CAZENOVIA — On Oct. 25, the Cazenovia League of Women Voters sponsored a forum at the Cazenovia Public Library for the candidates running for the position of Cazenovia Town Councilor in the Nov. 7 Madison County General Election.
The Cazenovia Town Board is the executive head of the town and consists of a supervisor and four councilpersons.
Two council seats are up for election. The candidates are Mark Braiman (Libertarian), Sheila Fallon (Republican), and incumbent Town Councilor Jimmy Golub (Democratic and Strong Community).
During the forum, the candidates had the opportunity to introduce themselves and respond to written questions submitted by audience members. The order in which the candidates responded to the questions rotated.
Biographies
Braiman
Braiman grew up outside of Rochester and has resided on East Lake Road in Cazenovia since 2001 with his husband, Alan Stillman, and their son, Dusten Blake, a 2009 Cazenovia High School graduate whom they fostered and adopted starting in 2003.
He is a professor emeritus in the chemistry department at Syracuse University and was an assistant and associate professor at the University of Virginia from 1988 to 1998. Throughout his career, his teaching and research have focused on solar energy storage in natural systems and artificial photosynthesis.
Braiman is active in the Cazenovia Rotary and the Society for New Music’s Cazenovia Counterpoint festival.
Fallon
Fallon was raised in Cazenovia and has lived in town most of her life.
She is a graduate of Cazenovia High School, Le Moyne College, and Syracuse University College of Law. She worked as an assistant district attorney in the Madison County District Attorney’s Office before going into private practice representing injured workers in workers’ compensation cases.
Golub
Golub, who grew up in the suburbs of New York City, has resided in Cazenovia for the past 40 years.
He lives with his wife, Janine, and has two daughters who both went through the Cazenovia school system.
Golub studied agriculture at SUNY Cobleskill, worked in the dairy industry for over three decades, and now owns and operates Our Farm, a pumpkin and sweet corn farm on Peth Road.
In his role as town councilor, Golub has served as liaison to the Anti-Racism Coalition of Cazenovia, the United Climate Action Network, and the Cazenovia Lake Association (CLA).
Opening statements
Golub
During his remarks, Golub highlighted the unique perspective he brings to the town board as a farmer.
“Having a farmer at the table for town decisions is useful,” he said. “Not because farmers represent a large voting block; they don’t. But farmers occupy large amounts of land area in this town, and we as a community all benefit in many ways by keeping farms viable. I’m sure members of our current board understand this, but having a living, breathing farmer on the board as we confront issues that affect farms is useful. Farmers have a bulldog mentality that helps us get things done. I believe this quality is useful in government.”
Golub also said he views Cazenovia Lake as a top priority. He specifically emphasized the importance of preventing the introduction of the invasive aquatic species Hydrilla, which he described as more virulent and difficult to control than Eurasian watermilfoil.
Golub concluded by stating that he hopes to be reelected not only to continue to offer a farmer’s perspective and advocate for the lake but also to see a town solar project that he championed come to fruition.
Fallon
Fallon said she is running for office because she loves Cazenovia and wants to see it continue to thrive.
She added that she believes her career in law would be valuable on the town board.
“As an attorney, it boils down to problem-solving,” she said. “We look at the question or issue our client has, we examine the facts and the evidence, consult expert opinions, and then come to a prudent decision, which results in advice to our clients. I think that’s . . . exactly what [town councilors] do, and that’s why I think I would be a good fit for this.”
She concluded by stating that she is honest, hard-working, and takes her obligations and duties very seriously.
“If I were elected, I would be privileged and honored to represent the people of Cazenovia,” she said.
Braiman
During his introduction, Braiman described the factors that drew him to the Libertarian Party in 2016.
At different times since joining the party, he has served as chair and treasurer of the Madison County Libertarian Party, secretary of the Libertarian Party of New York, and a member of the Libertarian Party National Platform Committee.
Braiman said that although he does not identify as a “doctrinaire libertarian,” he was very concerned to learn about the passage of a New York State law last spring that will ban natural gas and other fossil-fuel hookups in most new buildings. The law effectively requires all-electric heating and cooking in new buildings shorter than seven stories by 2026 and in taller buildings by 2029.
Braiman directed attendees to his website, markbraiman.com, for more information on the “deleterious effect” he believes the ban will have on the Cazenovia community.
Cazenovia Lake
Braiman
Braiman, who lives on the lake and regularly swims, sails, and windsurfs from his dock, commended the town and CLA for their work controlling the weeds and stated that he has noticed a significant reduction in the amount of milfoil over the past decade.
He noted that he is aware the town is limited in the measures it can take due to environmental regulations surrounding chemical use.
“The most important thing is to get the residents around the lake to maintain their septic systems to reduce the amount of nitrogenous and phosphorus fertilizer that gets into the lake,” Braiman said.
Fallon
Fallon agreed that the town has done a great job treating the lake for milfoil.
She advocated for the continued use of the herbicide ProcellaCOR and suggested increasing the use of the weed harvester during the final year between treatments when the weeds are more prevalent.
Golub
According to Golub, the biggest challenge going forward will be keeping Hydrilla out of the lake.
“If it should ever get into our lake, it would be like dropping a bomb in the lake,” he said. “It really would be horrible.”
To reduce the possibility of introducing the weed, Golub proposed adding a washing station for boats that have been on other bodies of water, improving inspections, and adopting a law that requires every boat to be inspected before being launched into the lake. The town, village, and CLA are currently exploring all those steps.
Cazenovia town offices
Fallon
Fallon shared her view that although the Gothic Cottage is a beautiful building that should be restored, it is not the most practical space for public meetings or the town offices.
“When you go to a meeting there, it’s very uncomfortable, you don’t feel part of the meeting, and it’s hard to hear, even in the first room,” she said. “Then I got a tour of it, and it’s really sort of a mess and needs so much work.”
In terms of options for moving, Fallon said she assumes it would be less expensive to move into an existing building than to construct something new.
She concluded by stating that although she thinks relocating the town offices might be the most practical plan, she would also be open to other options depending on the research conducted and the facts collected.
Golub
Golub spoke in favor of adaptive reuse, the repurposing of buildings that have outlived their original purpose.
He said he believes the Gothic Cottage could be adapted and renovated to better meet the needs of the town, just like the Cazenovia Public Library has been.
He noted that the architectural firm Holmes, King, Kallquist & Associates prepared a plan for the town that calls for the construction of an addition to the Gothic Cottage to serve as a new public meeting space.
Golub also pointed out that the town board voted to move the town offices by a count of three to two.
“The configuration of the board is going to change,” he said. “We are going to have one or two new members on the board. If that [vote] should remain three to two in favor of leaving, then I’m not going to have a tantrum and go home and try to get in the way. I will work very hard to make that happen and to do it in a logical way.”
Braiman
Braiman said that when he heard Cazenovia College’s south campus might be available to house the town offices, he thought it was a great idea.
He added that he thinks the biggest issue with the Gothic Cottage is its limited amount of parking.
“If we are really interested in having more participation at those meetings, we have to find a way to get more parking,” he said. “That’s the biggest advantage of going to a completely different location. . . . I think that the south campus building — if the parking problem can be solved — is a really good solution. It’s a nice location that’s easily accessible using the main roads of the town.”
Additionally, Braiman suggested that the Gothic Cottage could be repurposed into an archival location/museum.
Renewable energy
Golub
Golub remarked that he has had 10-kilowatt solar system at his farm for over a decade, and he has been working for eight years on a plan to install a large solar array behind the town highway garage that would produce enough electricity to take care of all the energy needs of the town and potentially 100 to 200 homes.
“It’s a long process, but we have cleared some of the hurdles, and I’m really hoping that we can get to the finish line,” he said.
Golub said he was also part of a subcommittee that developed a local law to amend the town code with respect to its solar regulations.
Braiman
Braiman expressed his opinion that the state’s natural gas ban could make Cazenovia an unsustainable community.
According to Braiman, the optimal location for solar systems is residential roofs.
“It’s well matched to summertime air conditioning or heat pumps used for air conditioning during the summer,” Braiman said. “It’s not well matched for providing energy for heating homes in winter. Those heat pumps in the winter will always need backup. I think that in the next two years until the gas ban takes effect, we should approve and build as many homes in this town as we can that have both rooftop solar and heat pumps and backup natural gas, so people don’t resort to using wood stoves as their backup in the winter.”
He also said he thinks the town board should petition the state legislature to allow for “opt-outs” from the ban for local municipalities.
Fallon
Fallon stated that when considering a renewable energy project, she would ask whether it is economically feasible, its impact on the town and its residents, how difficult it would be to get repairs done, and what would happen to the infrastructure once the project reached its end of life.
She added that she is bothered by the idea that local governments essentially have no say over whether large-scale renewable energy projects over a certain size are developed in their towns.
Greatest challenges
Fallon
Fallon considers the greatest challenge to be determining the most economically feasible and viable long-term use for the Cazenovia College campus. She also listed affordable housing as a challenge.
Golub
Golub agreed with Fallon that although the campus is not within the jurisdiction of the town, the future of the properties is a significant issue because it will affect the entire Cazenovia community. He commented that although there are a lot of smart people developing great ideas, a lot will depend on the decisions of the bondholders.
Golub also listed preventing the introduction of Hydrilla and energy concerns as priority issues.
Braiman
Braiman focused his comments on the challenges surrounding the loss of Cazenovia College and proposed taking advantage of the existing facilities to create a multilingual academy for immigrant students.
Additional audience questions centered on the preservation of the town’s historic architecture and cultural resources, zoning regulations related to agritourism, youth engagement, and the town tax rate, which all three candidates acknowledged as being among the lowest — if not the lowest — in the county.
The Madison County General Election will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
In Cazenovia, the office of town supervisor is also up for election. Town Councilor Kyle Reger (Republican) is running for the position unopposed.
The town supervisor and town councilors serve four-year terms.
For information on how to vote, visit madisoncounty.ny.gov/1547/Board-of-Elections.
The Cazenovia Town Board typically meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Gothic Cottage at 7 Albany St. Visit towncazenovia.digitaltowpath.org for more information.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Learn more at lwv.org.
