To the Editor:
I am writing to add my voice to the chorus of support for the re-election of Jake Crawford to the Guilderland Town Board. I don’t sport the flip phone like Senator Schumer, have decades of public service like Dan McCoy or Craig Apple, or speak on behalf of the many unions that have endorsed him, but, like all of them (and more), I encourage the citizens of Altamont to cast their ballot for Jake.

I had the pleasure of first meeting Jake when we were both students at the University at Albany. Even then, among the controlled chaos of college, he was an intelligent, reasonable, honest, and hardworking person.

After graduation, we both settled in different parts of Guilderland and started our families. It has been a pleasure to watch Jake stand up and serve his community in so many different ways over the past decade.

What excites me most about Jake’s service on the town board, and why I support his re-election, is that he realizes that different parts of the town of Guilderland need different support. What works for Westmere might not work for Altamont, and vice versa.

He understands that Altamont, as a somewhat densely populated village surrounded by rolling farmland and forests, values a quiet, safe, close-knit community. To that end, he has been working hard to bring the resources of the town of Guilderland (and where possible, our county, state, and federal governments as well) to help improve our corner of the town.  

This means prioritizing sidewalks along the town’s Gun Club Road to improve pedestrian safety.  

This means ensuring that Altamont will have continued emergency medical services based in the village.  

This means exploring grant funding to improve the resiliency of our water infrastructure.  

This means re-examining how large events at the fairgrounds are planned and permitted to minimize the impact on our neighbors.  

This means ensuring funding for the new training tower for our volunteer firefighters.

And most of all, this means having an advocate on the town board who will listen to our concerns as taxpayers and residents of the town of Guilderland, and act on those concerns as well. 

I hope you will join me in voting to re-elect Jake Crawford to the Guilderland Town Board. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and early voting goes through Sunday, Nov. 5. 

Nicholas Fahrenkopf 

Altamont

Editor’s note: Nicholas Fahrenkopf is an Altamont trustee.