Montgomery council candidates to square off

By Laura Fitzgerald
Posted 6/19/19

The race for town council is heating up with six candidates for the two seats up for election. Dan Dempsey will retire when his term expires at the end of this year and Republican Mark Hoyt will run …

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Montgomery council candidates to square off

Posted

The race for town council is heating up with six candidates for the two seats up for election.


Dan Dempsey will retire when his term expires at the end of this year and Republican Mark Hoyt will run for re-election.


Hoyt, Dwight Warrington, and Ronald Feller are the Republican candidates; Susan Cockburn and Kristen Brown are the Democratic candidates; and Joe Keenan is running as an independent on the Conservative Party line.

Hoyt, Feller and Warrington will vie for the Republican party in the primary on June 25. Rodney Winchell and Brian Maher will also face off in the Republican primary for town supervisor.


Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., location to be determined by the Orange County Board of Elections. To find your polling place, visit the Orange County Board of Election's website.

Mark Hoyt

If re-elected, incumbent Hoyt (R) will focus on improving the town’s infrastructure and park system.


Hoyt said a major issue he will contribute to is maintenance of town buildings. The town needs to plan for the maintenance of its buildings, which have fallen into disrepair. A recent report from Anderson Design Group stated the town highway department garage is deteriorated and poses a serious safety risk to workers. Building 112, which is connected to the town hall, has been unused and vacant for years.


The board recently approved bids for a roof replacement on both town buildings and will plan to complete structural and façade repairs on the buildings simultaneously.


Hoyt said the town needs to prepare 15- or 20-year plans on how to maintain the buildings.


Another priority that Hoyt would focus on is the creation of a town parks department. Currently, the town has no parks and recreation department. Maintenance of the town’s parks fall to the highway department, while the town clerk’s office handles scheduling.


Hoyt served on the planning board from 1997 to 1999, according to the town clerk’s office. Hoyt also served on the town board from 2000 to 2007 and from 2012 to the present.


“I have the experience to understand the protocols and how things are done, or should be done,” Hoyt said.


He has worked under four supervisors: Al Valk, Susan Cockburn, Mike Hayes and Rodney Winchell. Hoyt said this has taught him how to work under different management styles and how to approach his job from different angles.


Hoyt started his own farming business in 1986 and has served on the USDA Orange County Farm Service Agency. He has lived in the Town of Montgomery for 57 years.


Hoyt is running on the Independence party line.

Joe Keenan

If elected, Joseph Keenan will promote smart development, open and honest government, fiscal responsibility, and will help update the master plan.


Keenan said the town should promote sustainable economic development that will create jobs but will also protect the town’s land and watersheds.


“We must consider smart business growth while being considerate to our neighbors and the environment,” Keenan said. “We need to safeguard that progress does not negatively impact our precious watershed areas and aquifers, ensuring our community has access to safe drinking water.”


Keenan said the town master plan needs to be reviewed and updated with community input.


He would also promote open and honest government and fiscal responsibility.


Keenan is currently chairman of the board of the fire commissioners of the Coldenham Fire District, but he has also served as president, lieutenant and captain.


He has had a 32-year military career with the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, where he held leadership positions such as the Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart.


He has also worked as a claims representative for the Social Security Administration, dealing with disability and retirement claims.


He served as chairman of the original Town of Montgomery Board of Ethics and currently serves on the resurrected ethics board.


Keenan said his experiences have taught him how to be a leader and how to work with people to implement and improve programs. It has also taught him some of the ins and outs of government, such as how to make budgets or how to work on multiple government levels.


“I have prepared budgets, analyzed data, made suggestions and implemented programs to improve existing processes and launched new ones across the spectrum of my professions,” Keenan said.


Keenan is running on the Conservative party line.

Dwight Warrington

If elected, Warrington (R) will maintain town assets, spend taxpayer money wisely, and promote accountability and transparency on the town board.


Warrington will focus on the maintenance of town buildings, which have fallen into disrepair, and plan for the future of those assets.


He will also help update the zoning code and master plan so the town can manage its development and preserve its farming heritage for the future.


“We have to manage the development of the town, but we also have to preserve some of the rural characteristics of the town,” Warrington said.


He would also ensure taxpayer money is spent wisely through responsible, accountable and transparent spending. He would hold the town board to a standard of efficiency and accountability.


“I’d like to see the town function efficiently in all of the areas that the town is responsible for taking care of and that the residents rely on the town to do,” Warrington said.


Warrington has been a town resident for more than 45 years. With 35 years of experience in building and construction, Warrington owns Camp Commercial Services, Inc. He said his construction experience will be an asset when making plans for the maintenance of town buildings.


“If you’re looking for someone that will find solutions and work on a common-sense level with a business background, I’m the person that can help make a difference,” Warrington said.


Warrington said his business experience has also taught him problem-solving skills, which can translate to the problems the town board must solve.


“When you’re in business you solve problems,” Warrington said. “You don’t just kick the problem down the road and hope it goes away or ignore it. You deal with it head on, so it doesn’t become a bigger problem.”

Ronald Feller

If elected, Feller (R) will build a parks and recreation program and promote fiscal responsibility.


As the former Parks and Recreation Director from 2015 to 2017, Feller said he would build a parks program again for the maintenance of town parks and creation of recreation programs.


Feller scheduled area teams, maintained sports fields, maintained the rail trail and helped build the pavilion at Benedict Farm Park during his time as director.


Feller said he would also like to create summer and youth recreation programs.


Another priority for Feller would be to control spending and keep taxes low in the face of growing development in the town.


“We have to have controlled spending for our taxpayers but we also have to realize that it’s an area of growth and it’s going to continue to be an area of growth, so we have to maintain that and do it in an efficient way,” Feller said.


As a retired 45-year resident, Feller said he would spend time at town hall and listen to employees’ and taxpayers’ concerns.


“I’d be there on a daily basis, showing my face, finding out the concerns of the people who work there,” Feller said.


Feller also served on the town board from 2008 to 2011 and served as deputy supervisor from 2011 to 2012.


Feller is a charter member of the Knights of Columbus, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Maybrook chapter, a current coach and past board member of the Montgomery Little League, and a distribution board member of the Community Foundation of Orange.


“My life has been centered around community service and the welfare of the Town of Montgomery,” Feller said. “I feel more can be done and I will work with all to help ensure that goal.”


Feller is running on the Conservative, and Independence party lines.

Town of Montgomery, town council, elections