TOWN OF VAN BUREN – There are two races in the town of Van Buren – for supervisor and councilor. The races are both to fill a vacancy on the board. Below are candidates’ responses to a questionnaire sent by the Messenger.
Van Buren Town Supervisor
Jill Hayes (Democrat)
1. Why are you the ideal candidate?
For over 40 years, I have worked in healthcare in private practice, acute care and in the community as a registered dietitian nutritionist addressing individual and population nutrition needs and concerns in disease prevention and management. In addition to my work in healthcare my education and focus is in public health management and policies that impact the safety and wellbeing of individuals who live in the community such as safe, affordable and accessible housing, transportation, education, goods and services that meet individual and population needs. As a candidate for supervisor, I will support the Van Buren Town Board initiatives as well as focus on the safety and wellbeing of individuals and populations in the town as it continues to grow as a wonderful and diverse community.
2. Why are you running?
I am running as a candidate for supervisor to continue my work and engage on addressing and meeting personal and population needs of the town of Van Buren community.
3. What are the most important issues the community is facing and what would you do about them?
Among the important issues the community is facing include concerns with increasing traffic flow, speed and safety particularly in areas with multiple businesses and intersections. In addition, for many individuals, safe and affordable housing continue to be a challenge. The town may have to monitor and implement more safety measures such as fixing or replacing deteriorating pipes to meet future state requirements. Finally, access to more local and affordable healthcare in the community could be a community asset.
Wendy Van Der Water (Republican)
1. Why are you the ideal candidate?
I have served on the town board for over nine years, currently in my third term. While serving on the town board, I have served on the Personnel Committee, Parks and Buildings Committee, Highway Committee and the board of directors for Canton Woods Senior Center. My municipal experience provides me valuable experience and knowledge to serve the residents of Van Buren as supervisor, including working on the town’s budget nine times. Additionally, my background as a paralegal and real estate manager provides me with experience in areas such as contract law, real estate law and managing staff, all of which I can put to use on behalf of our residents. Lastly, I understand the importance of staying within a budget.
2. Why are you running?
I really enjoy being supervisor and would like to continue. I care what happens to our community; I care about keeping Van Buren a community that people enjoy living in and raising their family in. I want to make sure our residents have a say in what happens to their community.
3. What are the most important issues and what would you do about them?
Luckily, I believe the town of Van Buren is in a great state. We have a lovely small-town community and my goal is to keep the integrity of that feel. We are in the process of updating our Comprehensive Land Use Plan which will provide guidance for our future. I offer an invitation to the public to share their thoughts on this or even be part of the committee doing this work. Another important issue for me is to do what we can to keep taxes as low as possible for our residents, while not reducing services necessary for the town.
Van Buren Town Councilor
Michael Burke (Republican)
1. Why are you the ideal candidate?
I’m a life-long resident of our town. I grew up attending our schools and graduated from C.W.Baker High School – Class of 1976. I’m a member of St Augustine’s Church. I’ve owned a home in the village, in the town of Van Buren for 35 years, and I raised my family here. I have an associate’s degree in IT management, with multiple professional certifications. I was employed in the information technology field for over 30 years, and just retired last year after 21 years as a network admin from Saab Defense and Security in Dewitt. I’m currently serving as a councilor on the Van Buren Town Board.
2. Why are you running?
I joined the Van Buren Republican Committee four years ago, because I wanted a better understanding of our government and how it works, and to get more involved with our community.
As a committee member, I’ve been helping other local and regional candidates with their elections … meetings, fundraisers, collecting signatures, campaign events … all the usual committee stuff. This year offered an opportunity for me to take the next step … one of our town board members retired. Having just retired myself, I had the time to give. I love my town and our community, and it offered a chance to give back and to be more involved. I gave notice that I was interested in the position.
For the next few months, I attended the Town Board meetings and work sessions to see how the sausage was made. Earlier this year I was appointed and sworn in as VanBuren’s newest board member. I’ve enjoyed the experience so far, and feel I’m working with an awesome team. I would like continue serving in my position as Town Councilor to help Van Buren be a great place to live, work and raise families.
3. What are the most important issues and what would you do about them?
As a Board Member, one of the most important issues we always face is keeping our taxes as low as possible. Just as all of us face the sticker shock of price increases at the grocery store, buying gasoline and paying rent, our town is also facing increased costs. The Town Board is always looking for ways to manage these costs and keep our taxes low.
The next few years will bring a lot of changes to our town, and Micron is the big elephant in the room. It will bring incredible job opportunities and the availability of specialized education to support their high-tech job requirements.
This will accelerate the push on Van Buren for increased housing density, additional schools, alternative fuels and transportation, infrastructure upgrades and much more. We will need to manage this in ways that helps us realize all the opportunities presented, and to meet those growth challenges. All the while trying to keep the things that make living in Van Buren special to all of us.
Conner Pringle (Democrat)
1. Why are you the ideal candidate?
While it may not be an accomplishment, I am proud to have lived in this town for my entire life, and actively engage with its businesses, residents and facilities on a regular basis. I care deeply for this community, and understand that radical change isn’t necessary here. We can add to the functionality of our town without changing what people love about it.
2. Why are you running?
I am running for this position because I believe that healthy competition in political races is essential for success. Competition in elections keeps officials transparent, and requires them to prove that they are working effectively for their community each election cycle in order to hold their position. When officials are able to continually run uncontested, it opens the door for complacency, and stagnation. New competition will help to keep all candidates on their toes, encourage them to continually work to improve our town and engage with voters, and bring fresh ideas to the table. While I believe our town is an excellent place to live, and while I have the utmost respect for our current team of councilors, I still believe that it is important for our community that nobody run uncontested.
3. What are the most important issues and what would you do about them?
Our town is facing some growing pains. After speaking with many of the residents of our community, a common theme is the fear that a new development may go up and may make our little town feel less peaceful and more busy. It’s important that we address these valid concerns and ensure that future projects keep both future residents, as well as current residents, in mind.
Ease of access to information is another big one for me. I think we have a great town with great amenities, activities and seasonal events. I would like to implement more options for residents to stay informed of local upcoming events, news and projects. People are busier than ever these days, and don’t always have the time or energy to regularly seek out the information that is important to them. We have the means and technology to ensure that people are able to remain conveniently informed, and I feel that it’s important that we make the most of that.
