submitted by Denise Jacon Church
A Meet the Candidates event was held in Petersburgh on Thursday, October 6. Candidates for elected positions in the Town of Petersburgh were present as well as two special guests: Zephyr Teachout, United States Congressional candidate, and Shaun Francis, New York State Senate candidate.[private]
The candidates for Town positions include Alan Webster (D) who is running for Petersburgh Town Supervisor and was nominated by both the Petersburgh Democrats and Republicans at their respective caucuses. Also present were Dan McCumber (D) and Amy Schaaphok (R), both candidates for the Petersburgh Town Council.
Alan told the audience that, with the ongoing PFOA water crisis and other more routine issues, consistent leadership of the Town is important at this time. He pointed out the importance of stability and the need for an immediate clean water source before any next steps can be taken, which may or may not include a water district expansion. “Fixing what we currently have should be our focus before we can determine where to go from there,” he said. He also mentioned the ongoing infrastructure improvements of our municipal water district and negotiations with Taconic to ensure clean water for everyone in Petersburgh. He also talked about upgrading highway equipment and having a long term plan for replacement of trucks and equipment.
Dan McCumber told the audience of his many years of experience as an elected official in Petersburgh and more recently his involvement with the C8 Citizens group.
Amy Schaaphok mentioned her four young children and the importance of maintaining Petersburgh as a pleasant and safe place for a family to live. She said she has worked at the Harley Davidson dealership in Brunswick for 15 years. She said she wanted to contribute to the community, so running for office seemed a good way to do that. She also said she would like to bring a young person’s perspective to the Town Board.
Shaun Francis, who earlier in the evening attended an event in Hoosick Falls with Zephyr Teachout about contaminated drinking water, arrived around 7:30. Francis is the Democratic candidate for the New York State Senate, running against Kathy Marchione in the 43rd district. He lives in Wilton, NY and was a Union representative for baseball umpires. Shaun spoke of his commitment to advocate for the people of Petersburgh and Hoosick Falls concerning the PFOA cleanup and health concerns, and criticized his opponent for being slow to do that. He said he will push to regulate PFOA. More information about Francis plans for campaign finance reform, attacking political corruption, reducing property taxes and revitalizing small cities and towns, can be found at his website at http://www.shaun-francis.com.
Zephyr Teachout, arrived after finally breaking away from the media in Hoosick Falls. She spoke about her unusual name and how she was raised in Vermont and now lives with her husband in Clinton, New York. She is the Democratic candidate for the 19th congressional district, a seat vacated by Chris Gibson who decided not to run for another term. Teachout said she considers Washington to be broken and described how she has worked against corruption of the political system and fought for campaign finance reform over many years and will continue to do so. She said she is proud that many small donors are the basis of her campaign’s funding – the average contribution to her campaign is $19. Teachout talked about big corporations paying their fair share of taxes so that small municipal governments have access to increased funds to run their towns and cities more effectively and efficiently and keep property taxes low. Zephyr told the audience that she is opposed to fracking and wants big corporations to clean up sites they polluted, including the Hudson River. She mentioned her special focus on education, her opposition to Common Core and high stakes testing, and her desire to place more decisions into the hands of parents and teachers.
Teachout promised to protect our water against corporate polluters and to strengthen laws that prevent big corporations from poisoning our water supply in the future. She spoke about her efforts to make sure that the families affected by the water crisis in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh have access to health monitoring programs and other essential resources. More on Teachout’s views can be found at her website at http://www.zephyrteachoutforcongress.com/issues.[/private]