Race for Town Board seats includes ex-supervisor
Four people, including a former town supervisor, are running for two seats on the Town Board.
The candidates are incumbent Steve Bradley, of 402 Jenny Brook Road, Napanoch; Leonard Distel, of 1748 Ulster Road, Ellenville; Eric Friedman, of 65 Greenfield Road, Ellenville; and Paul Tuzzolino, of 63 Caston Road, Wawarsing.
The top two vote-getters will serve four years terms starting Jan. 1, 2020.
Steve Bradley
Bradley, 73, will be on the Democratic and Conservative lines on the ballot.
He was on the Town Board from 2010 through 2017 and won an election to fill a vacancy in 2018.
His is a lifelong town resident, is retired from New Horizons Resources, and is married with children.
Bradley said water and sewer issues are “what I’ve been fighting for the last 10 years. I’m finally really making some progress. We’ve been getting grants annually for [Napanoch and Kerhonkson], and both of them had major problems with infrastructure. So I’ve been working with our grant writer ... and we’ve been successful every year I’ve been on the board.”
Bradley is a member of the Napanoch Public Interest Group, the Hunt Memorial Preservation Committee, the July Fourth Committee, the Wawarsing Rod and Gun Club and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
He served is the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968.
Leonard Distel
Distel, 76, will be on the Democratic and Working Families lines on the ballot.
He was town supervisor in 2010 and 2011 and again from 2014 through 2017. He previously served on the Town Board for 13 years and was an Ulster County legislator in 2006 and 2007.
Distel is a lifelong resident of the town and has two children.
He could not be reached for comment about town issues.
Eric Friedman
Friedman will be on the Republican and Independence Party lines on the ballot.
He could not be reached for comment about town issues.
Paul Tuzzolino
Tuzzolino, 63, will be on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines on the ballot.
He is a retired Hewlett-Packard technician and sales manager and now works as a consultant for small businesses.
He has lived in the town since 1995 and is married with two children.
“We are right now ... going
through essentially a rebranding process of the town,” Tuzzolino said. “One of the key industries of the town is tourism, but we’re not necessarily seen in the right light. It involves marketing of the town and also doing things to present ourselves in the best possible way.”
Tuzzolino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the town’s Cable Broadband Commission, the Ellenville Noonday Club, the July Fourth Committee and the
Wawarsing Rod and Gun Club. He also is a trustee of St. Mary and St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church.
Uncontested races
• Town Clerk Jackie Collier, 54, of 64 Weiser Road, Ellenville, will be on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independence lines on the ballot.
• Town Justice Charles Dechon, 68, will be on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.