RENSSELAERVILLE — “We’re trying to get some younger blood involved,” said the town’s Democratic chairman of his party’s choice for supervisor — Steve Pfleging.

The current supervisor, Valerie Lounsbury, a Republican, is stepping down and the Republicans could not find a candidate to run for the town’s top post.

“We had two candidates who were interested,” said Richard Tollner, the town’s Republican Party chairman. “But one had an employment conflict and the other was a New York State employee at a level where it wasn’t allowed.”

Tollner said it was too bad voters wouldn’t have a choice, especially since the Democrats’ candidate was convicted for driving while intoxicated.

Pfleging responded openly when questioned about his DWI conviction. He said he hasn’t had a drink since March 25, 2012. “I made a mistake and I take responsibility for it. I've learned a helluva lot,” he told The Enterprise. (See related election profile.)

The supervisor serves a four-year term.

Both the Democratic Party chairman, Jeffry Pine, and the Republican chairman named the same central issue. “Keeping taxes down,” said Pine.

“Finances — making sure you’re efficient and fiscally responsible, to keep taxes low,” said Tollner. He added, “It’s not broken; don’t fix it.”

The Republicans and Democrats are each backing two candidates for the town board.

Although there are more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans in Rensselaerville, the town board members in recent years have been members of varied parties unlike in the other Hilltowns where almost all of the board members are Democrats.

The current Rensselaerville board, led by Republican Lounsbury, has one member from the Conservative party — Marion Cooke who is running as well on the GOP line. The board also has an Independence Party member and two Democrats. One of those Democrats, Gerald Wood, is not seeking re-election.

In addition to Cooke, the GOP is also backing Jason Rauf, a Republican making his first run for office.

The Democrats are backing Robert Tanner, a fire company chief, and Marie Dermody, who formerly served on the town board and briefly served as supervisor.

The two top vote-getters will each serve four-year terms on the board.

Four candidates are also vying for two assessor posts; Rensselaerville elects three part-time assessors. Each serves a four-year term.

The two incumbents, Donna Kropp, a Republican, and Kathryn Wank, a member of the Independence party, are both running on the GOP line.

The Democrats are backing Michael Weber, a Republican, who was formerly a Rensselaerville assessor, and Hébert Joseph, making his first run for public office and proud of being the first black person to do so in Rensselaerville.

Two incumbents are unchallenged: Highway Superintendent Randall Bates, a conservative running on the Republican line, who will serve a four-year term, and Victoria Kraker, a Democrat running on the Democratic line, who will also serve a four-year term.

The issues

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

— Budget: 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 frequently 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 or initiatives being sacrificed?

— Revaluation: Rensselaerville last conducted a town-wide property revaluation in 1998, according to the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services. This can leave the tax rolls skewed, causing newcomers to pay an unfair share.

Should Rensselaerville undergo a town-wide property revaluation, and why or why not?

— Economy: As shopping patterns and vacation patterns have changed over the last half-century, many rural towns have had their economic center chipped away. Also, much of Rensselaerville’s identity is based on its agricultural past.

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

— Garbage: The Rapp Road landfill, which Rensselaerville uses for its refuse, as part of the Capital Region Solid Waste Management Partnership Planning Unit (formerly known as ANSWERS, which stands for Albany New York Solid Waste Energy Recovery System), will be reaching its capacity in a few years.

Should the town increase its recycling requirements to include, for instance, organic waste or yard wastes in composting operations? Where will the town take its garbage when the Rapp Road landfill is closed?

— Affordable housing: Old people on fixed incomes and young people just starting out may have trouble affording a home in town, even if they’ve lived there all their lives or grew up there.

Is there anything the town could or should do to encourage housing for people with lower incomes?

— Opioid crisis: From January 2016 to the present, the Albany County Sheriff’s Emergency Medical Services have had to administer naloxone 27 times in the Hilltowns, Amy Kowalski, an investigator with the sheriff’s office told the Enterprise. The life-saving drug stops the effect of opioid overdoses.

What, if anything, should the town do to help reduce opioid use?

Corrected on Oct. 23, 2017: The first two sentences initially said "superintendent" instead of "superviosr."