Written by Nina Schutzman Poughkeepsie Journal For more check out the papers website or subscribe to it as I do.
FISHKILL — Timothy Tuttle will take a seat on the Town of Fishkill's Town Board, making him the only Democrat on the all Republican and Conservative board in years.
Tuttle beat Conservative opponent Thomas Knips, with the 18 districts reporting Tuttle's 3,959 votes to Knips' 3,660 votes.
The Democratic, Working Families and Independent Parties backed Tuttle, 33, an associate lawyer with Lynch Schwhab, PLLC.
This year, the seat pays $8,000 annually.
Knips, 55, was appointed to the seat in March; it had been vacant since the late Steve Ferguson retired last year. Knips, an IBM senior engineer and former planning board member, was backed by the Republican and Conservative parties.
"I'm the third generation of Tuttles to be elected to office," said Tuttle, who waited for the results with family members. "My dad is thrilled."
Both Tuttle and Knips wanted to concentrate on the deficit that Fishkill is facing, but Tuttle said that Fishkill’s Town Board needs more balance before any financial fairness can be restored.
“Half of the town’s views are unrepresented on the (all Republican) town board,” Tuttle said. “It’s undemocratic. Democrats and Republicans would have different views of finances, how we should handle things.”
Voter Joyce Mueller Banner agrees with him.
"I feel like (Town Supervisor) Bob LaColla brought his people in with him and we need more balance," she said.
Tuttle also said he wants more transparency.
“Before taxes are raised, there should be an independent forensic audit," he said. "The first issue I work on will be the budget problem."
Knips said there's already more transparency in the local government than ever before.
"I think people are very happy with the level of openness we have achieved so far," Knips said. "We have information on our website, our meetings are televised and I think residents are relishing that."
Tuttle said he expects to meet some opposition once on the board, but Knips said he'll be happy to give Tuttle advice in the future if he needs it.
"I gave him a call and congratulated him," Knips said. "I've had a fairly lengthy involvement with the planning board so any expertise I can offer I will."
Election workers like Lisa Tarricone at the Town Hall in the Town of Fishkill said that voter turnout was steady but they weren't sure if it was because of the local race or the presidential election.
"There's a lot of first-time voters, it's such a sensational election," said Tarricone. "There were 20 or 25 people lined up here before we even opened this morning."
No comments:
Post a Comment