GUILDERLAND — With less than two weeks until primary elections are held, local and county politicians are seeking small-party lines to broaden their appeal.

Four candidates are competing for two town board seats in Guilderland, and the town’s supervisor, Kenneth Runion, is running unopposed, seeking his fifth term in office.

Runion already has the Conservative line.

The town clerk, town justice, and the town superintendent of highways are also running for re-election unopposed. The only Republican incumbent is the highway superintendent, Todd Gifford, who has held his post for decades, dating back to when the GOP dominated town politics.

The primary race is a chance for candidates to pick up extra lines on the ballot and broaden their appeal to voters. Although Democrats rule Town Hall and hold the plurality in Guilderland, with 37 percent of the enrolled voters, the residents of the town are roughly 31-percent Republican and 32- percent small party or unenrolled.

The Conservative and the Independence parties make up the largest portion of the small parties in town, and both frequently cross-endorse Republicans and Democrats.

Despite a struggling Republican Party in town, two candidates with the party’s backing are running for town board, but only one of them is seeking a Conservative Party line for the Nov. 6 election.

Republican Mark Grimm is running against Democratic councilmen Mike Ricard and David Bosworth in the Conservative primary. Because only two seats are up for election, only two people can run on the Conservative line in November.

Republican Warren Redlich is not seeking the Conservative Party endorsement and appears to be directly challenging Councilman Ricard for his seat. A recent court order has allowed Redlich to remain on the Republican ticket for November, but an appeal may be made by Ricard. (See related story.)
Bosworth, who is also the town Democrat’s chair and Albany County Democrats’ co-chair, said that he, Ricard, and Runion are running as a team, as they have in the past; he described their board’s support as a "broad-based coalition."
"We’re working as a team as we always have"and we let the voters decide," Bosworth said after Tuesday’s town board meeting. "We’re going to work hard, just like we do every time."
Citing "fiscal accountability" and keeping taxes low, Bosworth said that the current town board appeals to the Conservative voters who have repeatedly endorsed its members.

Grimm disagrees and said that his views are more in line with Conservative voters.

He said Guilderland Town Board members have raised property taxes six times since 2000, increased their own pay by 89 percent since 1999, and that town spending has increased by 70 percent between 1999 and 2005.
"The me-first culture is certainly evident," Grimm said of the current town board. He added that more reasonable spending would lower town taxes.
Bosworth and Ricard countered by saying they have consistently attempted to improve the quality of life for town residents during their tenure while staying within budget and Bosworth called Guilderland "one of the best places in the Capital District." Ricard agreed.

Improved town services, improved parks and recreation facilities, and smart-growth planning were all cited as accomplishments by Bosworth, Ricard, and Runion.

Grimm and Redlich say they look forward to the upcoming elections.
"If I had the Democrat’s record, I would be nervous, too," Grimm said. "We’re going to make some noise."

County races

On the county level, the comptroller’s race has been in full swing with Guilderland Councilwoman Patricia Slavick challenging three-term incumbent Michael Conners in a Democratic Primary. There is also an Albany County Legislature race heating up for District 29 between incumbent Republican Lee Carman and Democrat Dennis Feeney.

Feeney previously represented District 30, in Westmere, but has moved his place of residence and is challenging Lee. Bryan Clenahan was appointed to Feeney’s old seat in the legislature after he resigned, and Clenahan is now running unopposed for the same seat in November.

Feeney and Lee are facing off in the Conservative primary; the party has endorsed both candidates in the past.

Carman stepped down as the Guilderland Republican chair this week in order to focus on his race for county legislature. Barbara Davis has been named as the town’s new party chair but could not be reached for comment before publication.
Carman said he thought running the town’s party and running for office was a conflict of interest and criticized Bosworth for doing so, saying, "Especially since he’s now the county’s co-chair."

Bosworth has repeatedly defended himself against such accusations, saying that he sees no conflict in working for the party and running for office.
Going door-to-door, Carman said he is working to keep taxes low and that he believes the Albany County Legislature is too large. Referring to the cost of running the legislature, Carman said, "Eight-hundred-thousand dollars a year is a little crazy."
"I’m confident that I have a very good shot, but not over confident because that’s when you get in trouble," Carman said. "I’m hoping it will be easier to get re-elected, but I know I have some work ahead of me."

Carman beat Gene Messercola for the seat by two votes in 2006 after a two-and-a-half year court battle over absentee votes.

His challenger, Feeney, said that he, too, realizes the race will be tough, but is confident that voters will ultimately choose him.
"I think that my attitude on government and government spending are in line with Conservative thinking," Feeney said about winning the primary. "Carman is a tough opponent"Growing up in Guilderland, we both know a lot of people"It’s going to be a tough race."
Feeney pointed to his three years in the Albany County Legislature and said that, when meeting people face-to-face, he tells them he doesn’t want lawmaking to "get out of control."

He said he is for scaling back government and said Medicaid costs are a burden on the county budget, adding that the Medicaid cap put in place last year helped to reign in spending.
"I think the Albany County fiscal policy has been pretty sound" since the cap, he concluded.

In the county comptroller race, Councilwoman Slavick is running on her financial experience and criticizing Comptroller Conners’s auditing practices.

Conners said his audits are credible and effective.

Continuing, he said he has run, and won, primaries in the past and maintains that he is an independent thinker, free from political ties, which he believes makes him an able fiscal watchdog.

Slavick and Conners are facing off in the Democratic and Independence primaries and are going door-to-door as political signs from each of them pop up around the county. Although they are both enrolled as Democrats, all of the Democratic committees are backing Slavick.

Conners irked many Democrats in 2004 when he switched to the Republican Party and ran against long-time state Senator Neil Breslin in the New York State Senate.

In addition to the backing of the Guilderland Democratic Committee, Slavick has the backing of both the Albany County Democratic Committee, chaired by Bosworth and Frank Commisso, and the Albany City Democratic Committee, chaired by Bruce Shultis, which was recently created.
Conners says he continues to stand by his words that he doesn’t want the support of the "party bosses," but that he wants the vote "from the people."