public service Supervisor eyes 34-year milestone
Edinburg leader’s lengthy term of service filled with achievements
The town divided by a man-made lake is united by a woman who has served as the town’s supervisor for 32 years.
Jean Raymond is the longest-serving female on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. And with a guaranteed win in November — she is running unopposed — the Republican is headed to surpass David Meager’s 34-year record as the county’s longest-serving supervisor.
“I really like my job,” Raymond said. “All the parts and pieces ... I like the people, the challenge, the learning, the accomplishments, the knowledge. That’s not always easy, but I like it.”
What makes it easier, she said, is her love for the town, which she said is the county’s best-kept secret. Hugging the shores of the Great Sacandaga Lake, it’s home to a little more than 1,200 residents who on a summer weekday can enjoy the lake in virtual seclusion.
“Don’t tell anybody,” Raymond whispered. Great Sacandaga Lake is a reservoir built in the 1920s by damming the Sacandaga River. The primary purpose was to control flooding on the Hudson River and the Sacandaga River.
And on the lake is her greatest accomplishment: the rebuilt Batchellerville Bridge.
“That’s my life’s work,” said Raymond, who was elected in 1987. “My second year in office I realized we had a bridge that was not going to last a lot longer and needed to be replaced. It took 18 years of persistence, of annoying people, getting to know people and, finally, success. I describe myself as being very committed. Other people might describe me a bit of a pain in the neck.”
The bridge cost $46 million, and, she said, is essential to all in and around Edinburg. She spread a map out on her desk to explain. Her finger bounced between shorelines, pointing to where people live, go to school, shop and work, and where town and emergency services are located.
“Without the bridge, there would be a 35-milelong detour,” Raymond said. “We would have had to duplicate services, it would have killed the schools ... I’m not sure what we would have done with emergency services. It would have been devastating.”
The project was 80 percent federally funded, with the remaining 20 percent investment coming from the state. It was finished a year ahead of schedule in 2012.
Raymond recently also wrote and won a $1.7 million grant from the state’s Bridge-ny Program to fund bridge repair work on Fox Hill Road and Military Road.
“I’m very good at grant writing,” she said. “I like writing grants. I like the challenge of it.”
Edinburg — which Raymond said lost its ending “h” at some point in its history — runs on a $1.5 million annual budget. She said the town is in good financial shape with no debt. Whatever the town needs, it purchases with cash.
That includes the building of the 2005 $1 million town hall, which has a foyer decorated with taxidermed birds and animals.
“If you don’t like dead animals, you probably shouldn’t live here,” Raymond said.
Her tell-it-like-it-is style is one of the things that has endeared her to her fellow supervisors, including Meager, who stepped down as supervisor at the end of 2005.
“You would never walk away from a conversation with her and wonder what she meant,” said Meager, who is fine with Raymond breaking his service record. “Every record is meant to be broken. I can’t think of another person I would prefer to break it.”
Raymond, who is originally from Stamford, Conn., visited Edinburg in 1975 and built a summer home there. She soon moved up to the area permanently and bought the town’s four-corner store, Fuller’s. After running it for 10 years, she retired.
“I thought it would really be good to be retired,” said Raymond, who didn’t want to reveal her age. “That lasted about six weeks. After six weeks, January of 1987, I thought this is not going to work out too well. I need something to do.”
She enrolled in a real estate course at Fultonmontgomery Community College. Then she heard that then town’s Supervisor Marshall Robinson was not seeking re-election.
“What I found really hard with the store was working a lot of hours, a lot of nights, weekends and holidays,” Raymond said. “If I sell real estate, I’ll be working nights, weekends and holidays. In my brilliant mind at the time, I thought, well, if I run for this part-time job, I will have nights, weekends and holidays off. It appealed to me and I won. And now I work nights, weekends and holidays.”
She said she won with a promise of getting the residents cable TV, which she accomplished.
When asked about town controversies, she said that they don’t have any. If she was in a town where meetings were overrun by complainers, she said she would quit.
“I wouldn’t put up with that,” she said.
It’s hard to find critics of Raymond. One resident complained about the antiquated website where town documents cannot be found. Raymond said the town is working on that and has reserved funds to update the website. Meeting minutes and other town documents are available at town hall, free of charge.
Democratic Supervisor Tara Gaston, from Saratoga Springs, sang Raymond’s praises.
“We don’t always agree on issues,” Gaston said. “But she is more likely to stick up for me than any other supervisor. When I was going to a national conference, she insisted the county pay my way. She said: ‘She’s a supervisor. She’s one of us. She is no different than the rest of us.’ “
Waterford Supervisor Jack Lawler, who has served 26 years, said Raymond is always willing to talk issues.
“She has earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues,” said Lawler, who calls her the Queen of Saratoga County. “She’s very deliberative, she researches the issues. She’s open to talk to anyone who wants to talk, she’s collegial and open-minded. When you are not on the same page with her, she can talk to you in a way that is friendly. She’s a class act.”
Corinth Supervisor Richard Lucia, who has been with the county as long as Lawler, called Raymond a jewel and a mentor.
“She never personalizes anything,” he said. “She’s passionate, but personable.”
Raymond laughs at all the kind words. She says she has had it easier than most supervisors because her town is small.
“It’s a very easy town to run financially,” she said. “We don’t have any special districts, we don’t have any sewer, we don’t have any public water, we have no village. It’s less complicated.”
She also said the town is cheap and doesn’t need amenities like sidewalks, leaf-pickup or a police department. Weekly garbage and recycling collection and 12 street lights are among the limited perks. The town also features a modest 70-acre park, with a playground, pavilion and nature trail. She also has plans to expand the town garage.
She has six full-time employees and about 20 parttimers. When a resident calls Town Hall, she will often answer the phone.
Obviously, smaller does not mean less committed. After her next four-year term, which will give her 36 years in office, Raymond is not sure she will quit.
“You know what happens, you start a project, you get involved, you really get invested in the project and you really want to see it through,” she said. “Halfway through you get another project started. It’s kind of like, if I get this done I’ll be ready to retire. Then comes along another bridge ...”