GUILDERLAND — Jason Wright, a Republican who currently works for the Albany County Board of Elections, and formerly worked for the Schenectady Boys and Girls Club, will challenge Democrat Jean Cataldo, the current receiver of taxes, for the position of town clerk.
“I decided to run because the position is similar to my current position, in terms of customer service, and I think I would be good at it,” said Wright, a graduate of the state’s University at Albany. 

His biggest goal, he said, would be to make the clerk’s office more accessible to residents, by extending office hours and potentially being open on weekends.

“The current hours are sort of inconvenient to a lot of people, because they work,” he said.

Wright said he would keep the clerk’s office open until 6 p.m. four nights a week, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

He said he’d serve as the town’s marriage officer, regardless of his own personal views (the current clerk cited her Catholicism in declining to perform same-sex marriages); post all town documents and information not subject to privacy restrictions on the town website; and donate 10 percent of his salary to local charities.

Wright said he could bring “new energy” to the job.