GUILDERLAND — Enrolled Conservative Michele Coons is running for town board in Guilderland, the town where she grew up and hopes to see her two young-adult children stay to eventually raise their families. “Having a passion for the town where you live is definitely a qualification,” she said.

She ran a close race two years ago for a seat on the town board, also backed by the Republicans.

She likes transparency, Coons said. “I think people should be able to know what’s going on,” she said, adding, “It shouldn’t be hidden; there shouldn’t be any shockers when you open your mail.”

Of course, she said, she was referring to property assessments “that our three districts did not know about until Primary Day, and that’s just not fair.” For people on strict incomes, she said, having to come up with an extra $1,500, $2,000, or even $500 in four weeks — “That hurts!”

Coons, 51, believes that the town board needs to look at “how we found ourselves in this situation,” regarding the new state-set equalization rate and the dramatic increases in tax bills for Guilderland residents whose homes are not in the Guilderland School District.

“Why did we wait 12 years?” she asked, referring to the time since the last town-wide revaluation. “What can we do in the future to do this correctly? The main focus can’t be to try to raise taxes in a different way. Like, a lot of times, people look at a reassessment and say, ‘Oh, that’s so they can raise taxes without raising taxes.’ We need to look at the whole picture, and, until we see the whole picture, we’re not going to be able to really respond. When elected, that would be one of my priorities, to talk with the rest of the board, to figure out what we can do and find out why this happened,” she said.

She suggested that, at the very least, town officials should have immediately, as soon as they knew that this increase might happen, sent out a mailing to residents who would be affected, “to let people know, to strategize.”

We need to go back to the state and ask for help, ask what could have been done differently for these residents, Coons said. She said that these same residents are going to be hit again in January with another high tax bill.

About zombie buildings, Coons emphasized, “We need to give the building department and the police department the tools and support to enforce any ordinances that are in place.”

She said that town officials should work with people who want to buy properties. They should call up businesses and say, “What can we do to help you open a business? We’ve got some spots for you to go,” referring to the handful of abandoned commercial properties around town. Coons recommends telling potential buyers what they need to do to take over one of these vacant properties.

Coons is “definitely for sidewalks,” she said. “I don’t want to raise taxes, but I think having safe ways to get places by walking or taking a bike is a great way to go,” she added.

She thinks it would be great if it is possible to create blacktop sidewalks with money the town already has. She added, “I’ve love to find more ways to fund sidewalks, without raising taxes.”

Coons was adamant that undocumented immigrants who are not doing anything illegal should not need to worry about being questioned by police. Immigration status “should never come up, unless you’re doing something wrong,” she said, adding that this is a country “built on immigrants.” She asked rhetorically, if somebody’s not doing something unlawful — she cited as examples robbing a bank, shoplifting, or injuring someone — “why are we asking them those types of questions?”

Coons was intrigued by the idea of a compost center, saying, “I think that’s a great idea, but if we were going to raises taxes for it, not a great idea.” She said it would be necessary to look at cost and at who would pay the cost, and how.

She said that she thinks most people do a good job now of recycling and want to help protect the planet. She said she was open to recycling initiatives that could help residents save money.

Coons called herself an “open-door-policy person.” She recommended that all candidates should publicize their telephone numbers and their email addresses, “so that people can call you or email you at any time.”

“You shouldn’t always  have to go through the supervisor’s office to get an email or a phone call,” Coons said.

Asked for a surprising fact about herself, Coons offered that she was born in Chula Vista, California, and explained that her father was in the Navy, “which I’m proud of.” She said her father instilled a strict work ethic in her; when she was 16, he told her that she could start working at that time or wait until she was 18, but, either way, she would need to leave herself at least an extra half-hour to get to work each day, “because you can never be late.”