Milton voters face a full ballot

Supervisor, council races hotly contested

MILTON, N.Y. » This year has been a busy one for the town of Milton. In addition to celebrating the 225th anniversary of its incorporation, the town also saw its share of scandal coming from the supervisor’s office, discord among the town board members and fingerpointing over a bungled budget.

And as the year winds down, residents are preparing to place their vote in the local elections to determine the future of town governance.

In the Nov. 7 general election, there are two seats up for grabs on the town council, as well as the job of town supervisor. For the first time in a long time, some incumbents are being challenged by newcomers to the political scene.

When current Supervisor Dan Lewza decided not to run for reelection, Councilwoman Barbara Kerr threw her hat into the ring. Kerr ran – and won – in past elections without the endorsement of the Republican party. She is once again hoping for a positive outcome, without the backing of her party. Kerr has been a member of the board for six years.

When political newcomer Scott Ostrander was appointed to a vacant seat on the town council this spring, he quickly became involved in several issues plaguing the town, including budgetary errors and issues with disgruntled town employees.

In the process, he caught the attention of the town and county Republicans who, when the time came, decided to endorse him over Kerr. Anna Stanko, chair of the Milton Republican Committee, said Ostrander “really dug in” and reached out to town departments, as well as the state comptroller, to discuss the problems with the town’s budget.

“When the time came to endorse a candidate, Scott was chosen overwhelmingly,” said Stanko, adding “he is a doer and not a talker.” She went on to say that there is more involved in solving

problems than just pointing them out and not taking the next steps to correct problems.

Stanko was referring to Kerr and said while the councilwoman has always been an outspoken member of the board, many Republican committee members who attended town meetings believed Kerr was “grandstanding.”

Kerr responded to Stanko’s characterizations, saying that she was doing what she was elected for – to ask questions on behalf of the people who elected her. She sees herself in this instance as “insurgent” rather than “establishment.”

With no Democrat running for the town supervisor’s position, Kerr and Ostrander will duke it out. Kerr is running with the Reform party’s backing, but she is also hoping to capture votes from her long-supportive Republican constituents.

Ostrander did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The Democrats have three candidates running: two of them for the open seats on the town board, as well as the position of town justice. Tim Brown is the current judge, a retired senior investigator in Saratoga County’s Sheriff’s office and a lifelong Milton resident. He is running on a platform of integrity, experience and fairness and he has also espoused his record of being available 24 hours a day for arraignment and other court business.

Brown’s opponent, Mark Juda, has been a resident of Milton for 17 years and has raised his family here. He has 23 years of experience as a litigator and has served as an assistant district attorney. In his remarks at the recent “Meet the Candidates” night, Juda cited this expertise as a compelling reason to vote for him, stating, “I do this for a living and I have more than a three-day justice training course.”

The two town board seats are being contested on the Republican side by incumbent Frank Blaisdell and John Frolish, who has been a member of the Planning Board for 10 years and more than 15 years as the First District Commissioner.

The Democratic contenders are: Meg Stevens, a 30-year resident who is well-known to many in the community as an active volunteer on various non-profit boards, as well as a member of the town’s planning and zoning boards; and a relative newcomer, Sergia Coffey, who has a doctorate in Eeconomics and currently teaches at Empire State College. Coffey has also lived in the town for 19 years and raised her two sons in the community.

While the town board candidates all seem to agree on issues such as greater transparency and improving the town’s website, there are some differences of opinion regarding current Supervisor Lewza’s 2 percent tax increase proposal, how to handle the budget going forward, and questions about balancing growth with the preservation of the town’s rural character.

The candidates also stressed the need for a return to civility. People who have attended town board meetings have seen their share of rude behavior and incivility – amongst board members, as well as from residents in attendance at the meetings. However, each candidate voiced a commitment to civil behavior and respectful listening.

“At this level of government, partisanship should not even be an issue,” said Meg Stevens, adding that she is accustomed to working with Republicans because she is married to one.

Coffey noted that, at a recent meeting, she was struck by the negative response to Barbara Kerr’s questions and comments and said that “constituents should not be yelling at elected officials. We all need to listen to each other. Sure, people will disagree. But that is part of the democratic process.”

Each town board candidate has ideas for fixing the town budget. Frolish, who has experience with budgets from his tenure at the town’s fire district, said the town has cut the budget for the last 15 years and “now it’s caught up with us.” He also stated the ongoing and future infrastructure needs will not be met without funds in the town’s coffers.

Stevens pointed out that she has had experience in working with non-profit budgets and she noted that certain items on this year’s budget were carried over from the previous year’s budget that should not be on the current budget. She also said that there are other ways to reduce the budget without taking services, such as leaf pickup, away from residents.

Coffey agreed, adding that the current budget uses contractual costs, which does not provide line by line breakdowns of spending. “I want to see a budget with clearly delineated line items. Once you’ve done that and know where the costs are, you can look at where to economize.” She added that it would be “nice” if townspeople had access to that sort of information through the tow’s website – a sentiment that was echoed by the other candidates.

Frank Blaisdell, a veterinarian who has served on the board for 12 years, has a loyal following, particularly among residents occupying the “rural” side of town. He is running on a platform of “experience, respect and teamwork.” He was not available for comment at the time of this article.