BERNE — Dennis Palow, an Army veteran who has served in various countries, said he settled in Berne after retiring because of the people in town, who he now wants to give a voice to.

A Republican challenger, Palow is making his first run for town council on the GOP line.

Originally from Florida, Palow, 43, joined the United States Army in 1994, where he served in active duty for 20 years, traveling to places such as Egypt, South Korea, and Kuwait, and serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He later trained soldiers at the Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California. He was last stationed at the United State Military Academy at West Point in Orange County.

He later trained recruits in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Siena College, as well as at Junior ROTC at Albany High School for two years. He retired as a first sergeant from the Army and is now  “just enjoying life,” he said.

Palow said that he could bring leadership skills he gained from his positions in the military to the town board.

“I could be a great asset to our town,” he said.

Palow has lived in Berne since 2014. He said his move to Berne was in part due to a compromise with his wife, who is from Delmar.

“I told her I’d bring her back to New York if she’d let me move out to the country and buy some land for hunting,” he said. They picked Berne for its beautiful landscape and welcoming neighbors, he said.

This is Palow’s first time running for office; he said he became interested after Randy Bashwinger, the town’s highway superintendent and town Republican Party chairman, asked him last November if he would be interested in running.

“I’m not really into politics,” said Palow. But he added that he would like to give the townspeople a voice, as he feels they are currently not being heard by the town government.

It appears to him that town board members have little discussion and rarely show disagreement on items that they vote on. He would like to change that by communicating directly with residents and bringing their concerns to the board, he said.

Palow said he would like to get people involved with town events, as well as establish services for veterans in town, saying that it appears that the town does little to support veterans. He would also like to clean up the town with spring and fall cleanup events.

Palow feels highway-department consolidation would delay clearing snow from town roads if the town workers had to operate on Albany County’s schedule. Commuting to Albany, Palow said, he found the county-maintained roads were not cleared while the town roads already were. He added that the town workers are often more available than county workers to respond off the clock.

“I think it would hurt the town,” said Palow. “Our highway department is doing a fabulous job.”

He said that he would not be against the workers sharing a facility.

“As long as our guys are plowing our roads and the county guys are doing theirs, I don’t have a problem with that,” he said.

Palow said that the highway superintendent should make decisions for the highway department. He also noted that there is friction between Bashwinger and Supervisor Kevin Crosier.

“They have to be able to work together,” he said. “To communicate, to be a team.”

Palow said the disagreement between the two town leaders is visible at town board meetings, such as a comment from Crosier that Bashwinger would not get a raise until he learned to “behave himself.”

“So you know something’s going on,” said Palow.

Regarding the biometric time clock put in the garage, Palow said it should also be put in other town buildings. He added that he supported the four, 10-hour-day work week for highway workers, especially if snowy winter days cause the employees to work overtime later in the year.

Palow said that a plan of what to do once the Albany City Landfill closes should begin immediately, including investigating different and cheaper places to bring trash to. He suggested working with the county to find a solution, and negotiating a better rate for tipping fees in order to avoid raising town property taxes.

Regarding insurance, Palow suggested researching if the town has ever granted insurance to unmarried dependents. He also said that insurance for someone should not be stopped immediately, but that due notice should be given beforehand. He would support insurance being provided to domestic partners.

“I would support, I wouldn’t see why not,” he said.

Palow said that a vote to go above the state-mandated tax cap would have to be based off what situation had occurred in the town, and there should be input from the town residents.

“If you’re going to raise people’s taxes in the town that we live in,” he said, “it should be a well-written plan on what the situation is and why.”

Palow said that he would support anything to help business and agriculture, as it would benefit the town by increasing tax revenue and offering jobs for young people in the area who may not be pursuing a college education.

He suggested that a program be created in the local school district to teach students how to get involved in local businesses and learn to open their own.

Palow added that he has been interested in starting his own business should his future plans not work out, a place to serve breakfast in Berne. He said he understands from his own experience in researching how to open a business that it is difficult to do. He added that communicating with town residents, such as through social media, can help provide feedback on what people want and help a business thrive.

“You’ve just got to do research,” he said.

Palow concluded that he is running with a slate of candidates of various political parties, and that town government shouldn’t focus on party politics.

“It should be about the people, not the politics,” he said.