The Town of Crawford Democratic Committee has endorsed its candidates for the election on Nov. 2. Candace Scott and Lynda Rogers-Seeley will challenge incumbent Mike Menendez for two open seats on the town board. Dan Flanick was also up for re-election, however he chose not to run. Frank Demuth will challenge incumbent Constance Latimer for the role of tax collector. Town board members serve four-year terms while the tax collector serves a two-year term. The new terms will commence on Jan. 1, 2022.

Candace Scott
Scott is running for a seat on the town board, as she wants to provide representation for everyone.

“The Republican Party has had a stronghold in our community for over a decade,” she said. “I would just like to be able to represent everyone. It isn’t that I think necessarily anyone’s doing anything wrong, there’s just not a good diversity on the board.”

Scott added that she would like there to be more women on the board, as Kelly Eskew is currently the only councilwoman. She added that if elected, she would provide a younger person’s perspective since she is only 44.

If elected, Scott will help her community. She would make sure that residents are aware of programs in the community including ones that could save them money. Scott would also like to see more programs for the town’s youth and elderly. She hopes to start a program, which would connect the youth with members of the senior community. Seniors would teach children skills such as crocheting and baking.

“If you build a more tight-knit community, then you’re just stronger as well,” Scott said.

Scott is very involved in her community. She is a member of the Pine Bush Lions Club and serves as secretary of the Crawford Democratic Committee.

“I don’t ever do anything for accolades. I do it because I care,” Scott said. “I want my children to live in a wonderful, caring community and be productive members of society.”

She moved from Broome to Orange County for work in 2015. After initially living in Chester, Scott and her family moved to Crawford because they loved its small-town feel. It reminded Scott of the community she grew up in in Broome County.

Scott currently is a U.S. routing national analyst for Gordon Food Service. As a logistics specialist she does the routing schedule for chain restaurants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread in addition to schools and hospitals. She covers the entire east coast from Maine to Florida as well as Texas. Scott has spent most of her professional career working in leadership positions.

“I’m really good at organizing, delegating and leading,” she said.

Lynda Rogers-Seeley
Rogers-Seeley has lived in the Town of Crawford for 32 years and is running for a seat on the town board to keep the community the way it has always been. She is also running to become more involved in town.

If elected, Rogers-Seeley will work with people of all party affiliations to better the town. She has been involved in the Crawford community over the years, serving as a special education teacher at Pine Bush Elementary School and coached youth soccer. Rogers-Seeley has advocated for residents to sign the coterminous town/village petition so Crawford can maintain its current form of government.

Rogers-Seeley loves the Town of Crawford and wants to give back to her community.
“I love the beauty of the Town of Crawford and I like the people,” she said. “We have all different kinds of people in Crawford and I like the people who have been here forever, the newcomers and I kind of want to see that bridged.”

Frank Demuth

Demuth is running for tax collector because he wants to have his voice heard in Crawford.

As a former industrial engineer, he always managed data well. He believes this qualifies him to be tax collector, as it is a clerical position. If elected, Demuth will run the tax collector office and make sure everything is done correctly.

A Crawford resident since 1999, Demuth has grown fond of the town.

“I like the fact that it’s agricultural,” he said. “I’m not too crazy about urbanization.”