Acting Glenville Supervisor Robert Kirkham Jr. appears likely to run unopposed in the November election.
Kirkham has been serving as acting town supervisor since August. He was appointed to the role after the departure of longtime Glenville town supervisor Chris Koetzle.
Kirkham, a Republican, intends to seek a full term this fall. It remains to be seen if he will face a challenger on the ballot.
The Scotia-Glenville Democratic Committee has endorsed candidates for town board, but has not put forward a candidate for the full-time supervisor position.
Michael Aragosa, a Glenville town board member and chair of the Democratic committee, says a potential candidate backed out at the end of January.
“We had a candidate that we thought was going to run, who at the last minute backed down, backed out. So, it became very difficult to find a new one in the short time,” he said.
Aragosa did not disclose the name of the potential candidate. He says he would have run himself, but is now running for Schenectady County Legislature.
Aragosa says even if the committee selected a candidate in the next few days, there would not be enough time collect and file enough petition signatures for a June primary — due at the end of the month.
Koetzle, who left his supervisor position to become Executive Director of the New York Association of Towns, served until August, which avoided triggering a special election last year.
Kirkham, who served as Koetzle's deputy supervisor, says the way the handoff went was beneficial.
“For those who really were opposed to that whole transition period, I will say that I think it was extremely vital. I think it was a vital time period that we had that really enabled us to get things running in a proper direction,” he said.
Kirkham says fiscal responsibility is his main priority.
“But also, certainly identifying areas where we can expand, where development can happen and I mean sound responsible development, identifying areas where it makes sense to expand corridors,” he said.
Also running with GOP support are Stacie Agostino and Schenectady County Community College professor Kristen Holub. Agostino and Holub are running for town board as registered Conservatives.
Agostino, who has lived in Glenville since 2016, previously ran unsuccessfully for county legislature in 2023.
"It was a very good experience; I feel like I learned a lot about my community,” she said.
Agostino cites 17 years in Republican politics, with stints working for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, former New York state Senator Betty Little and state Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh.
Agostino says she wants to bring the community closer together and cites the Glenville Oktoberfest, an annual celebration that has grown since its inaugural event in 2010, as a great example.
“There are a lot of really great people that put a lot of time and effort into that. And that draws a lot of people from outside the community but it is something that happens in Glenville and that is something that the residents of Glenville can be proud of their community for,” she said.
Holub, a lifelong Glenville resident, says she wants to keep the town’s vital services up and running while keeping taxes low.
“We need to be responsible with our budget, we need to care for our employees. It's all a fine-tuned dance but I just want to keep that going. I want to keep investing in infrastructure. Keeping the quality-of-life services as they are. You know, our senior centers all the way down to youth programs, all of these things that make a difference,” she said.
Unlike Agostino, Holub does not have prior political experience.
“Most of my time is I’m home with my kids and I’m teaching online but I think I can carry over a lot of the skillset. Just from running a house and being creative and thinking outside the box. Economically speaking, like I said I teach a couple of classes online, but we’re mostly a one-income family. So, it does take some creativity and hard decisions,” she said.
Democrats have endorsed two candidates for the pair of open town board seats: schoolteacher Maurice “Bud” Watson and union electrician Brandin Cooke.
Watson is a former president of the Alplaus Residents Association. The elementary school teacher in Schenectady is running as a Conservative.
“The reason why I’m running is because I want to see things get done. I’ve never been one to back off a challenge but over these last two months I have learned more about politics than I wanted to know and I feel like there is a challenge here and the challenge here is to get the town and the county to work together,” Watson said.
Cooke, who is running solely on the Democratic line, is a member of the IBEW Local 236 union's Events Committee.
“My primary goal is to make Glenville a fantastic place to raise a family. My wife and I are raising a family in the area. We have two wonderful daughters and I’d like to plan to live here the rest of my life and I’d like Glenville to be a place that my kids are happy and proud to live for the rest of their lives too,” he said.
The primary is June 24th. The general election is in November.
