BETHLEHEM — Bethlehem residents will have a choice between a slate of Democratic incumbents and a slate of Republican newcomers when they cast their ballots this November.

Democrats have nominated David VanLuven for town supervisor, David Decancio and Maureen Cunningham for town board, Marc Dorsey for highway superintendent, Kim Whitsitt for town clerk, and Andy Kirby for town justice. 

Republicans, meanwhile, have nominated James McGaughan for town supervisor, AJ Bensen and John Heimerdinger for town board, Gretchen Lena for town clerk, and Rob Newkirk for highway superintendent. They did not submit a justice candidate. 

The Bethlehem voter roll is 47 percent Democrat, 19 percent Republican, and 2 percent Conservative, while 28 percent are unaffiliated. It is one of few towns in the Enterprise coverage area where the Democratic share of voters has grown since 2019. 

Town supervisor

David VanLuven was first elected supervisor in 2018, but had joined the town board as a councilman in 2016. Prior to that, he was an executive at a variety of environmental organizations, including his own VanLuven Environmental.

 The Bethlehem Democratic Committee describes him on its webpage as having “worked to better guide residential development, protect farms and forests, showcase the great work of town employees, advance renewable energy programs, and build bridges across political divides.” 

They highlight his work “creating a new 147-acre nature park, building a new Dive Pool, protecting the 307-acre Historic Heath Farm, enabling the restoration and construction of 40,000 feet of sidewalks, launching the Bethlehem Safe Streets traffic safety campaign, equipping our outstanding police officers with body cameras, transitioning the town fleet to electric vehicles, completing an award-winning Comprehensive Plan Update, and much, much more.”

His opponent, James McGaughan, is a decorated Navy veteran who is currently an information technology executive, as well as head of the Albany County Republican Committee, according to his bio. He holds a Ph.D. in information and behavioral science, and has worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a director for six years.

“James has 174 years of ancestors in this area and is committed to leading Bethlehem back to prosperity,” his bio reads. 

When The Enterprise interviewed McGaughan after he was announced as the new county Republican chairman last year, he said he got involved in politics after getting the sense that the area was “in decline,” and feeling that this sentiment was widespread. 

McGaughan said that his family came to the area in the 1850s during the Irish potato famine and that he loves the area enough that “rather than kind of run away, I’d like to have the debates and have the discussion and hopefully find the right answers for this area to head in a better direction.” 

Town board 

Democratic candidate Maureen Cunningham joined the town board in 2018, having been one of “the hundreds of women who ran for office for the first time in 2017 in an effort to make positive change and ensure local government includes more women leaders,” as she’s quoted saying in her bio. 

Like VanLuven, her background is in the environmental space, with a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale and 20 years of leadership at various environmental organizations, such as the Hudson River Watershed Alliance and, currently, the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. 

“I am running again because I feel there is more work to be done,” she says in her bio. “I also feel that what’s going on at the federal level will require stronger and vocal leaders at the local level, and I want to add my voice and support to critical issues around women’s reproductive rights, racial justice, immigrant justice, LGBTQ and transgender rights, and others.”

Her colleague David Decancio first took office in 2022. He is the son of Cuban refugees and the first Latino to serve on the town board. 

Decancio has leadership experience with New York State, currently serving as senior adviser to state Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, and previously the deputy director and, later, director of regional services for the State Assembly. 

“David’s commitment to community and public service is rooted in his desire to honor the sacrifices his parents made for him and his brother,” his bio reads. “His mother instilled in him the importance of giving back, repaying the country that gave their family hope and opportunity. 

“Throughout his two decades of community involvement,” it says, “David has taken great pride in being accessible and available to neighbors, community groups, and local businesses. As a member of the Town Board, he continues to work alongside all residents to make Bethlehem a place we can all be proud to call home.”

On the Republican side, AJ Bensen is a landlord, and head of a Generac Power Systems dealership started by his father, according to his bio. 

“Since moving to Delmar in 2021 with his wife, with whom he shares two children, he has remained dedicated to the region’s growth and vitality, bringing that passion to his candidacy for Town Board,” his bio says. 

His colleague John Heimerdinger is the founder of Heimerdinger Property Management which holds a “diversified portfolio of investment properties in the City of Albany,” his bio says. He also owns a laundromat. 

Town clerk

Democrat Kim Whitsitt was first elected town clerk in 2023, and will, according to her bio, “use her professional skills and compassion for people to ensure that the Clerk’s office continues to remain accessible to the residents of Bethlehem for the services and information they need.”

Her opponent, Grethcen Lena, has “decades of retirement plan administration,” according to her bio, with an associate’s in applied sciences degree from the State University of New York agricultural and Technical College Cobleskill and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University at Albany. 

Highway superintendent

Democrat Marc Dorsey is seeking his fourth term as highway superintendent, leading the town’s highway department through COVID with a “skeleton crew,” weathering both that crisis as well as “some of the worst storms in our town’s history,” according to his bio.

“Under Marc’s leadership the Highway department has paved more roads, repaired and installed more sidewalks than previous years combined,” his bio says. “All the town’s snowplows are now equipped with salters for greater efficiency and cost savings and leaf pick up has been streamlined to be more efficient and timelier. 

“The Highway department has also taken on special projects such as the Pickle Ball Courts and paving the Ambulance building parking lot,” it says. “Marc’s understanding of how to apply for and access state grants saved your hard-earned tax dollars.”

His Republican challenger, Rob Newkirk, has worked for the town of Bethlehem highway department since 1999, and “has been involved in all departmental functions and is proud of his work at the Highway Department,” his bio says.

“As one of the longest-serving supervisors, Rob hopes he can take his skill and experience to the Superintendent's role,” his bio says. “Rob's understanding of the department and its employees has prepared him to deliver the responsible leadership the Town of Bethlehem expects and deserves.”

Town justice

Justice Andy Kirby, running unopposed, first took office in 2014 and was a prosecutor for the Bethlehem Town Court for nine years before that. 

“During his eleven years on the bench, Judge Kirby has handled over 40,000 criminal, vehicle and traffic, landlord/tenant, and small claims cases,” his bio says. “Judge Kirby has worked with and earned the respect of local and state law enforcement, the Albany County District Attorney’s office, the Albany County Public Defenders’ office, as well as the many local criminal defense attorneys who regularly appear in court.”

He currently also practices law at his own firm, Conway & Kirby, at the Four Corners in Delmar.