Three vie for Democratic nod in Eighth Ward

KINGSTON. N.Y. » A three-way race for the Democratic Party ballot line for the Common Council’s Eighth Ward seat is to be decided during a Tuesday primary election.

Polls will be open from noon to 9 a.m.

In the Eighth Ward, incumbent Steve Schabot, who was backed by the Democratic Committee, will face off against Cassandra Burke and former city Safety Officer Jim Rodden for the party line on the ballot in the November general election.

Rodden, who is a registered Democrat, has the backing of the city Republican, Conservative and Independence parties. There is an “opportunity to ballot” write-in election for the Eighth Ward Independence line, according to the Ulster County Board of Elections.

Schabot, a lifelong Kingston resident, worked 32 years with the Ulster County Department of Social Services. He retired as the department’s director of Resource Recovery. For more than 20 years, Schabot had served as a commissioner with the Kingston Parks and Recreation Commission.

Schabot has received the endorsement of the Working Families Party.

Since becoming a member of the council, Schabot has served as chairman of its Public Safety Committee. He has also served as a member of the Laws and Rules Committee, as well as the Finance/ Audit Committee.

Rodden, a father of three, has served as Zoning Board of Appeals chairman since 2012. He has been a member since 2004. Rodden started work for United Parcel Service in 1964 as a delivery driver. He retired in 1995 as an upstate New York district resource manager.

Rodden has additional history with the city. He is a former member of the board of Assessment Review and the Community Development Advisory Board. He is also a past president of the Children’s Home board of directors.

Burke, a lifelong Ulster County resident, has lived in Kingston for the past five years. Burke has studied public policy at the University of Albany. She has been involved in several internships at various layers of local government, including with Kingston and the Ulster County Legislature.

She is a former member of the city’s Human Rights Commission. She is a current member of the Kingston Community Development Advisory Board. Burke is also cofounder of the Rondout Gardens Resident Council.

There is an opportunity to ballot on the Republican and Democratic lines in the Seventh Ward. Any registered Republican or Democrat can write-in any name on their party lines.

The Democratic Committee has endorsed Bryant “Drew” Andrews, who is executive director of the Center for Creative Education and founder and chief executive officer of Dance Xross Fitness. His name will appear on the ballot.

Last week, Patrick O’Reilly, who is a registered non-enrolled voter, said he was actively seeking both Republican and Democratic votes on the opportunity to ballot lines.

“I’m a registered voter with no party affiliation, seeking to represent my neighbors as the Ward 7 Alderman because I believe our neighborhood needs a voice,” O’Reilly said in an email. “As a candidate with no party affiliation, I believe I owe it to both the Democratic and Republican voters to have the opportunity to write in my name as their candidate during the September 12th primary.”

O’Reilly said he should be given the green light by voters.

“After speaking with many of the residents of Ward 7 it is evident that there are problems that need to be acknowledge and acted upon,” O’Reilly stated. “Some of the concerns include the proposed use of the Alms house, roads, properties that are not being maintained, absentee landlords and speeding cars through our neighborhood.”

“It will be my priority to make my neighbors’ voices heard and to help find solutions to these concerns,” he added.

O’Reilly has garnered the Conservative and Independence Party lines for the November election.

According to his Facebook page, O’Reilly is a teacher in the Kingston School District.

Andrews has billed his campaign as “People Not Politics.”

“I am running for Alderman of Ward 7 because I believe in Kingston,” Andrews stated in an email. “I have lived in Kingston for almost 20 years and I love this city! I have educated and raised my beautiful children here and have helped to successfully develop the Center for Creative Education; an organization that supports the education, health and wellness of our youth and community.”

“I want our children to receive a good education in their local schools,” Andrews added. “I want them to be able to walk to school and after school activities on safe streets.”

The Seventh Ward is currently represented by Alderwoman Maryann Mills, also a Democrat, who has decided not to seek re-election.

In the Fifth Ward, registered Democrats can write in a candidate during an opportunity to ballot contest. Incumbent Alderman William Carey, who is the council’s majority leader, has earned the backing of the Democratic Committee for that seat.

His name will appear on the ballot.