Pulver named to fill Town Board vacancy

Josh Pulver has been appointed to fill the Town Board vacancy left when previous appointee Kirsten Bonanza resigned unexpectedly to take a job in Woodstock.

The position was filled during a meeting Monday. Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said Pulver will be unopposed on the Democratic ballot line this fall in seeking to complete the remaining two years of the unexpired term.

“He has graciously agreed to start earlier and go through the budget process with us and get up to speed,” she said.

Bonanza was appointed in April to fill the vacancy left when former Councilwoman Brennan Kearney stepped down to take the Dutchess County Legislature seat vacated by Joel Tyner, who resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. Bonanza had been one of the six people, all Democrats, who had sought to fill Tyner’s former seat.

Pulver, 47, of 19 Will Tremper Drive, is the owner of A+C architecture and construction firm. He has lived in the town for about eight years and with his wife, Adele Abide, has three children.

Pulver is a 1990 graduate of Albany Academy and earned bachelor’s degrees in architecture and fine arts from Rhode Island School of Design in 1994 and 1995.

Pulver said he doesn’t have a list of priorities that should be addressed by the town, but added that he believes his professional career can be a benefit to the town.

“I can’t say that I have some big direction at this moment,” he said. “But I’m sort of a nuts-and-bolts building guy, so I’m interested in change and zoning and building. So I think that’s where I’ll focus, but I’ll have to pull that together.”

Pulver said that “growth is important for the town and exactly what kind of growth is happening is important,” but he wants to review how the board has approached development before singling out issues.

The fall ballot will also include the two full four-year seats currently held by Ed Roberts and Allan Scherr.