RENSSELAERVILLE — Although there are more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans in Rensselaerville, the current town board has just one Democrat. It has two Conservatives, an Independence Party member, and a Republican supervisor.

Similarly, the other three Hilltowns all have far more enrolled Democrats than Republicans but every one of the town board members in Berne, Knox, and Westerlo is a Democrat.

Asked why he thought the Democrats in Rensselaerville didn’t elect Democrats to the town board, Jeffry Pine, the Democratic Party chairman who is running for assessor, said, “Like everything else, it’s hard to get Democrats to show up to vote.”

In this election, the Democrats are putting up only one candidate for town board to the Republicans’ two. “We couldn’t get people involved,” said Pine. “We interviewed a few. We had another candidate but she backed out at the last minute because of a family situation.”

The lone Democratic candidate for town board, Gerald Heath, said it is time for his party to have some “new blood.”

Pine also said, “A lot of Republicans changed to the Conservative or Independence parties.”

In addition to 605 Democrats and 275 Republicans, Rensselaerville has 59 enrolled Conservatives, 105 Independence Party members, five members of the Working Families Party, one Green Party member, and 260 nonaffiliated voters.

Assessor Richard Tollner, a Republican, has been campaigning with Councilwoman Margaret Sedlmeir, an Independence Party member, and two other Republicans — candidates for town judge and town board.

“We’ve been going door-to-door and leaving bags of campaign literature with no political affiliation,” said Tollner. “We ask people to vote for the person, not the party.”

Councilman Robert Bolte, a Conservative, is not seeking another term. Sedlmeir is running for a second term — with the Republican, Conservative, and Reform lines as well as the Independence Party line.

With those same endorsements, Kevin McGrath is making his first run for town board.

According to the proposed budget for next year, town board members, who serve four-year terms, will earn $3,000 annually. A town justice earns $9,150. And an assessor earns $4,635 in base pay plus and additional $1,200 for having certification.

Tollner is running against Pine, who lost out as assessor in the last election. Pine has endorsements from the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families parties.

Finally, with Greg Bischoff not seeking another term as judge, there is a race for judge between Republican Brian O’Keefe, who also has the Reform line, and Dwight Cooke, who has the Democratic, Conservative, and Independence party lines.

A candidates’ forum will be held on Nov. 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Conkling Hall.

The issues

The Enterprise asked the town board candidates their views on these issues:

— Tower: The sheriff’s office has proposed a 180-foot tower on top of Edwards Hill as part of a $23 million countywide communication system. Some residents have objected to the tower because it would mar the Catskill vistas for which they pay taxes.

Are you for or against the tower proposal and why?

— Budget: Each year since the state adopted a tax-levy limit of roughly 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, the Rensselaerville Town Board has passed a law to be able to exceed the cap but then managed to come in under the cap.

Is staying under the levy limit sustainable, and are needed purchases being sacrificed?

— Zoning: The town is in the process of revising its zoning ordinance. A draft was presented to the town board in September, which stated it is meant “to provide orderly growth in accordance with a comprehensive plan.”

What is good about the draft and what, if anything, should be changed and why?

— Roads: Highway Superintendent Randall Bates had discussed having some of the town’s paved roads made into graveled roads instead. Also, Rensselaerville has shared equipment and services with other municipalities in need but does not have a formal plan to share, for example, plowing duties with the state and county.

Should the town formalize shared service and why or why not? And is the plan to do away with some paved roads a good one?

— Economy: As shopping patterns and vacation patterns have changed over the last half-century, many rural towns have had their economic center chipped away.

What role, if any, should town government play in spurring the local economy?

THE CANDIDATES

For town board

Margaret Sedlmeir

Margaret Sedlmeir has found her four years on the town board to be “a wonderful experience,” she said.

“I’ve learned a lot,” she went on. “I’m proud to be part of it. I am concerned with the good of the town, not any political party.”

A member of the Independence Party, Sedlmeir is running for a second term. “The Independence Party,” she said, “is interested in good government, working for the common good.”

She said the members of the current board work well together. “We didn’t realize it until a month or two” after elections that the members were of several different parties — a Democrat; a Republican; two Conservatives; and herself, a member of the Independence Party. “We worked very hard in conjunction with committees in preparing the new zoning law,” she said.

Sedlmeir, 72, is a retired schoolteacher. She taught elementary students in Westchester County for 18 years before moving to Rensselaerville 22 years ago. She has since worked as a substance abuse counselor and teaching assistant, and currently works as a substitute teacher.

The thing she is most proud of in her tenure on the board is starting a town-wide picnic. The third annual picnic was held last June. “It’s sponsored by the town board, held on the grounds of the town hall,” she said, so it attracts people from all the hamlets.

“It’s very successful,” Sedlmeir said. “Many volunteers made that possible,” she said, particularly noting the volunteers in the ambulance and fire companies.

“I initiated that to build community,” Sedlmeir said. “I believe that’s so important.”

Sedlmeir also is proud of being one of two board members who, she said, “did the groundwork” for updating the town’s code of ethics after the ethics board heard its first case. The town board worked with its attorney, completing the project a year-and-a-half ago, she said.

Sedlmeir concluded, “It’s been a pleasure to be on the board. I’ve made contributions and would like to continue to contribute with any gifts I might have.”

Sedlmeir supports the sheriff’s tower proposal “purely because it’s very much a matter of safety.”

Sedlmeir went on, “The fire companies, the ambulance, the police have a right to contact one another in our five hamlets here.”

She noted that, where she lives, there is no cellphone service.

Sedlmeir went on, “We had a very difficult and sad circumstance with Hurricane Irene and Storm Lee in Preston Hollow and Potter Hollow, and no one could get out to communicate.”

On the budget coming in under the state-set levy limit, Sedlmeir said, “We haven’t finalized this budget. I don’t think anything of grave importance is being sacrificed. We pass that resolution so it’s in place if we need it.”

On the draft of the new zoning law, Sedlmeir said, “That’s very well done. Our attorney worked very hard with the planning and zoning committees. There are changes since 1999. I don’t find anything off base.”

Sedlmeir praised the work of Highway Superintendent Randall Bates. “Randy and his crew have done a marvelous job,” she said. “They are a blessing to this township.”

She also said, “Shared services is a wonderful idea with equipment and person power. It’s a very practical and cost-saving arrangement.”

Asked if the town board should have a role in spurring the local economy, Sedlmeir described a way in which the town has helped elderly residents save money.

“We have a senior-youth bus purchased by donation several years ago and a car; both vehicles are used to bring seniors or anyone to a doctor or to the hospital,” she said, adding that youth from Trinity Church used the bus this past summer for a Bible study week.

“We’re saving seniors a lot of of money,” concluded Sedlmeir.

Gerald "Chris" Heath

Democrat Gerald Heath is making his first run for office — seeking a seat on the town board — after having been asked many times in the past, he said.

“I think the Democratic Party in Rensselaerville is getting static,” he said of his reason for running now. “As a kid, I remember how strong it was...We need new blood.”

Heath, 48, works for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. He graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School in 1986 and has lived in Rensselaerville for 29 years.

He is a longtime member of the Medusa Volunteer Fire Company and is a past chief.

He registered to vote at 18 and has “always voted,” he said. “I never wanted to get involved in politics,” Heath said, but he decided to run this year because, he said, “I don’t think we’re headed in the right direction.”

He went, “I don’t think we’re pursuing money out there,” he said, naming federal grants.

“Older politicians in town spent too much time arguing instead of coming together,” Heath said, declining to mention names.

“I’ve been telling everybody I talk to, I’m not a career politician. I’m just an ordinary guy and I think I can really make a difference with my views.”

Asked about the proposed tower, Heath noted, “I work for the sheriff’s department.” He went on to say he had been concerned with public safety as a member of the fire company for 20 years.

“You need communication,” said Heath. “With the lay of the land, it’s not flat. You have to put up towers for communication.”

Heath said, from his work with the fire company, he was well aware there are “dead spots” in town. “If they can do it with one tower, that’s a good idea,” he said, instead of building several.

Heath said he drove up to Edwards Hill where the tower would be located. “I didn’t see where it was a big eyesore,” he said, adding, “People are entitled to their opinions.”

Heath said he hadn’t read the draft of the new zoning law but, he said, it is important “to keep it manageable as far as acreage.”

At one point, he said, “They wanted to have 10 acres to build a house...What young person can afford that?”

He went on, “I’m not saying, put up a house on every acre, but make it so people can afford it.” He said that three or five acres was “manageable.”

He concluded, “I can understand trying to keep it country.”

On roads, Heath said, “Getting rid of paved roads is not a good idea. We pay enough tax money to take care of the roads. We shouldn’t be taking stuff away.”

On sharing services, he said, “If it’s done correctly, without putting anyone out of work. I’m for it. It does save money.”

On the budget, Heath said, “I don’t know if they have sacrificed anything” to stay under the state-set levy limit.

He went on, “If it did start hurting us, it would have to be looked at again.”

He reiterated his view that grants must be applied for. “Hire or find a grant writer,” he said. “Go out for every grant possible. There’s money out there.”

He also said, “Townspeople are pay taxes for services.” Heath said taxes are high in Rensselaerville and that he knows people, in New Scotland, for example, that pay less in taxes but get more services, like garbage collection.

On spurring the local economy, Heath said, “It goes to getting more business in town...Not that I want to see a Wal-Mart come into Rensselaerville. We need to pursues new businesses to keep taxes reasonable.”

Heath has three grown children. “The town has to think of ways to keep young people in town,” he said. “Even the farms are going. Land is expensive.”

He went on, “You need business to get people to come here.” He cited Oak Hill in Durham where an Irish festival draws crowds, he said. A campground with rallies and a haunted house,, he said “brings in bikers and people from the city.”

Kevin McGrath

Republican Kevin McGrath is running for town board so he can use his skills as a certified public accountant to help the town.

“I think I could make a difference — do the kind of accounting that should be done, help the board, give them another angle,” said McGrath.

McGrath, 62, retired at the end of last year after 30 years as a CPA, he said. He has lived in Rensselaerville for a decade, and has helped residents with tax or accounting issues, he said. And worked with Conkling Hall to get a 501(c) (3) exemption, which was approved. He particularly likes working with not-for-profit organizations, he said.

For the last month, McGrath said, he has been going door to door, campaigning. “I found every door we knocked on, we were greeted by nice people,” McGrath said, which he found was a pleasant surprise.

He grew up in South Philadelphia and said he expected to be yelled at or have some doors slammed in his face.

He earned a degree in business management and accounting at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. McGrath then worked for Werner Erhard, founder of Erhard Seminars Training Inc., traveling the country with Erhard as an est trainer.

“People said it’s a cult; it’s not,” McGrath said of est. “I got to go places I wouldn’t have otherwise. I thought I was making a difference in people’s lives.”

McGrath, who described himself as “pretty congenial,” said of campaigning, “I really enjoyed talking to everyone. I’ll continue to do that. Even if I’m not elected, I can still make noise.”

On the proposed tower, McGrath said, “If they put up a tower, why not provide Rensselaaerville with email?” Referring to Internet access, he said, “It would be good for residents and businesses.”

He noted the frustration his wife, an attorney, faces when she brings home work and can’t use the Internet.

“I’m befuddled by the whole thing,” said McGrath. “If anybody cared, make it work for everyone and give something to the town they could use.”

On the budget, he said, “I’m conservative. I would prefer we should strive to stay under the cap, if possible, if it would work.”

He went on, “We have to make sure the people living here are getting the best product possible.”

On zoning, McGrath said, “People need to be careful what they’re zoning.” He said he’s heard about issues with lot sizes.

McGrath also said of he and his wife, who moved to Rensselaerville from Coxsackie, “That’s why we moved up here, to get away from this crazy political stuff.”

His wife, Melissa, has a horse named Fame and has competed successfully in dressage.

“In Coxsackie, we wanted to put up a field for our horse. The town said no. What — are we living in Russia? We pay a lot of taxes. We make good money. They say no; we say goodbye. Some people don’t have the ability to leave; we do.”

On roads, McGrath said that he doesn’t like the idea of unpaved roads. “In the wintertime,” he said, “the roads get ripped up.” He and his wife live on Miller Road. “Our road wasn’t paved at first; it is now. When it wasn’t paved, they would plow debris on our lawn. It takes a long time to clean up.”

McGrath, who is currently serving as interim executive director of the Saratoga Auto Museum, said he drives a 911 SC (for Super Coupe) Porsche made in 1982. “It’s really red and really fast,” he said. “I’m very careful driving on gravel because it can get spit up and chip the paint.”

On shared services, McGrath said, “If it’s structured correctly, I’d put it in place.”

He went on, “We need paper contracts. Being on the board, ... [I’d] continue to solidify, draw up contracts using an attorney, reviewed by the board.”

On the economy, McGrath said, “We need to do more. We need to do a lot more.”

He continued, “Depending on the board’s makeup and volunteers, we need to sit down and study the economics of our area — where and what we can do. A lot of people in Rensselaerville are very involved.

“To me, that makes a difference. The town really cares about their town and will do everything they can to keep it that way.”

For Assessor

Richard Tollner

Republican Richard Tollner is seeking a second four-year term as assessor.

“I love the job so much I’m now an appointed assessor in Duanesburg,” he said.

Explaining why he likes the job, Tollner said, “I get the opportunity to help folks review their assessments. I help senior citizens and veterans get exemptions. We meet with them and make house calls if they can’t make it in.”

Tollner, 56, cites his 25 years as a mortgage professional, 16 years as a landlord, and five years as a taxpayer representative as qualifications for the job.

He also has become a member of the budget advisory committee for the Greenville school district. “I do my best to offer input to keep school expenses down,” he said of his role on the committee. “It’s hard to do; school budgets are quite tight.”

Tollner said there has never been a security problem with records in the assessors’ office. Referring to a case heard by the town’s ethics board, he said, “There was a charge one assessor gave a family member an improper exemption...It was never justified.”

He also wrote in an email that the complaint that was dismissed by the ethics board “was not concerning myself, to any degree.”

Responding to his opponent’s claims that property values should have been decreased after flooding from tropical storms Irene and Lee in 2011, Tollner said, “We did reduce severely a number of houses in Preston Hollow. We went door to door...The rebuilt houses, we reassessed lower; it’s on the books.”

He then wrote in an email to The Enterprise, “Myself, Donna Krop, and Mike Weber obtained assessment deductions of 50 percent or greater in January - March 2012 for a number of homes in Preston Hollow. We held down some of those deductions permanently.”

He also pointed out that Jeffry Pine was the assessor in 2011 when the tropical storms hit in August of that year.

Tollner said he agreed with Pine, “It’s harder to sell in a flood zone.” He also said assessments in a flood zone are done on “a case-by-case basis.”

He concluded, “You can’t blanket a town and say everyone gets a reduction...Some homes we voluntarily gave a reduction because of the severe level of damage.”

Deciding on town-wide property revaluation, Tollner said, is up to the town board.

“Some folks think revaluation is expensive and will raise everyone’s taxes. Other folks think it would properly value assessments,” he said. “I’ve seen where revaluation can be useful.”

Tollner is adamant that assessed values in Rensselaerville are not skewed. “Our current staff makes hundreds of reviews annually,” he said. He works with two other elected assessors. “We are on every town road twice a year,” Tollner said.

He went on, “We haven’t raised a majority of assessments. Probably a dozen we’ve lowered without request.”

The state requires that assessments be done between March 1 and May 1. “In assessing season, we work 20 to 30 hours a week,” said Tollner. “It’s not a job; its community service.”

Jeffry Pine

Jeffry Pine still claims there are problems with the assessments following an August 2011 tropical storm as he makes another run for assessor.

Pine was Rensselaerville’s assessor from 1999 to 2011; he lost elections for the post in 2011 and 2013.

He cites his 13 years as assessor as well as his work on the planning board and as building inspector and deputy supervisor for the town. “I’ve been all through the town in different positions,” he said.

Pine, 60, has worked as New Scotland’s code-enforcement officer since 1998.

“I could bring some competence back,” Pine said of his reason of running for assessor.  “I’ve had people call me upset with their assessment, and go to grievance.” During his time as assessor, said Pine, “I treated people well. I got certified in less than a year; they give you three years.”

Pine said he follows real estate as a hobby in much the same way some people follow the stock market. “I keep track of the market,” he said.

When he ran two years ago, Pine campaigned on the issue that properties affected by Tropical Storm Irene were not properly assessed.

“I still think properties need to be adjusted because of Irene,” he said. “Once your property floods, it affects the market value.”

He went on, referencing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, “If you’re on a flood plain and want insurance, FEMA has changed the way to do premiums to recoup losses; it’s not going to be subsidized.”

The increases for current homeowners are gradual, up 10 to 15 percent, but, he said, “A new owner would pay the full premium. That should be reflected in the value.”

Pine also said, “Some people actually lost land; flooding was intensive. One property completely rebuilt. They raised their assessment,” which Pine says is unfair.

On town-wide revaluation, Pine said, “There’s not the same support from the state. The most important thing is to keep it so there isn’t big discrepancy.”

He noted most properties in Rensselaaerville are residential and said, “I think the assessments are fair.”

While the last full revaluation was in 1999, Pine said that, in 2006, “We did a partial revaluation, taking pictures of every property and checking inventory. That came out good; very little was out of whack.”

Pine said the assessors’ office had followed the recommendations made by the ethics board regarding security of records.

He said that his goal as an assessor is “to treat people fairly and be respectful.”

Pine concluded, “If you do your job right, nobody knows.”

For town justice

Dwight "Taylor" Cooke

Democrat Dwight Cooke is making his first run for office, to be a town judge, because he was asked, he said.

“I’d like to get involved,” he added.

Cooke, 48, was raised in Potter Hollow and has lived his whole life in town, he said. After graduating from Middleburgh High School, he worked in construction before starting his career, at 22, with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Cooke retired in January as a lieutenant after working for 25 years for the Sheriff’s Office. Now he works for himself in construction.

He was a lieutenant at the county’s jail, working in corrections.

His goal, if he is elected judge, Cook said, is, “I want to be fair.”

He went on, “You’ve got to realize, people do make mistakes.”

Cooke likes the idea of alternative sentencing rather than sending offenders to jail. “I’m in favor of community service,” he said. “A lot of people who make mistakes shouldn’t be locked up. You can pay your debt without being behind bars. It’s a hardship on their family.”

Cooke has given thought, living in a small town, to what it would be like to have people he may know come before the bench.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” he said. “You’ve got to be fair.”

Brian O'Keefe

As a member of the National Guard Army Reserve for 26 years and currently, Brian O’Keefe says he wants to serve at home, too, as a town justice.

He was deployed with the 42^nd Infantry Division in Iraq in 2005 and, in 2011 and 2012, he was deployed to Afghanistan.

“It’s part of being in the military,” he said of deployment. “I don’t want to get elected that way...I didn’t serve my country to be a campaign enhancement; that would cheapen the experience.”

But he also said that he is pursuing the justice post out of a sense of service. “We’re helping other people to build a democracy...I’m doing this in other places in the world,” he said. “I live in a place that needs a justice.”

O’Keefe, 52, works for New York State in utility security. “We look at critical infrastructure,” he said, “to make sure it’s not vulnerable to any malicious intent.”

Asked about his goals if he is elected justice, O’Keefe said, “The job should be done without prejudice. It needs to be unbiased.”

Having lived in Rensselaerville for a decade, O’Keefe feels he has lived in town long enough to “understand some of the issues” but not so long that he feels constrained by his heritage. “I have no deep ties,” he said. “None of my people were here for the Anti-Rent Wars. I don’t have a street with my name.”

He also stresses that, in running for justice, “I’m not against anyone.” He has met his opponent, Dwight Cooke, and said, “He seems like a fine man.”

O’Keefe said of dispensing justice in a small town, “There is no personal gain in this. I can only make enemies.”

On his qualifications, he noted that, by law, he need only be 18 and a resident, and that three-quarters of small-town justices are not attorneys. O’Keefe has a master’s degree in organizational leadership and “can absorb complex ideas,” he said.

He read a 2006 series in The New York Times to gain insight into the job, and has read other studies as well.

In addition to taking state-required training, if elected, O’Keefe plans to educate himself on such issues as domestic abuse, for example, by researching it, going to other courts, talking to other justices, and going to advocacy groups.

Asked his views on alternative sentencing, O’Keefe said, “I don’t think the answer is to fill up the jails...If someone does something that warrants it, yes...There’s still a human element.”

He concluded, “I’m not a judicial activist; I’m not there to legislate from the bench.”