WESTERLO—Earlier this year, the town board tapped R. Gregory Zeh Jr. to take the place of Councilman Clifton Richardson, who died in office. Richardson was the board’s first Republican in 70 years. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Westerlo, three to one.

Now, both major parties have claimed Zeh as their own. He’s running on the Democratic and Republican lines.

Town board members are paid $5,500. Westerlo has about 3,500 people and a budget of about $1.9 million.

TOWN BOARD

Edward Rash

Westerlo is at a crossroads, said Councilman Edward Rash. With development coming to town, he said, planning for the future is necessary.
"When outside interests move in with development, we have to watch that we can maintain our integrity here in town," Rash said. "I think most of the people want to maintain the rural and agricultural atmosphere in town. We don’t want to become another bedroom community."

Rash, 63, a Democrat, is running for a second full term on the town board. He was appointed to the board to fill a vacancy and ran a successful campaign when his term expired in 2001.

Before that, Rash was a founding member and chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee, and the chairman of the Westerlo Zoning Board of Appeals. Rash is Westerlo’s deputy supervisor, an appointed post to fill in when the supervisor is absent.

A Westerlo resident since 1988, Rash works as the director of advertising and public relations at Hannay Reels, Westerlo’s biggest employer.

Rash said he enjoys spending most of his time in Westerlo, living and working.
"There’s just a diversity of people and they all seem to have a mutual respect for one another and their ideas," Rash said.

It is for these people that Rash said he works.
"I’m not in it for myself...The people in the town encouraged me," he said. "I appreciate input and I try to be a good listener."

For the past few years, Rash said, much of the town board’s business has centered around the Westerlo Water District. The town is connecting two old privately-owned water systems to create a single modern system in the hamlet of Westerlo. Now that the water project is almost finished, Rash said, the town can focus on the future.
"We want to come up with a five- and 10-year plan," Rash said. The plan will include input from the zoning and planning boards and a look at the zoning ordinance, he said.
"I’m going to introduce some changes into that myself," he said.

Rash said he wants the town to pass a right-to-farm law.

R. Gregory Zeh Jr.

Councilman R. Gregory Zeh Jr. has found himself in the unusual situation of running for office endorsed by the Republican and Democratic parties.
"I look at my position on the local level as being non-partisan," he said. "I’m just interested in serving my community."

Though only on the board for a short time, appointed in the place of the late Clifton Richardson, Zeh is proud of some of his accomplishments, including working to secure a Small Cities grant from the governor’s office to pay for low-income residents to hook up to the new water system.
"It’s pretty rewarding to be able to say you helped do that," Zeh said.

Zeh, 32, works as a director of accounting systems for Golub, the company that owns Price Chopper stores. His accounting background factors into his work on the town board, he said.
"I definitely think I have a financial perspective on most decisions," Zeh said. "Once you do that kind of work for a long time, you always have that in the back of your mind."

Zeh said he is pushing for the town to do a full comprehensive plan for the future. Other Hilltowns have been dealing with their zoning and it is time for Westerlo to do likewise, he said.

Westerlo is the fastest growing Hilltown, he pointed out.

The recent approval of a cell tower at a fire station on Route 32 in South Westerlo is an example of good placement, he said. South Westerlo is an area where he would like to see development occur.
"I look at Route 32 as being the Wolf Road of Westerlo someday," Zeh said.

Charles Faul

After years of near-total Democratic domination on the Westerlo Town Board, Charles Faul wants to bring a new perspective. Faul, a Republican, is the only candidate running for office in Westerlo without the Democratic nomination.

He faces stiff competition from two incumbents: Edward Rash, a Democrat, and R. Gregory Zeh Jr., who has the nominations of both major parties. The top two vote-getters on Nov. 8 will assume office Jan. 1. The term for council members is four years and the salary for the part-time post is $5,500 annually.
"The issue is to give some balance to the board," Faul said. "Maybe we need to get some fresh ideas."

Four years ago, Faul, who is chairman of the Westerlo Republican Committee, ran for town justice and lost to long-time Judge Alan Bauder. Bauder, a Democrat, is seeking re-election this year, unopposed.

Mainly, Faul is concerned about preparing for and encouraging growth.

Westerlo has about 3,500 residents and an annual budget of $1.9 million.
"I think that the town is a fast-growing town and we need to continue to be attentive to growth," he said. "I think we need to be careful that we don’t get too insular."

With people pouring out of Albany and the suburbs filling up, Faul said, Westerlo is the next logical place for them to go. It’s better suited geographically and topographically than the other Hilltowns or Coeymans, he said.
But, Faul said, "No one really knows Westerlo is here." The town could benefit from raising its profile, he said.
"Saratoga has gotten all the growth," Faul said.

Faul, 58, works as a computer consultant and systems analyst. He has lived in Westerlo for 10 years and is married with three children and eight grandchildren. Faul holds a master’s degree in theology, is an ordained minister, and is active in the South Westerlo Congregational Church and the Christian mission field.

In addition to growth, Faul wants to help bring more discussion to town board meetings and more communication between the board and Westerlo residents. Currently, he pointed out, town-board meetings often last as little as 15 minutes, and issues are voted on without any discussion.
"If you have one party running everything, they naturally tend towards just settling everything before coming in and voting," Faul said.

On taxes, Faul said he wants to do what he can to keep them down, though the school boards have more power over that.
"I would think we would try to work with the county and the state," Faul said. "There are farmers that are hurting and the taxes keep going up."

Growth will help lighten the tax burden on farmers and private residents. Besides Hannay Reels, Westerlo has no significant commercial business, Faul said. More business, especially along the well-traveled corridors of routes 85 and 32, means more jobs and lower taxes, he said.

In a town that has no planning board, Faul said, the Westerlo Town Board has to take the lead role in preparing for growth.
"I think the big issue will be any changes to the master plan," Faul said. "It’s important that the land use issues are done fairly and in a way that looks forward to the future."

TOWN JUSTICE

Alan Bauder

Alan Bauder has been a judge in Westerlo for two decades.

He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science with an emphasis on land management from the State University of New York. He also has an associate’s degree in biochemistry from Worcester Junior College and is a graduate of the Cybernetic Institute in Albany.

Bauder is a registered surveyor and works for the Bureau of Land Management as a submerged lands and natural resources manager.

In a 2001 election interview, Bauder said he advocates equal rights for all and a timely court calendar. A judge should be fair and firm, he said.