Albany County Legislator Chris Smith, of Berne, will remain in office after fending off a challenge from Rensselaerville Democrat Hébert Joseph, who had criticized Smith for being a low-energy representative.
Berne voters ushered planning board Chairman Joe Martin and incumbent Al Thiem onto the town board for four-year terms. They also elected Jeff Harvey as justice. All three were uncontested.
Incumbent Rensselaerville Town Board member Brian Wood and former highway superintendent Randall Bates were elected to the town board in a three-way race for two seats, winning over newcomer Patricia Byrnes, who, like Wood, ran on the Democratic line. For justice, Republican Richard Tollner and incumbent Democrat Greg Bischoff are nearly tied, with Bischoff leading Tollner 263-to-260.
Democrat Russ Pokorny got 429 votes to Jamie Berenger’s 238. Berenger, a Berne-Knox-Westerlo school bus driver with no known political history, was the Republican Party’s pick to challenge the only Democrat on the Republican-dominated board. All other seats were uncontested, sought only by their Republican-backed incumbents.
Supervisor Matt Kryzak, on the Republican line, was re-elected to a four-year term with 41 percent of votes, despite challenges from body-shop owner Donald Morin, getting nearly 32 percent of votes on the Democratic line, and Angela Carkner, getting 27 percent of votes on an independent party line. Town board incumbents Peter Mahan and Amie Burnside also defended their seats.
The Purple Line joins an already established 17-mile Red Line, on Route 5, running between Albany and Schenectady, and 15-mile Blue Line, running along the Hudson River, connecting Albany, Cohoes, Menands, Troy, Waterford, and Watervliet.
Guilderland tax bills will look different for 2024, with the general fund showing a major increase, of 175 percent. But this is offset by the elimination of three separate lines on the tax bill: for the state retirement system, for election costs passed on by the county, and for the Altamont and Guilderland ambulance districts. The tax increase is actually 2.85 percent.
Arts Around Greenville — a local arts initiative under the Community Partners of Greenville umbrella — is hosting a series of events at the Greenville Public Library this month and next that highlight small, for-sale works created by local artists.
The winery relocated from Guilderland to the former Picard’s Grove in New Scotland this summer, and held a soft opening this week for its expanded tasting room, where patrons can sample their ultra-rare birch wine, among other offerings.
Berne has proposed a tax rate of $4.60 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2024, making it the highest Berne tax since 2016, when it sat at roughly $4.66 per $1,000. It’s a 752-percent increase over the current tax rate of roughly $0.54/$1,000.
Both candidates were asked if they thought humans caused climate change and what more the county should do to reduce its effects; what role, if any, the county should play in keeping local watersheds pollution-free or in helping towns to maintain clean water; and what social services offered by the county are most helpful for Guilderland residents dealing with poverty, hunger, homelessness, addiction, or mental-health issues.
