Niskayuna elections: some old, some new, diverse faces
Board member Weber to challenge Syed for supervisor
The town’s Republican and Democratic committees have introduced their slates of candidates for November’s election with some familiar faces and other new ones to fill open spots.
The selections offer the chance of a more diverse Town Hall next year.
Republican Supervisor Yasmine Syed, who upended the town’s Democratic-dominated politics by unseating Joe Landry two years ago, is running for re-election. This time she faces a challenge from Democrat Lisa Weber, who is completing her first term on the Town Board.
The board, currently composed of all
Democrats, is reshuffling as
Weber sets her sights higher. Board member Bill Mcpartlon is running for his second term.
Mcpartlon, the owner of an electrical contracting company and a certified electrical inspector, served on the town’s planning and zoning boards before being elected to the Town Board.
“What I would like to do is continue the good things that we’ve done by keeping our taxes low and providing our residents with the best possible services we can,” Mcpartlon told the Times Union. He highlighted the board’s long-term efforts to upgrade the town’s wastewater treatment plant and his work to replace vehicles and keep up staffing levels at the police department as chair of the Public Safety Committee.
Newcomer Rosemarie Perez Jaquith was picked by the Democrats to run for Weber’s open seat.
Jaquith has served on the Niskayuna School Board since 2014, including as its vice president between 2015 and 2016 and its president from 2016 to 2018. She has worked with colleagues to keep the district under the tax cap, including one year with no property tax increase, and hopes to bring her record to the Town Board.
Jaquith worked as an attorney for the New York State Assembly for 20 years and is currently the director of administration for the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission.
Jaquith, a first-generation Cuban-american, started kindergarten only speaking Spanish, was the first person in her family to attend college and went on to graduate from Syracuse Law School.
She and her husband, who have lived in Niskayuna since 1999, have three children.
The Republicans introduced two candidates for the board, running for the seats currently occupied by Lisa Weber and Bill Mcpartlon, whose terms both expire this year.
The first, a political newcomer, is Dr. Jerome Chao, chief of plastic surgery at St. Peter’s Hospital. The Harvard and Columbia graduate worked in Chicago and New York City before coming to the Capital Region in 2003. He lives with his wife and two children in Niskayuna.
Chao, who is Asianamerican, would also diversify the board.
The Republicans’ second candidate is a familiar name on the ballot — Niskayuna Conservative Party Committee member Anthony Simone Sr., who ran for the board in 2017. He was a store manager at Price Chopper for more than 40 years and is currently the vice president of Sanavi, a company that sells sparkling organic spring water.
Beyond the board, Democrat Town Justice Steve Swinton is running unopposed for re-election. Republican Diane O’donnell will campaign against current Town Clerk Michelle Martinelli, who is a Democrat.
Candidates are currently petitioning. The primary is June 25 and election Nov. 5.