Nelson town election: Meet the candidates

The Nelson Town Board election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, will offer an uncontested race for town supervisor and a contested race for town board. In the latter race, three candidates — including two incumbents — are seeking to fill two seats. Also running unopposed this year are incumbents Debbie Costello for town clerk and Jack Sevier for highway superintendent.

The Cazenovia Republican sent questionnaires out to each of the town election candidates last week to help town residents understand who is running and where they stand on the issues. Below are profiles of the candidates based on their responses to our questions, beginning current Supervisor Roger Bradstreet, who is running uncontested for reelection, and followed by the three candidates for town board, listed in alphabetical order.

Roger Bradstreet

Position sought

Town supervisor

Political affiliation

Democrat

Roger and his wife Bonnie have been residents of Nelson, residing on Thomas Road since 2001, with all immediate family members residing and working in Madison County. Bradstreet is seeking his fourth term as town supervisor.

Bradstreet attended Broome Community College, Pennsylvania State University, and received his MBA from Syracuse University in 1993. His marketing and management career included positions at IBM, Carrier and Trienda Plastics. Most recently he has enjoyed serving his community alongside a talented team in the office, highway and three boards, town, planning, and zoning as Nelson town supervisor. Roger also serves with other town supervisors on the Madison County Board of Supervisors. Bradstreet has served on criminal justice, health and services, highway, building and grounds, administration and oversight committees, as well as the newly formed MCPLUS committee, exploring uses, acquisitions and supply of renewable energy to Madison County residents.

“There are many priorities, and the town of Nelson’s focus as of late is on economic development, updating aged highway equipment, while establishing annual budgets that do not strain residents unreasonably,” Bradstreet said. “There is much to be excited about in Nelson, with the existing business climate and new businesses that have recently opened across Nelson and Erieville. Others are still on the planning board horizon for 2016. Entrepreneurship lives on in Nelson.”

Bradstreet is an active member of both NYSAC (New York State Association of Counties), and NACO (National Association of Counties), addressing issues shared across the state and nation. Both organizations have a growing impact and voice, and are respected by state and national government officials.

Bradstreet enjoys both the town and county positions and said he is “bullish” about recent climate for development in the Nelson and Erieville communities, while keeping an eye on Nelson’s friendly rural traditions.

Tammy Hayes

Position sought

Town council

Political affiliation

Democrat

Address and family members

US Route 20, Cazenovia

Husband: Michael Hayes

Four children: Amanda, Allyson, Meghan, and Zachary

Education and occupation

Masters of Public Administration – Marist College

Bachelors of Science Degree – Cazenovia College, Alpha-Chi

Associates of Arts Degree – Morrisville State College

Senior Social Examiner – Madison County Department of Social Services

Political experience

This is my first formal run for office, but as a lifetime Democrat I have been interested in the local governance for years. I am not new to the election process. I was elected for two terms as CSEA Local 827 Secretary. I have been working behind the scenes helping other candidates with their campaigns by passing petitions, stuffing envelopes and attending fundraisers so that they could be successful. I have attended the State of the Area addresses for the past several years learning about the issues that we collectively face as a community.

Why are you running for town board?

I am a stakeholder in my community. This is where we lived as a family, have raised our children and I want to continue see it flourish. I have a master’s degree in public administration that focused on the collaborative efforts of government entities and the local community working together. I have served as a volunteer on the board of directors of Community Action Program as an executive for the past couple of years, gaining valuable experience in the budget process including making tough decisions. I have also served as vice-president of the League of Women Voters, gaining experience on local issues in a non-partisan atmosphere, acquiring the insight on issues of climate change, shared services and community involvement. In addition, I have volunteered for other organizations with their fundraising efforts. I have a true belief that everyone should give back to his/her community is some way or fashion. This is my way of giving back to the community in which I love to live.

What do you see as the major issues facing the town and how will you seek to address them during the upcoming four years of this office?

The major issues I see facing the town are the budget, maintaining the tax cap, replacing of old highway equipment and the declining population. The ways in which to address these issues are careful planning, conservative spending and thinking “outside of the box,” thus ensuring future planning for infrastructure and promoting the local businesses and attractions that our town has to offer. Planned and thoughtful economic development within the town will increase sales tax, offsetting the cost of new equipment, reducing property taxes, encouraging local employment opportunities and achieving the ultimate goal of having new families moving into our neighborhoods.

Nelson officials have been working diligently to bring businesses and economic growth to the hamlet. How do you feel this best can be achieved and, if elected, what will you do to help promote that growth, (or oppose it, if that is your position)?

I applaud the work that has been done to bring an increase of new businesses to the Nelson community. I will continue to work to bring neighborhood-friendly businesses to the town. The town has been exploring new ideas to attract new businesses and should identify the economic needs of our town as a way to attract a business who to want to open their doors here. New businesses that complement the existing establishments will help promote our citizens to want to buy locally in the Town of Nelson. I will also work to help the new businesses thrive, as we not only need new businesses; we need them to be successful. As a member of town council, I will continue to do as I do today — shop and dine locally, spend my money at my neighborhood establishments and keep my tax monies in Nelson.

Nelson has been working on upgrading its highway department truck fleet this year and has other infrastructure projects in sight. How can the town best achieve its infrastructure needs and goals while keeping taxes at a reasonable level?

The highway department and infrastructure is essential to our rural community: safe, clear, well-maintained roads should always be a priority within the town. This department needs planned savings for new equipment, set in a rotational basis to ensure safety for the highway employees as well as the travelers who use the roads. As a small township surrounded by other small towns, the idea of sharing equipment between them could be a good use of shared services, saving tax monies by not buying equipment that is essential, but only used a few times a year or when needed. The department should have all of the projects carefully planned with efforts to find grants that would offset the use of local tax monies. The safety of the town of Nelson citizens and visitors traveling through on our roads should be discussed, defined, planned and budgeted, whether it is a hazardous intersection needing corrective signage or fixing roads that have been destroyed due to a summer storm.

Why should people vote for you?

First, I am asking people to vote in the local election. I am asking for your vote because I am a stakeholder in the community. I am active as a board of director member for a local not for profit and I have a master’s degree in public administration and I am seeking to use this combined experience and education to work for the town of Nelson. I am a strong advocate for traffic safety and willing to work collectively with local, county, and state agencies to address the issues that arise regarding the safety of the town of Nelson. I want to contribute to the economic enhancements within the town of Nelson. I have 22 years of experience working in local government with an additional history and experience working in the food industry, manufacturing, and retail. I would like to see the town of Nelson continue to bring new businesses to the area, thus enhancing the quality of life our wonderful community has to offer.

Other comments?

Thank you to the Cazenovia Republican for offering me the opportunity to share with the residents of the Town of Nelson what I would do for them if elected as Town Council.

John LaGorga

Position sought

Town council

Political affiliation

Democrat and Independent Common Sense parties

Address and family members

LaGorga has lived in Nelson for 15 years. He and his wife Susan have two children, a son attending Tufts University and a daughter attending Cazenovia Central High School.

Education and occupation

LaGorga is a graduate from Paul Smith’s College and SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry; he holds a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering.

He is a New York State licensed professional engineer and is currently an associate at GHD Consulting Services Inc. (formally Stearns and Wheler).

Political experience

Nelson town councilor, four years

Why are you running for town board?

Simply, civic duty. It’s always my goal to serve my community. When I was young I was involved in scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In college I was involved in student government and campus improvement clubs. As a young parent I was involved in many youth organizations. For the past four years I have served as town councilman. I want to continue to service the Town of Nelson by serving another term as councilman.

What do you see as the major issues facing the town and how will you seek to address them during the upcoming four years of this office?

I’m really optimistic about the next four years, and beyond, for the town of Nelson. The town of Nelson is a diamond among gems in Madison County. Our town has a healthy blend of residential, industrial/business, agricultural and forest land uses. Moving forward, it is important to maintain our town’s rural characteristics and at the same time increase our tax base. As the costs of maintaining our town’s assets increase, a reasonable approach to controlling taxes is to increase our tax base. An increased tax base could be achieved by a modest increase in residential development and the redevelopment of inactive industrial and business properties along the Route 20 corridor. Over the next four years we need to update our town’s Comprehensive Plan and have an open discussion about how we promote and manage growth in the town of Nelson.

Our town’s hamlet has many successful businesses including industrial, agricultural and service businesses. It seems reasonable to take stock in what we have to promote future economic development. Indeed the Board has discussed economic development in the town hamlet on many occasions, but we have not included the residents and businesses of the hamlet in these discussions. On behalf of the town of Nelson, I recently applied for a planning grant. One of the goals of the grant is to engage the residents and businesses and to learn from them what economic development in their hamlet may look like and how it may be achieved. I am hopeful the town will win this grant, learn from the residents and businesses, and include this information in our town’s Comprehensive Plan. I am prepared to see the planning grant through to its completion and lead any such program that is agreed upon during the grant and that is consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

The Highway Superintendent and department staff should be recognized for their hard work in maintaining an ageing fleet of trucks. This hard work has saved tax payers thousands of dollars. Now looking forward, the new highway trucks are very sophisticated and cost more to purchase, maintain and operate. As a board, we decided to replace the ageing fleet of trucks over the next seven years, or so. I support this decision based on safety; the newer trucks are safer for our staff and residents. There is no doubt that replacing the fleet of trucks will cost more, but as a Board we can plan according so not to have big spikes in taxes. This can be done by scheduling when we purchase new trucks, and then trading the trucks in at their peak re-sale value. The board has also discussed re-building the bottom section of Chaphe Road. To save money on this project, we hope that the county will provide design services and that we can finance the construction while interest rates are at historic lows. With respect to new water and sewer infrastructure for the office park and town hamlet, I won’t support this project unless there is state or federal grant money. This is another goal of the planning grant for which I have applied on behalf of the town.

Why should people vote for you?

This summer when I announced that I was running for re-election I was greeted with enthusiasm and encouragement. One gentleman who attends nearly all of our board meetings said, “I’m glad you are running for re-election. You are the voice of reason on the board.” That is why in addition to finding me on the Democratic line you will find me on the Independent Common Sense line. When re-elected I will continue to provide a voice of reason in developing fiscally responsible budgets and offering a balanced opinion on important town matters.

John Laubscher

Position sought

Town council

Political affiliation

Republican and Reform/Liberty parties

Address and family members

Nelson Heights Road, Cazenovia

Wife: Anne Marie, RN at Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton

Children: Allison (daughter) and Christian George, Emily Laubscher, Adam Laubscher and three grandchildren.

Education and occupation

AAS Forestry, Paul Smith’s College

BS Wood Products Engineering, SUNY-ESF

MS Environmental Engineering, SUNY-ESF

Prior to operating AJ’S Archery and Cedar View Farm LLC (full time since 2008, part-time before), I was a vice president for a regional healthcare facility, overseeing support services, emergency and long range planning (planning and zoning liaison to the community and authorities), security and safety, engineering, quality improvement, construction and all budgets, purchasing and contracts related to the division.

Political experience

Served on the Nelson Planning Board beginning in 2008 until elected to town council, 2012 to present

Why are you running for town board?

As an incumbent, I’m looking forward to continuing to serve and contribute. Having a very strong background in facilities and equipment management, successful business operations, finance and planning, permits me to make a significant contribution to the community. I have a unique skill set that helps the council with decision making and brings some stability to process.

What do you see as the major issues facing the town and how will you seek to address them during the upcoming four years of this office?

The major issues involve infrastructure, equipment, facilities and rising expenses.

Regarding infrastructure, continue to work with other municipalities, county, and state agencies to design and implement solutions while containing costs. Seek additional consulting services from the private sector if necessary. Triage and address the worst issues first and at the same time maintain the entirety of the road system.

Provide the necessary equipment to maintain the highways. To support the highway department and highway superintendent with adequate resources and longer range planning. This will yield a more predictable capital equipment budget and a younger and safer fleet with less maintenance costs. The existing fleet is often in the shop for repairs and not available to maintain the infrastructure.

The town has a number of properties it owns and maintains. Develop a plan to maintain and improve each. Projects like roofing and painting have a predicable life, plan and budget accordingly. Explore each opportunity for new or improved technology, these improvements are often significantly supported by the county and/or state.

Rising costs are always a concern. Most of the items purchased by the town have an annual inflation rate exceeding the tax cap. Healthcare coverage, as an example, cost significantly more every year. Addressing expenses is always a challenge and needs to offset by an adequate revenue stream. This requires careful utilization of existing revenue, exploring and obtaining grants and funding, obtaining the best value per purchase and improving our tax base.

Mention of the hamlets, both Nelson and Erieville, is made in the Town of Nelson Compressive Plan Update, December 2007. The Plan states, “Strengthening the two hamlets as informal town centers, in character and function is important to the town’s economic and social success.” Unquestionably this is true, however, there isn’t a plan in place to explore the opportunities. Efforts will be required to update the Comprehensive Plan and expand the planning of the hamlets. A masterplan of the Nelson hamlet would be timely and appropriate as we welcome the opening of new businesses. The trend of culture and cuisine is sprouting as a niche in the hamlet. I am pleased to see the growth while preserving the quaintness of the hamlet and not requiring municipal infrastructure to support the economic growth. The proximity of Nelson Farms offers potential incentives to small business if relate to SUNY curriculums. The triad of culture, cuisine and curriculum as a hamlet theme is enticing.

The town needs to identify and inventory, with more detail, its equipment and the most pressing projects. Cost estimates need to be obtained and the funding resources need to be explored, obtained and allocated. We are fortunate the current interest rates are historically low. This offers the opportunity to have convenient and sensible financing available to implement equipment replacement. A strategic replacement plan needs to be established and adhered to so we are not faced with replacing so many pieces at one time in the future. In addition the value of the trade-in will increase with inflation reducing the cost of replacing newer, well-maintained equipment. Once the equipment budget is established future tax impacts can be minimized with an improved fleet through predictable capital expenditures, reduced maintenance costs, less down time and reduced man-hours during peak periods, and by adjusting borrowing terms to manage short-term debt load. Also utilize resources from State funding, grants, and bonds for public work projects.

Why should people vote for you?

I believe I can make a difference by complementing the board with a unique skill set and balancing of idealities.

I strongly support: The restoring and preserving our infrastructure of roads, and town resources. The preservation of our rural environment and natural resources. The values and freedom for free enterprise, farming and agriculture, individual rights protected by the Constitution, and smaller government.

Other comments?

I enjoyed the petition signing process. Running on different party lines offered a wider exposure to folks this time. It offered a chance to meet with old friends and make new acquaintances. It also brings you face to face with the residents in their home where they are not afraid to express their concerns or opinions. I listened and learned from the experience and shared the concerns with the board members. Collecting signatures takes you on many roads you don’t travel every day, giving me a better perspective of our infrastructure.