Candidates For The County Legislature

by Bea Peterson
Republican Incumbent Stan Brownell
Stan Brownell has served in the Legislature for the past twelve years. He is a lifelong resident of the Town of Hoosick and has raised two children. He was a Town of Hoosick Board Member for five years. He served in both the Legislature and on the Town Board consecutively for two of the five years. He is currently employed with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority as a Facilities Manager. He is responsible for 300+ employees in seven locations meeting facilities needs.
Brownell’s vision for the future of the 5th Legislative District is “to continue to promote Towns and Villages so they can remain affordable to families and provide needed services for them.”
Brownell lists the important issues in the District and his plans to resolve, improve or change them. They are:
• “Taxes – one of the ways to decrease taxes is to help economic development broaden the tax base. This can be done by bringing in additional businesses and promoting shopping locally.
• Functionality of the 911 system – additional towers are going to be added in the Northern Region to address dead zones.
• Disaster Preparedness – in the future I would like to sit down with all five Town Supervisors and their Fire Chiefs to review each town’s disaster preparedness plan. Recognizing some towns are ahead of others, I will call upon them to help assist those that continue to prepare.”
Republican Incumbent Lester Goodermote
Lester Goodermote was born and raised and has spent his entire life in District 5, raising four children here. His education consists of Hudson Valley Community College and SUNY Albany. For 43 years he has been a self-employed accountant handling tax returns and filings for more than 2,200 clients annually. “Presently I am County Legislator, an office which I’ve held for the past four years. I previously held the office of Hoosick Town Justice from 1985 to 2000 as well as acting justice for the Village of Hoosick Falls,” said Goodermote.
“The issues that are most important to me are taxes, unnecessary County spending, protecting youth, seniors and veterans, supporting farm and agricultural business in Rensselaer County and strengthening sex offender laws as well as Buster’s Law.”
“Using my accounting and business experience, I plan to hold State and Federal unfunded and under-funded mandates down to reduce the cost of County government while still providing necessary services for the residents of District 5 and maintaining easy access and responsive service to my constituents.”
Democratic Candidate Sue Putnam
Sue Putnam is a lifelong resident of Grafton. She is the widow of Kent Putnam. Putnam is a 1964 Berlin Central graduate. She was employed as a clerk/office manager for 10 years and has held the office of Town Clerk of Grafton for 24 years. Since 1990 she has been full time Town Secretary. “My knowledge of town budgeting processes will give me the needed experience to be an important part of the fiscal management team for the County,” said Putnam.
“My vision for Rensselaer County includes preserving the integrity of both urban and rural areas. The County needs to continue to provide quality services to make Rensselaer County a wonderful place to live while creating jobs and making this a friendly County where businesses can thrive. With careful planning, I believe we can continue to see growth in Rensselaer County while providing a safe and caring community for our aging population.”
“I believe the most important issues facing Rensselaer County are controlling increasing property and school taxes and maintenance of our roads and bridges. To resolve some of these important issues we need to look at new ways to maximize the use of our limited resources.  We need to allocate resources to exploring the possibilities of expanding shared services within the County as well as with surrounding Counties.”
“Rensselaer County has a strong heritage of use of hydroelectric power and there should be serious research into generation of energy needs from alternative, renewable energy sources.  The County needs to continue to promote recycling and use of products that reduce the waste stream. Citizens need to have an easy way to report problems they see to the proper Departments so they can be addressed quickly. I think that accessibility of County officials to all of our residents, along with open government, is necessary so we can all work together to find the best solutions to the problems we face today and create viable communities for the future.
Democratic Candidate Bob Melesky
Bob Melesky has been a resident of Rensselaer County for over 50 years. He has lived in Eagle Bridge for 10 years. Melesky graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in Hoosick Falls in 1967. He earned an academic scholarship to Villanova University and graduated in 1971 with an AB Degree in Humanities, with a concentration in History. He has been an Independent Insurance agent for over 30 years and currently owns and operates McNally’s Insurance in Eagle Bridge. He has served on the St. Mary’s Academy School Board for five years. He is Treasurer of the St. Stanislaw Society in Hoosick Falls. He is a former President and member of the Board of Directors of the Hoosick Falls Kiwanis Club. He served on the Immaculate Conception Parish Council for 15 years.
Melesky’s visions for the future are to “maintain the peaceful beauty of Rensselaer County, provide a safe place for families to grow and prosper and to offer more community-based services for senior citizens and veterans.”
Important issues said Melesky are “Preventing the loss of businesses and jobs in the County. “I would like to see transparency in the entire County budget process and less politics and a more balanced focus on the public’s interests in the legislature. I will be available to the citizens of District 5 and responsive to their concerns. I will explore expanded coordination of services among the Towns to save tax dollars and avoid tax increases. I will explore State and Federal grants to strengthen the infrastructure in the Towns of the 5th District.”