Callicoon Dems slate set

Election: Referendum on solar?

By FRITZ MAYER

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Of the many local political races that will be run in November, some of the most watched may well be the ones in the Town of Callicoon. The town of farms, hamlets and forests received a lot of publicity over the battle between supervisor Linda Babicz and the town board to bring solar installations to the town barn and town hall.

Ultimately, the Republican majority on the board voted to turn down hundreds of thousands of dollars in state grants and incentives to pay for the installations and rejected the project. Some alternative energy activists in the region are describing the upcoming contest as a referendum on solar technology.

At the Callicoon Democratic caucus on June 17, no one mentioned the incident directly, but Cindy Geiger, who is seeking a seat on the town board, was a reminder. In accepting the nomination, she said, “My husband and I own a dairy farm just up the road. We just installed a photovoltaic solar system on the farm. I’ve lived here for 24 years, I have four kids and I love this town,” which brought a round of applause from the 50 assembled Democrats.

She added, however, that she was not running to promote her own agenda, but instead, “I will seek cooperation with all town board members to find the best solutions for all the residents of Callicoon.”

Babicz also did not mention the solar battle nor the other differences she had with the Republican majority, such as the creation of the position of assistant code enforcement officer after the last election, which the board filled with the ousted supervisor, Gregg Semenetz. Babicz said, “I’m seeking re-election to continue to make the town’s government inclusive, transparent, responsive to all residents and moving toward a sustainable future.”

All of the candidates were approved by voice vote and none was opposed.

The Callicoon Republicans have not yet announced their candidates for the election, nor set a date for their caucus, but they have until September 22 to hold a caucus.

The race in Bethel

Committees that do not choose their candidates by caucus instead choose them by petition. In that case, the party’s nominees must gather a set number of signatures based on a percentage of the number of voters in the previous election. If there are more nominees than positions available, the candidates are chosen in the primary election, which this year will be held September 15.

Before this year, the Democratic committee in Bethel chose their candidates via caucus, but have now switched to the petition method.

This comes in the wake of the last caucus in July 2008 when supporters of candidate Denise Frangipane came out in large numbers to the caucus and defeated Ted Yeomans, the choice of the committee. Frangipane went on to defeat Yeomans, who ran on the Let’s Keep Ted line, in the special election in November 2008 to fill Dan Sturm’s seat, which he had vacated because of his election as supervisor.

The Democratic committee is backing Frangipane, who must run again this year. Nevertheless, the committee switched from a caucus system to a petition system. Perhaps because of this, newcomers are challenging the committee members in an election that will be held on primary day. In most years, there are no challenges to Bethel committee members.

Among Democrats running this year is Benji Friehling, who is aiming for a seat on the council.

The Bethel Republicans are also using the petition method, and held their meetings in early May. Richard Crumley will be running to retain his seat on the council, and Harold Russell, the former supervisor who was defeated last time, will once again face Democrat Dan Sturm in November.