoir: The Watervliet Reservoir, located near the center of town, is Guilderland’s main source of drinking water. Residents remain concerned about water quality and supply, which is affected by Guilderland’s rapid growth.

The city of Watervliet, which owns the reservoir and sells water to Guilderland and other towns, plans to raise the level of the reservoir. This has some environmentalists worried about erosion and pollution.

— Industrial park plans: The privately-owned Northeastern Industrial Park — located on Route 146 in Guilderland Center

— has, this summer, after years of requests by the town, submitted a draft of its environmental-impact study for the town’s master plan.

The industrial park, which is on the site of a former Army depot in Guilderland Center, wants to build in two places that the Army has classified as Areas of Concern, or sites that were determined to be a risk to human health. This, too, worries environmentalists and residents.

— Planning and zoning: The town’s zoning law is at least 30 years old. Many residents and business owners have complained that the zoning law is outdated and needs to be revised.

Some have also said that the law is unfairly enforced, that citations are only given when neighbors complain of violations.

— One party in power: Residents, particularly members of the Republican party, have said that, with a Democratic supervisor and an all-Democrat town board, there is no give and take or discussion of other viewpoints.

Also, the GOP has asserted that Democratic party Chairman David Bosworth controls board members and, if they would disagree as Sherwin did, would be ousted.

TOWN SUPERVISOR — Kenneth Runion

Democratic Supervisor Kenneth Runion is running for his fourth two-year term, unopposed.

He’s proud that, under his administration, Tawasentha Park has been improved, the Western Turnpike Golf Course has been purchased, and that soccer fields at DiCaprio Park and baseball fields have been created.

Runion is also glad to have completed of the town’s comprehensive land-use plan and its rural Guilderland study, he said. Work is now beginning on a study for the Guilderland hamlet.
"Financially, the town is in great shape despite all the surprise things since 2001, including retirement costs increasing, health insurance costs increasing," Runion said. "We’ve been able to absorb all those without raising taxes.

Runion’s goals include continuing with planning and exploring more park and recreation opportunities, he said.

Guilderland must be very cautious in reviewing Watervliet’s plans to raise the level of the reservoir, Runion said. This is why the town hired an engineering firm, Barton & Loguidice, to study the plan more carefully, he said.
"We want to make sure there’s not any impacts," Runion said. "...We want to see if dredging is not a better alternative."
Although the city of Watervliet owns the reservoir, he said, "It’s within the town of Guilderland and we, as town residents and government, will feel whatever effects arise if Watervliet makes a mistake."
Runion went on, "We need to be very involved. It is a major portion of our water supply and we have to really safeguard the integrity of that."

He has concerns with the draft of the Northeastern Industrial Park’s environmental impact statement, he said, especially about traffic and environmental protection.
"The plan is not detailed enough," Runion said.
Asked about proposed building on Areas of Concern, he said, "They can’t build on Areas of Concern. We wouldn’t allow it; those areas have to be cleaned up first."

The industrial park would still need zoning-board approval before any new building would occur, he said.

One of Runion’s goals is to revise the town’s zoning law, he said.
"It’s due for a major update," he said.

Unfair zoning enforcement is not a problem, Runion said. In a town that is 58 square miles with 34,000 people and a limited number of town employees, he said, it’s easy for violations to be concealed from the town’s zoning-enforcement officer.

Sometimes, he said, the town relies on neighbors’ complaints about violations.
"The budget would be astronomical to hire the people necessary to keep track of that," he said.
Asked if having an all-Democrat board is a problem, Runion said, "The Republicans didn’t say that six years ago when there were all Republicans on the town board."
He went on, "When you look at it, we all live in the community. We all want to see the community prosper. Our interests are what’s best for the town and its residents. We leave our political affiliations at the Town Hall steps."

Bosworth does not control how other board members vote, Runion said. Different board members give different feedback on all kinds of issues, he said.

Runion pointed out a time when Bosworth made a motion and it was not seconded.
"To me, that’s an indication that he could not and does not have control," he said.

TOWN BOARD — Patricia Slavick

Democratic incumbent Patricia Slavick has been on the town board since 2000.

Slavick has accomplished much in her time on the board, she said. For residents’ quality of life, she said, she’s proud to have made improvements to Tawasentha Park; to have acquired the Western Turnpike Golf Course and soccer fields at DiCaprio Park; to have created a noise ordinance; and to have approved senior housing on Carman Road, Mill Hill, and Brandle Road.

In the area of public safety, Slavick said, the town has purchased an emergency-command vehicle and has expanded its emergency medical services.

Also, she said, the town’s traffic-safety and pathways committees were formed while she’s been on the board.

Slavick is proud to have overseen the upgrade to the town’s sewage-treatment plant and the addition of a new water town, she said.

She’s also been part of a board that completed a comprehensive plan, created a more open government, and eliminated tax increases, she said.

Her goals for the next four years include: conducting more studies for the comprehensive plan; seeing that water lines are looped for better quality and access; finding more grants for town projects; and getting more sidewalks in town, in accordance with a study made by the pathways committee.

Raising the level of the Watervliet Reservoir is a concern, which is why the town hired an engineering firm to study the proposal, Slavick said.

Flooding of nearby properties and soil erosion are just two areas that need to be examined, she said.
"We don’t own the reservoir, but it is in Guilderland and it will affect us," Slavick said.

The town will voice its concerns after it hears from the engineering firm, she said.

The draft of the Northeastern Industrial Park’s environmental impact statement has created a lot of questions that need to be answered, Slavick said.
"For instance," she said, "a big issue is the increase in traffic with trucks, not only on Route 146, but on Western Avenue and to the Thruway and Northway."

Noise, odors, and especially protecting the water supply should be studied so that nearby residents aren’t hurt by the industrial park’s expanding, Slavick said.

She is very concerned with proposals to build where toxic materials are buried, she said.
"A lot of questions have to be answered," she said. "There’s a lot of work to do, but this is a good start."

The zoning law is outdated and the town should review it, to see where it could be revised, Slavick said.

Some say that more commercial growth is needed, she said, but, when creating its comprehensive plan, the town heard from residents who said there is enough commercial development in Guilderland.

Slavick suggested the town study where it wants any further development, such as along Route 20, heading west.
"And, we’d have to make sure the services would be viable to the community and would create jobs," she said.

She doesn’t see a problem with zoning enforcement, Slavick said. Tickets are issued both after neighbors complain and by the zoning officer finding violations himself, she said.

Having an all-Democrat town board has also never been a problem, she said.
"We each have our area of expertise," Slavick said. "I’m the financial person on the board because of my background. I look at the budget reports every month, the transfers, the bids....We all work well together."
Asked if Bosworth controlled the board, Slavick said, "I have a master’s degree in accounting. I can make my own decisions after reading the reports. It’s not an issue. He’s never called to say, ‘You must vote like this.’"

She gave the same example Runion did, pointing out the time when Bosworth made a motion and no one seconded it.
"I’ve been on the board for five years," Slavick concluded. "It’s challenging — there’s always a lot to learn — and it’s rewarding — I’ve gotten to know how government operates at the town level."

Seeing children play at DiCaprio Park or senior citizens thrive at Omni Senior Living Center has been especially fulfilling, she said.

TOWN BOARD — Paul Pastore

Democrat Paul Pastore, who has been the town’s planning board attorney for six years, is making his first run for town board.

His experience with the planning board has helped him understand how the town is growing and what the current planning issues are, Pastore said.
"I have a significant amount of information and understanding that would serve me well in helping residents address issues that affect the town," he said. These issues include residential growth and balancing property-owners’ rights with public concerns of safety and well-being, he said.

The town’s comprehensive plan is an important tool for smart planning, Pastore said. Seeing prudent and responsible planning in several areas of town is one of his goals, he said.
Of raising the level of the reservoir, Pastore said, "It’s still in the process of meriting the pros and cons. We have to address those issues carefully."

The town was correct to hire an engineer to study the proposal, he said.
"It’s important for the town board to work closely to examine water quality and concerns of erosion," Pastore said.
"The water supply is imperative; it’s paramount," he said. "We don’t want to increase the reservoir if it’ll create sediments and erosion concerns. But, provided that it’s done in the most effective, safe, and productive way, it might be the best thing for the city and the town," he said of Watervliet and Guilderland.

The Northeastern Industrial Park still needs to address a number of concerns, from the draft of its environmental impact statement, Pastore said.
Before development occurs, it must be approved by the planning and zoning boards, he said. Those board members "take painstaking time and effort" to make sure the Black Creek is safe and other issues are resolved, he said.
"There’s not going to be any build-out until it meets the concerns and satisfactions of the board and independent engineers," Pastore said of the industrial park. "We don’t want uncontrolled growth at the expense of the water supply. There will be a great deal of planning."
Asked if there’s a need to revise the zoning law, Pastore said, "With any laws in effect, there’s a need to modify with changing times. But, many times, you certainly have a good core basis."

The current zoning law mostly works well, he said. Residents often have concerns about traffic, safety, and water issues, he said, but the law provides the zoning and planning boards with thorough opportunities to analyze these concerns.

Pastore praised the current boards for listening to public concerns. Especially the zoning board, he said, which often hears cases into the early morning hours.
Of zoning enforcement, Pastore said, "We have a zoning-code enforcement officer whose obligation is to reasonably, equitably, and fairly enforce the law."

Residents who have concerns about enforcement can go before the zoning board at any meeting, he said.
"In my current role, not as an elected, but as an appointed official, I’m particularly proud that town government is quite open and quite accessible," Pastore said.
"To the credit of our current supervisor, Ken Runion, a lot of action has been taken," he said, including public comment periods at every board meeting, televised meetings, and an updated town website.
Asked if all Democrats on the board is a problem, Pastore said, "It’s important, in any public position, that individuals in that capacity are qualified, competent, conscientious, and hard working...To suggest members of the town board are not competent or qualified or, in some way, their integrity is compromised because of being of one party is incorrect."

On the planning board, Pastore said he works with Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, and those in the Independence Party. But, he said, he looks not at their political affiliation but at their expertise.

The town board appointed these people, he said, instead of appointing all Democrats.
The current town board members, he said, "bring with them a diverse array of knowledge and experience."

For example, Pastore said, Slavick is the financial expert while Runion knows the law well.
"Although they are from the same party, there’s still a great deal of give and take. They speak from their own experiences," he said.
Of Bosworth controlling the board, Pastore said, "There’s no merit to that. If you review the meetings, there’s differing opinions and observations made. It’s not always a 5 to 0 vote."
He concluded, "To credit the current town supervisor and board members, they do their homework. Their decisions are informed, intelligent, and well reasoned....There’s no sense of control by one board member over anyone."

TOWN BOARD — Michael Donegan
Republican Michael Donegan decided to run for town board, he said, because he has "fresh ideas" and he wants "to open up the process of town government."
"I have leadership qualities and vision that can be brought to the board," he said. "That’s been extremely lacking for several years. It’s time for fresh blood."

Citizens should be better informed about what Guilderland officials are doing, Donegan said, and be given more opportunities to voice their opinions.
"I want to be proactive instead of reactive," he said.

Donegan gave two examples of times he felt the current town board has been reactive. First, he said, was in creating the plan for rural Guilderland.
"The first draft was a terrible document and, it wasn’t until citizens complained that it was redrafted into a workable document," he said.

The second example he gave was the town-wide property revaluation this year. The town does reassessment every few years because, without it, as newcomers move to a town, they pay taxes based on the price they paid for their property, while parcels that haven’t sold recently usually remain at a lower rate, skewing the tax rolls.

This year, however, residents were alarmed at the rate of increase to their assessments. Hundreds, many angry, contested their assessments and waited for several hours at Town Hall on Grievance Day.
"The town was not at all prepared for a very predictable response from taxpayers wanting to grieve," Donegan said.

The town’s decision last month to appoint extra members to the board of assessment review next year was a reactive move, he said.
"They always seem to be closing the barn door after the cow gets out," Donegan said.
He went on, "I want to create a dialogue with the community and the business leaders to see what we can do to have Guilderland-style growth in town."
The current board ignores business opportunities, Donegan said. "If we don’t balance the tax base, residential taxes are going to go up and up," he said.

He added that much work needs to be done to get sidewalk fragments connected and to make Guilderland more pedestrian-friendly.
Of raising the level of the Watervliet Reservoir, Donegan said, "We need to look at it very carefully on several levels."

The town needs to be vigilant on making sure the project won’t further contaminate the reservoir and that the nearby residents won’t be adversely affected, he said.
"We have the avenues open to protect the residents of Guilderland," he said.

Looping pipes to bring water to residents in western Guilderland is a big issue that will come up in the future, Donegan said. It needs to be studied carefully, he said.
"Are we going to take a fair look at the multiple options or are officials going to decide behind closed doors"" he asked.

Donegan has read through two-thirds of the Northeastern Industrial Park’s three-inch thick environmental impact draft, he said.
"I’ve been reading for years about a potential contamination problem and I wonder: Why hasn’t more been done to address these concerns before"" Donegan asked.

Town officials should have looked at these issues long ago, he said, not just now when the industrial park wants to expand.

The town board should also be putting more pressure on the federal government to clean up the contamination from the old Army depot, he said.
"The town sits on their hands and, if it comes up, will deal with it," Donegan said. "That’s not a good way to govern. Citizens are electing us because we have something to offer besides nodding our heads and smiling. We should use our talents and intelligence to make residents’ lives better."

Donegan agreed that the town’s zoning law should be revised.
"So much has happened over the past several years with the desire to develop that we’re not really prepared to deal with that," he said.
Bringing the zoning law "up to speed" needs to be a priority of the town board as development continues, he said.
"It’s to protect the look and culture of the town for generations to come," Donegan said. "If we don’t have stewards of public interest on the town board, it’s a problem."

Many business owners have told Donegan that they’ve had trouble getting zoning-board approval for various things, because the law is not clear, he said.

Donegan has heard of residents being upset that the zoning law is unfairly enforced, but hasn’t experienced it himself, he said.
"I understand the need for the zoning law but, in any kind of governance, you need a certain amount of discretion," he said. Parts of the current law, he said, "have no rhyme or reason or sense of equity or justice."
Having all Democrats on the town board is "a huge problem and people have experienced it," Donegan said.
"The local Democratic party really has a stranglehold on this town board," he said, adding that Bosworth has too much control over the board members.
"I’d propose to modify the town ethics law," Donegan said, so that someone is not allowed to be both party chair and board member. "You look at what happened to Bruce Sherwin. He had party problems, not problems as an elected official. But, he was taken right out of the equation."

Donegan concluded that, with his vision, the town’s master plan would be used to the advantage of residents.
"We’re shaping the face of the town for generations to come and we want to make sure we take the best interest of the taxpayers seriously," Donegan said. "Not too many people say the town board does that now."

TOWN BOARD — Ed Glenning

Republican Ed Glenning is making his first run for public office.
"I have a vision for a better Guilderland that has lower taxes and better services," he said. "We need to have more proactive leadership."

He decided to run for town board after seeing the Republicans’ ad in The Enterprise, he said.
"I felt I had the skills and the leadership," Glenning said. "And, I did not agree with a lot of the decisions made by the current town board."
When asked to elaborate on those decisions, Glenning said, "We need to have a better balance to the Guilderland economy. The way I see the town developing, there’s a lot of residential growth and I don’t see a lot of corresponding, commercial services."
Walking the streets of Westmere, he said, "There’s not a decent place to get a cup of coffee. There’s no Starbucks. There’s no services that create walkable neighborhoods."

Glenning also said that most of the sidewalks on Carman Road and in other places don’t connect. The town should work to do something about this, he said.

Guilderland is not a business-friendly town, he said. He encouraged residents to watch the zoning-board meetings on cable television and draw their own conclusions.
Business owners in town have told him they were given a hard time by the zoning board about the size of their signs, Glenning said. The town should be more concerned with the "For Sale" and "For Lease" signs on Western Avenue than the size of businesses’ signs, he said.

The town’s comprehensive plan was adopted in 2001, but the town board has yet to codify most of its tenets into the law.
"If we don’t start acting on the plan, it’s going to become obsolete and a waste of the taxpayers’ money," Glenning said.
"We need to have representation on the town board that, when they spend the taxpayer dollar, they spend it with the same frugality as they do their own money," he said.
Of water quality and quantity in Guilderland, Glenning said, "It’s highly ironic that citizens of this town who are closest to the water supply are depending on age-old methods to get drinking water. That’s gone on too long."

Much of the developed, eastern end of town has municipal water while the rural, western part of Guilderland does not.

Glenning suggested that residents in the western part of town do not have water so development can be controlled.
"These citizens shouldn’t have to suffer," he said.

There must be an effective way to raise the level of the Watervliet Reservoir and protect the water supply, Glenning said.
"I’ve heard a lot of different opinions on how to best protect the watershed area," he said. "....One of the things I depend on is the trusted, valued opinions of experts on certain matters."

In the United States of America, he said, other reservoirs have faced the same issue and we can learn lessons from them. So far, he said, no one in Guilderland has shown the leadership to find a solution to protect the water supply and create a safe plan to raise the water level at the same time.
Asked how much the town should be involved in this, since the reservoir is owned by the city of Watervliet, Glenning said, "In the private sector, when we want to have successful business, the main focus is customer delight....We’re the big customer; we should have a voice."

Glenning has skimmed the draft of the Northeastern Industrial Park’s environmental impact statement and he plans on studying the whole document, he said.

The industrial park should be held accountable for its actions, he said. A compromise could be reached between the industrial park’s desire for further development and neighboring residents’ wanting to protect themselves and the environment, he said.
"We’re all intelligent people here," Glenning said. "If we look at what’s good for the community, we can come to a conclusion."
Asked about the industrial park’s wanting to build on Areas of Concern, he said, "We should hear the voice of the citizens in that area of town. It’s in their backyard; let’s hear what they have to say."

Contaminated land should be cleaned up, he said, and residents should be protected.
Asked if he thinks zoning-law enforcement is a problem, Glenning said, "It’s an area we can do better. If you’re going to have a law in the United States of America, it needs to be applied without bias and discrimination."

He went on that the town has to do a better job of listening to the residents. When Walgreens came before the zoning board with plans to build on Western Avenue, many residents were upset about traffic and other issues, he said.
The zoning-board members didn’t, but should have, asked of those residents, "What will make this work for you"" Glenning said. "That’s proactive; we’ll do that if I’m elected."

Also, he said, the Guilderland Pathways Committee created a great plan for sidewalks and bike paths in the Fort Hunter area. But, the committee didn’t talk to the people who live there, he said, and many were upset after the plan came out that bike trails were proposed to run through their backyards.

Of the town board currently being all Democrats, Glenning said it should more balanced.
"It’s not like the legislative or executive branch of government where there’s checks and balances," he said. "The town board is one governing body that controls the town."

The diversity between Republicans, Democrats, and independents is important, he said.

Having the Democratic party chairman on the town board is dangerous, Glenning said.
"There’s issues of power and corruption," he said. "Look what they did to Bruce Sherwin. You have a guy that wants to be an independent voice and you have a chairman that says, ‘You do it my way or you’re out on the highway.’
"The voters really need to understand that happened and take it with them when they go to the polls," he said. "If you didn’t get a fair Grievance Day this spring, you can have it on Nov. 8."