Stanton, Robinson on New Scotland FIRST line

NEW SCOTLAND — Two-thirds of the New Scotland FIRST ticket will likely appear on the ballot in November.

Judge Thomas McNamara circulated an order on Tuesday afternoon, said Tom Marcelle, the lawyer representing John Dearstyne, a New Scotland citizen who sought to invalidate the petition.

“I expect that he will allow Roz Robinson and Tim Stanton on the ballot and that Mike Fields will not be allowed,” Marcelle said yesterday.

Robinson and Stanton are running for town board while Fields is running for supervisor.

The trio formed the New Scotland FIRST party line this summer because they shared a laissez-faire stance on commercial development in town, which is different from the other candidates in the race for two seats on the town board and the supervisor’s post — they favor a limit on the allowable size of commercial retail developments.

Since the suit was first filed in late August, Robinson, a Republican, won a spot on the GOP line in the party’s primary.  Stanton, also a Republican, did not get on that line.  The pair challenged incumbent Republican Douglas LaGrange and Republican Charles Voss, who had both gotten the party’s endorsement in May.  The primary yielded a split ticket with Robinson and LaGrange winning spots.  Fields maintained his GOP line for supervisor since he wasn’t challenged in the primary.

LaGrange has now joined Democrats Daniel Mackay, running for town board, and Thomas Dolin, the incumbent supervisor, in a slate called Team New Scotland.  (See related story.)

“We’re going to run together as New Scotland FIRST,” Stanton said yesterday.  All three candidates said yesterday that they plan to keep campaigning together, as they have been.

“I’m thrilled for Tim and I,” said Robinson of the likely outcome.  She added, “I feel badly that Mike’s only going to have one line.”

“Unfortunately, I’ll just have to use the Republican line to beat them,” Fields said when asked his opinion of the likely outcome.  “I’m glad to see that Roz and Tim are on,” he said.  When asked if it is an acceptable outcome, Fields said, “No, not really.  They should have given me a line — why not?”

Fields entered the race later than Stanton and Robinson and had fewer signatures — by about 30, Robinson said.

Having fewer signatures made Fields more vulnerable to line-by-line attacks, Marcelle said.

“I think that’s the right ruling under the law,” Marcelle concluded.