In the town of Clay, there are six candidates running for three seats on the Clay Town Board and two candidates running for town clerk. Also on the ballot are one candidate for town supervisor and one candidate running for receiver of taxes.
The 2021 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 2. For information about polling places and early voting, visit ongov.net/elections or contact the Onondaga County Board of Elections at 315-435-8683.
Read on to meet the candidates (listed alphabetically and arranged by office).
Town councilor (choose 3)
Kari Egerbrecht
Democratic
Egerbrecht is a teacher. Join the Facebook group “Friends of Kari Egerbrecht for Clay Town Councilor” to learn more.
How will your experience serve you in government?
I have been a public school teacher and union steward for 20 years. I have held leadership positions within my teachers union and am an advocate for abused children. Working in the public sector has helped me build my skills with listening to people, leading others, and advocating for others.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
I have heard from constituents locally that they don’t feel the town of Clay leadership or that of Onondaga County has not been supportive or transparent. This comes after the increase in taxes from the town accessor and the way residents of Burnet Road have been treated regarding the White Pine project and OCIDA/Onondaga County.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
I will continue to speak out in favor of residents’ needs as I have, and if in office I will pay close attention to any issues that come to the town of Clay. I will base my actions and decision-making upon what residents want and need.
Frederick Hart
Democratic
Hart works for an auto parts warehouse. Follow “The Friends of Fred Hart for Town of Clay Councilor” on Facebook to learn more.
How will your experience serve you in government?
My experience working in an industry for 25 years, being quite skilled at what I do, and still not reaching higher pay scales will serve me in government. I understand what many hard working people go through to provide for their families. I understand the needs of younger families just getting going, of those families who get up each day and put in a full day’s work but need to budget for their family. I understand the needs of older residents who are working to balance a budget on limited income.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
The biggest challenge in the town of Clay is that there isn’t one elected Democrat. The Republicans seem to never question each other and vote together. Government is dependent on checks and balances and it seems lacking on the local level. This is evident by the lack of taxation on the Verplank Road solar farm. Not one person in our local government questioned if that should be taxed — so it wasn’t. This is just an example of the failure of the current board to think of the constituents of the town of Clay.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
Town government should not be run by one party. Representatives come with different ideas, thoughts, priorities, and areas of focus. If you have every representative from one party, you lose diversity of thought. You lose out on questioning what’s best. The board should be there for the constituents, not just one party.
Deborah Magaro-Dolan
Republican, Independence
Magaro-Dolan is a buyer for Onondaga County. To learn more, follow Deborah Magaro-Dolan for Town of Clay Councilor or Town of Clay GOP on Facebook, visit townofclaygop.com, or follow @magarodolanforclaycouncilor on Instagram.
How will your experience serve you in government?
Many years of volunteer work for the community have prepared me for the diverse needs of being a public official. Holding leadership roles in community organizations has helped me to understand the needs of residents and how to deal with varying opinions and passions. Serving on the town of Clay’s Zoning Board of Appeals has helped me to understand the processes of government. My job as a buyer for Onondaga County has given me the experience to deal with businesses, big and small and I work hard every day to save taxpayer dollars, always striving for fiscal responsibility.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
One of the biggest challenges facing the town of Clay is development. The concern is how do we ensure that new and previous development serves an important purpose for our town and our community as a whole.
Visiting with many residents of the town of Clay, I hear that many are concerned with our roads and drainage.
While the current census shows that the population of the town of Clay has grown, it is an important challenge to keep those residents content and keep attracting new residents.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
When faced with new development or redevelopment opportunities, it will be key for me to listen to the community, deciding what makes sense financially, socially, and aesthetically. I will look at what causes the least disruption to the community but provides a balanced return. It will need to be meaningful and add to the quality of life of residents.
As a newly elected councilor, I will want to look at the town’s plan for road maintenance and drainage issues. It will be important to see what the short term and long-term plan is and decide what makes the most sense for future improvements to paving processes and drainage work.
Keeping the residents we have and attracting new residents depends on what the town of Clay has to offer. I will work to make the town of Clay somewhere people want to be either for the day or for a lifetime.
David Mariano
Democratic
Mariano is a nonprofit leader. To learn more, follow “David Mariano for the Town of Clay” on Facebook.
How will your experience serve you in government?
I have spent a decade in the nonprofit world serving others, being a voice for those not often heard. I am not a politician and I believe that to be an asset. I will use my experience in the nonprofit world and as a servant leader to effectively serve and represent the community I live in.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
Too many impactful decisions have been made without the proper transparency to the town residents. You must make board meetings and forums more accessible and representative to all members of our community.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
Decisions, issues, and proposals that are affecting our community must be properly and efficiently communicated to all residents. Town board meetings must be held at times that are most convenient for residents. Additionally, these meetings must be accessible to all. The utilization of technology must be considered.
Kevin Meaker (incumbent)
Republican, Conservative, Independence
Meaker is a real estate broker. To learn more, visit townofclaygop.com.
How will your experience serve you in government?
My experiences are quite broad. I’ve been in real estate since 1999, working with and for people from all walks of life. I’ve assisted property managers and worked with residents, struggling not to get evicted. I’ve been a single dad struggling to make ends meet. I’ve worked as an educator of students with special needs. I’ve served on the board, learning how much goes into every decision. I’ve learned that my constituents want and deserve to have their voices heard and need someone willing to listen. My life experiences help me connect and make fair decisions for the town residents.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
The biggest challenge for the town of Clay moving forward is being able to find a balance between maintaining the quality of life that our residents have become accustomed to with spacious neighborhoods, trees, wildlife, and parks while also being able to support and advocate for new businesses to be established and grow within the town.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
To address this challenge, we must continue to make sound and informed decisions by listening to town of Clay residents and keeping them and our community first and foremost.
Ryan Pleskach (incumbent)
Republican, Conservative, Independence
Pleskach is the CEO of ResilienX, Inc.
How will your experience serve you in government?
I have always been motivated by opportunities to positively shape our community. This includes my tenure serving Clay on the town board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and prior to that a condo board association. In nearly a decade of public service, my firm belief is that town government is about maximizing services to residents while being fiscally responsible. I was proud of our 2021 budget with $0 tax increase for town residents. Clay is thriving and growing. I look forward to continuing to serve Clay residents for another four years.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
Below are the two primary challenges I believe we are facing as a town:
1. Maintaining critical town services as we continue to deal with the impacts of COVID and follow the recommendations and guidance of public health officials.
2. Responsible economic development and growth within the town to keep property taxes low.
Clay is a growing community and it’s because we have the right blend of safe neighborhoods, desirable housing, nearly 30 town parks, and a wide variety of restaurants and retail shopping. I hope to continue to engage with residents and ensure we maintain an appropriate balance of commercial and residential activity.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
As we evolve and emerge into a “new normal,” we need to rethink the way we engage with residents and provide government services. I want to invest in new technology and dramatically increase our digital footprint. We need to increase the number of services that are offered online or through mobile platforms, and we also need to invest in new software tools and technology for our town employees.
A modern economy requires the ability to bring revenue from outside the town. We need to capitalize on the momentum provided by recently, and continue to ensure Clay is attractive to businesses of all sizes. We have seen hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Clay in just the last few years. This has been a tremendous economic boost, and I look forward to working with the residents and my colleagues to continue this kind of responsible, economic growth in the town.
Town clerk
Jill Hageman-Clark (incumbent)
Republican, Conservative, Independence
How will your experience serve you in government?
I have been the Clay Town Clerk since 2009, proudly serving my community continuously through the challenges presented by the pandemic.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
We are all still navigating through all the changes recently presented and are trying to meet the needs of our constituents.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
We have continued to serve without the need to visit Town Hall, focusing on resident safety.
Democratic candidate Anika Flagg did not respond to the Star-Review’s questionnaire.
Town supervisor
Damian Ulatowski (incumbent, running unopposed)
Republican, Conservative, Independence
Ulatowski works in insurance sales.
How will your experience serve you in government?
Having been on the town board since 1999 and moving from the chairs of councilman to deputy supervisor and ultimately supervisor at the town of Clay, I have served in several capacities and come to know the responsibilities and duties of virtually every department and what they do to provide the best service to town residents.
What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?
The biggest challenge is always trying to balance tax dollars required to run a town of 60,000 people effectively, making sure there is a balance of services provided and the cost thereof. Secondly, attracting business and industry that can take full advantage of the space and opportunities the town of Clay has to offer.
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
There are really only two ways to balance a budget: You either raise revenue or cut expenses. Raising revenue is always a painful option as it is difficult to calculate the cost of delivering consistent services in an ever-changing world. However, maximizing the full potential of personnel, and engaging better ways to serve the community efficiently is a positive to balance the output of services delivered.
Receiver of taxes
Brian Hall (running unopposed)
Republican, Conservative, Independence
Hall is deputy county clerk for Onondaga County. To learn more, follow “Brian Hall for Receiver of Taxes Town of Clay” on Facebook.
How will your experience serve you in government?
For the last 13 years I have worked in the Onondaga County Clerk’s office. During that time I have had many responsibilities including collecting deed and mortgage tax. I enjoy working with constituents every day. I look forward to serving the residents of Clay just as I have enjoyed serving all of Onondaga County.
