On March 8, Gary Greenberg called for a change in petitioning after a Guilderland woman, an American citizen of Chinese descent who was circulating his nominating periton, was verbally assaulted.

A primary will allow Guilderland’s Democratic committee to “harness the energy of more and more Democrats,” committee Chairman Jacob Crawford said Monday night in explaining to the committee why he would be voting to change from a caucus system to a primary. 

In the absence of the town attorney answering our questions, we urge Berne Town Board members themselves to read New York State’s Civil Service Law, then to do the right thing: Reinstate Cheryl Baitsholts as dog control officer. The new board members took an oath of office on New Year’s Day to uphold the law. Failing that, we urge Baitsholts to do as the Knox workers before her did: File for a ruling that will force the town board to restore her job.

In its first regular board meeting of the year, the town of Knox announced a renewal of its Multi-use Recreational District proposal and the advent of high speed internet in the town.

Supporters of Emily Vincent, who was illegally demoted as a full member of the Berne planning board to alternate status, have donated more than $5,000 to a GoFundMe page dedicated to her just one day into its existence. She plans to use that money to fund her brain surgery, as well as take legal action against the town.

At its reorganizational meeting on Jan. 1, the new town board of Berne removed several long-standing employees from their posts, stoking the ire of residents. Some of the board’s decisions are illegal, The Enterprise has learned.

Joel Willsey, Councilman Berne Town Board

The Berne Town Board ousted Emily Vincent, a Berne farmer, before she completed her term on the town’s planning board, breaking the law, to appoint Thomas Spargo as chairman. Vincent should be reinstated.

Subcommittee member Daniel Centi said he thinks that the recent nomination of town-board candidate Laurel Bohl at the April 2019 caucus highlighted a flaw in the caucus system: that anyone can be nominated and become a candidate, without prior vetting by the Guilderland Democratic Committee. He wants to look into whether the party can legally find a way to require that anyone planning to enter the race at a caucus must be vetted in advance.