I first met Kristen when my family moved across the street from the Browns farm over ten years ago. While doing construction on my home, I got a bulldozer stuck in the mud. With no way to get it out, I knocked on the Browns’ door for help and they immediately came to my rescue with their heavy farm equipment. When I offered money for their help, the Browns said no and that one day, a favor would be asked of me. In 2016 when my family purchased a nearby farm, I once again asked the Browns for their help. Being first-generation farmers, we needed advice on how to bring the land back to growing conditions. They lent me their disc and helped set up the corn planter for pumpkin seeds. A small reminder that the world was not totally indulged in selfishness and good people / neighbors still existed.

Fast forward a few years when Kristen decides to run for town council thinking she could make a difference as a public servant. Beating the other candidate, who was a lifer on the council, she proved that people were looking for change. In her first term, change is what we got, she is vocal, thorough, challenging and critical. She has met many challenges from the public and took her own time to address them outside the board room by assisting in many ways while raising two children and managing a working farm.

The people of this town have made it very clear how they feel about warehouses, but it is very difficult to reject a landowner’s right to use their land for what it is zoned for. Kristen found an alternative, the “Agritourism Law.” This law allows farmers to expand their small businesses from selling crops wholesale to selling direct to the consumer. For example, you pick apples, pumpkins, Agritainment, breweries and social events, to name a few. This law allows farms to create additional revenue to help sustain rising taxes. This combination helps stop the sale of land to developers looking for large tracts to build on. She met plenty of opposition from various town officials who tried to discourage the law but never gave up, fought, and succeeded in its passing. Land is our most valuable asset and she is the only public servant challenging the problem with alternative solutions.

A few other “boots on the ground” tasks that Kristen volunteers her time are, The Colden ruins project, the Benedict farm re-uses, assisted in interviewing professional services for the town garage build, visited local PD’s to get ideas for our upcoming new PD build, talks for a new combined town and village sewer treatment plant, frequently visits large construction sites with the town inspector to ensure compliance, especially to neighboring properties and frequently visits the town hall to ensure departments are functioning properly. Lastly, her phone is always on for discussion.

Kristen is not scared to listen and fight for residents’ goals in lieu of the town’s agenda to create an industrial town. It is not just a red or blue thing, she is the roots to our town and the voice of the people. The old regime set this town up for what it is today and moving forward there is only one hope, Kristen Brown and we need more of her.