Three vying for two seats on Town Board
Voters will choose from among an incumbent councilman and two first-time candidates for two seats on the Town Board.
Town voters on Nov. 7 will choose from among an incumbent councilman and two firsttime candidates in filling two four-year seats on the Town Board.
On the ballot will be Democratic Councilman Daniel Torres of 21 Angel Road; Democrat David Brownstein, of 47 Butterville Road; and Independence Party candidate Jennifer Ippolito, of 7 Morning Star Drive East.
Daniel Torres
Torres, 27, is an administrative assistant with the Farm Hub in Hurley. He is seeking a second term and will also appear on the Working Families Party line. He previously served on the New Paltz Board of Education from 2009-12. A resident of the town for 15 years, he graduated from New Paltz High School in 2009, and in 2013 received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Marist College, where he was also awarded a master’s degree in marketing in 2018.
“I think that fixing our zoning is imperative,” he said. “I was very supportive of having a moratorium for our gateway district. I’d like to see us take the findings of the committee and what the public has to say and look to rework our zoning for it to be a more modern zoning that we can be proud of and that we can be proactive in having smart growth in.”
Torres said he would like the town and village governments share a municipal building.
“I think that would be great for the village as well, as we’ll be able to sell off that (former Town Hall) property,” he said. “It would put that property on the tax roll, give the village some revenue, and allow us to share a single building.”
David Brownstein
Brownstein, 52, is executive director of Wild Earth, and will be on the Democratic and Working Families ballot lines. He has lived in the town for 19 years; he and his wife, Jerllyn, have three children. He graduated from Marlboro High School in New Jersey in 1983, received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology from the University of Michigan in 1987, and was awarded a master’s degree in business from Cornell University in 1989.
“One of the most important issues is that the Town Board conduct themselves with civility toward each other ... and that we practice being able to listen to opposing opinions and consider them for the best interest of the citizens of New Paltz,” he said.
“Another issue is that
the town of New Paltz plan for the continued growth of the town with inclusive meetings and committees that include the view of all so that we can strategically plan where we want growth and where we don’t want growth, and how we will manage the inevitable continued growth,” Brownstein said.
Jennifer Ippolito
Ippolito, 48, is an English as a Second Language teacher with the Wallkill school district. She is a registered Democrat but will be on the Independence and Women’s Equality Party lines. She has lived in the town since 2001; she and her husband, William Kay, have three children. She graduated from Arlington High School in 1987, received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and French from Boston University in 1991, received a master’s degree in teaching from SUNY New Paltz in 2014, and is completing a master’s degree in education at SUNY New Paltz. She is a volunteer with Turkey Trot to benefit Family of New Paltz.
“The biggest issue is the master plan,” she said. “That needs to be a priority. I think it’s difficult to move forward without having a plan to refer to.”
Ippolito said there needs to be attention paid to the popularity of New Paltz.
“We have so many people visiting New Paltz,” she said. “The increase in weekender traffic has been fabulous and also confounding at times, and I think we need to figure out how to serve the people that live there in addition to the people that are visiting.”
Ippolito said she would like “to see public comment at our meetings a little more open ended, a little more not so formal in terms of timing. Let people talk when they have something to say.”