Town candidates spar at Wilton forum
WILTON, N.Y. » Nancy Dwyer, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Wilton supervisor, says town officials don’t keep residents informed enough about major projects such as a proposed new court building, senior center and town hall expansion, originally projected at more than $6 million.
But incumbent Republican Art Johnson said the town plans to scale costs back before proceeding, and defended efforts to convey information to residents, such as posting notices and meeting minutes on the town website.
More than 75 people turned out Wednesday to hear Dwyer, Johnson and all other candidates for town office debate issues during a League of Women Voters-sponsored forum at SUNY Adirondack’s Wilton campus.
“We have a very passive way of being open,” said Dwyer, a former Ballston Spa High School math teacher and current realtor for Cambridge-based Devine Properties.
If elected, Dwyer said she would reach out to Wilton’s largest businesses, which provide considerable jobs and sales tax revenue, asking how the town can help them stay successful. She says the town needs fresh, new leadership and said elected officials should have term limits.
But Johnson, who has been supervisor for 15 years, defended Wilton’s strong fiscal record - it has no local town tax — safe roads and neighborhoods, development balanced with a need for green space, and major
upgrades such as a children’s splash park at Gavin Park, the town’s recreation complex. A person’s time in office should be up to the individual, or the public who puts he or she there, Johnson said.
The two-year supervisor’s position has a $24,500 salary, plus $18,878 from the county.
Dwyer, although running as a Democrat, is not enrolled in any party. She is also on the Public Servants party line.
In addition to the GOP, Johnson has the Conservative and Independence parties’ endorsement.
Four candidates, including incumbent Republican John McEachron, are running for two Town Board seats, which have four-year terms and a $13,104 annual salary. The others are Republican newcomer Duane Bogardus and Democrats Ken Garcia and Paula Tancredi Penman.
Democrat Joanne Klepetar is not seeking re-election.
McEachron, a small business owner, and Bogardus, a retired state Office of Mental Health public safety officer, pledged to pursue responsible growth in Wilton.
“I think the board has done a great job the past four years,” McEachron said. “Wilton is in great shape.”
All four candidates said the town doesn’t need its own police force, as it’s well-served by state police and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, which have stations on Ballard Road and at Wilton Mall, respectively.
However, Penman said the town, as it continues to grow, needs to make longrange plans for the time when such service might be needed.
“What happens when there is more to take care of?” she said. “It takes a little more thinking. I know strategic planning, without which our town will not remain prosperous.”
She has a master’s degree in business administration from the Yale School of Management and is currently a healthcare marketer for Pennsylvaniabased Ashfield Healthcare.
Garcia is employed by the state Workers Compensation Board and 9 Miles East Farm. Previously, he was an economic development analyst for the state Senate. His father was a state senator from The Bronx.
In two other races, Democrat John Helenek is challenging incumbent Republican Kirklin D. Woodcock for highway superintendent, and Democrat Eric Rosenberg is challenging incumbent Republican Gerald Worth for town justice.
Helenek, a mechanical equipment operator, has worked for the Highway Department for 28 years. If elected, he said one of his top priorities would be making town roads more bicycle- and pedestrianfriendly.
Woodcock said he’s already taken steps to pursue this, which he plans to continue, and said he regularly takes training and offers it to employees, to keep the department up to date with modern practices.
Rosenberg, an attorney and accountant, said he has the skills, experience and training that make him the person most qualified to handle the different cases that might arise in a fast-growing community such as Wilton. “The law is the law,” he said. “It gets applied equally to everyone regardless of how long you’ve lived here.”
Worth said he’s handled more than 90,000 traffic violations, 5,000 criminal cases and hundreds of civil cases during his 39 years as justice. He cited a record of exception financial record keeping, saying the court has never had a bad audit during his years on the bench.