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Three run for 2 spots on Village Board
By Jamie Larson
VALATIE — The ballot for the hotly contested Valatie village election, to be held Wednesday, has three official trustee candidates vying for two open seats.
The only incumbent trustee running, Nancy Bryant, and newcomer Philip Bickerton are running on the Valatie Experience Party ticket alongside Mayor Gary Strevell, against Betty “Pinky” Laviano on the Truth in Government Party ticket. Laviano is running alongside mayoral candidate Francis McKearin, but they will not appear on the same line on the voting machine due to a paperwork discrepancy.
Nancy Bryant, 67, has lived in the same home in the village since she was 12 years old and has worked for the village since 1981 when she was hired as an office assistant to the clerk. In 1983 she became village clerk herself and served in that capacity until 2005 when then-Trustee Amy Frienberg-Trufas resigned with six months left on her term. Bryant was appointed to the open seat in the interim before running for her first full-term in 2006.
This is Bryant’s second time running on the Experience Party ticket and says if she is re-elected she would like to see a larger commitment by the village to repair its aging infrastructure. “Some of the roads aren’t in good shape, and we have the sewer to worry about,” she said, “but it all depends on what’s reasonable, you really have to take people into consideration with this economy, and make sure we can afford it.”
Bryant has four grown children who live in the area, as well as five grandchildren She is an Ichabod Crane High School alumni and worked for the state in taxation and finance before becoming employed by the village.
Pinky Laviano, 56, is running for trustee for the first time and says she wants to make village politics more transparent and open than she feels they have been under past leadership. She has said that the way the development of the Valatie Senior Center was handled was one of the main factors in her decision to run.
Laviano was born and raised in the village and raised her own two children there with her husband, Joe. Laviano has two granddaughters who live in the village with her daughter.
Laviano has worked with handicapped children through Rensselaer and Columbia County BOCES as a teacher’s and bus aid, and was also a teacher’s aid for a while at ICC, where she attended school herself. She also spends time volunteering in the village, as head of the youth committee for five years, and with a toy drive fundraiser for the Santa Clause club. She also volunteered to run the Valatie Senior Center, which she feels has been embarrassingly mismanaged since she was asked to resign after returning to the post from an illness.
“I’d really like to get the Senior Center up and running like it was suppose to,” she said, adding, “there needs to be more transparency on the board.”
Laviano said she feels Strevell and other board members have been operating the village in private and says if elected she will work to change that. She also says if elected she will focus on the village economy. “I want to help encourage development, and for people to shop local,” she said.
Philip Bickerton, 50, has not held public office but has been visible and active around Valatie for some time. Bickerton, who works as a contractor specializing in historic restoration, is seeking the seat being vacated by Joseph Nastke, who is not running for another term.
Like the other candidates, Bickerton went to school at Ichabod Crane, after which he attended Vassar Collage, graduating with a degree in history. Bickerton continues to spend time volunteering to rebuild the Valatie Community Theater, and said he will work to see that it is completed.
Bickerton was also hired by the village to be the project manager for the conversion of the old post office into the Valatie Senior Center, and says if elected he will make sure it will be used in its “fullest legal capacity.”
He is also concerned about the upkeep of village roads. “Another goal of mine will be to see that our streets and sidewalks are better maintained,” he said. “I am a daily pedestrian and I dislike the debris, which is on our public thoroughfare. It must be cleaned up on a regular schedule.”
Information on how to vote for write in candidates, including David Williams, who was denied official access to the ballot due to errors on his nominating petitions, can be found by calling Village Hall at 518-758-9806.
The election will be held Wednesday — March 18 — instead of the usual second Tuesday of the month, in observance of the state regulation that village elections can not take place on St. Patrick’s Day.
Profiles of the mayoral candidates will appear in the weekend addition of the Register-Star.
The only incumbent trustee running, Nancy Bryant, and newcomer Philip Bickerton are running on the Valatie Experience Party ticket alongside Mayor Gary Strevell, against Betty “Pinky” Laviano on the Truth in Government Party ticket. Laviano is running alongside mayoral candidate Francis McKearin, but they will not appear on the same line on the voting machine due to a paperwork discrepancy.
Nancy Bryant, 67, has lived in the same home in the village since she was 12 years old and has worked for the village since 1981 when she was hired as an office assistant to the clerk. In 1983 she became village clerk herself and served in that capacity until 2005 when then-Trustee Amy Frienberg-Trufas resigned with six months left on her term. Bryant was appointed to the open seat in the interim before running for her first full-term in 2006.
This is Bryant’s second time running on the Experience Party ticket and says if she is re-elected she would like to see a larger commitment by the village to repair its aging infrastructure. “Some of the roads aren’t in good shape, and we have the sewer to worry about,” she said, “but it all depends on what’s reasonable, you really have to take people into consideration with this economy, and make sure we can afford it.”
Bryant has four grown children who live in the area, as well as five grandchildren She is an Ichabod Crane High School alumni and worked for the state in taxation and finance before becoming employed by the village.
Pinky Laviano, 56, is running for trustee for the first time and says she wants to make village politics more transparent and open than she feels they have been under past leadership. She has said that the way the development of the Valatie Senior Center was handled was one of the main factors in her decision to run.
Laviano was born and raised in the village and raised her own two children there with her husband, Joe. Laviano has two granddaughters who live in the village with her daughter.
Laviano has worked with handicapped children through Rensselaer and Columbia County BOCES as a teacher’s and bus aid, and was also a teacher’s aid for a while at ICC, where she attended school herself. She also spends time volunteering in the village, as head of the youth committee for five years, and with a toy drive fundraiser for the Santa Clause club. She also volunteered to run the Valatie Senior Center, which she feels has been embarrassingly mismanaged since she was asked to resign after returning to the post from an illness.
“I’d really like to get the Senior Center up and running like it was suppose to,” she said, adding, “there needs to be more transparency on the board.”
Laviano said she feels Strevell and other board members have been operating the village in private and says if elected she will work to change that. She also says if elected she will focus on the village economy. “I want to help encourage development, and for people to shop local,” she said.
Philip Bickerton, 50, has not held public office but has been visible and active around Valatie for some time. Bickerton, who works as a contractor specializing in historic restoration, is seeking the seat being vacated by Joseph Nastke, who is not running for another term.
Like the other candidates, Bickerton went to school at Ichabod Crane, after which he attended Vassar Collage, graduating with a degree in history. Bickerton continues to spend time volunteering to rebuild the Valatie Community Theater, and said he will work to see that it is completed.
Bickerton was also hired by the village to be the project manager for the conversion of the old post office into the Valatie Senior Center, and says if elected he will make sure it will be used in its “fullest legal capacity.”
He is also concerned about the upkeep of village roads. “Another goal of mine will be to see that our streets and sidewalks are better maintained,” he said. “I am a daily pedestrian and I dislike the debris, which is on our public thoroughfare. It must be cleaned up on a regular schedule.”
Information on how to vote for write in candidates, including David Williams, who was denied official access to the ballot due to errors on his nominating petitions, can be found by calling Village Hall at 518-758-9806.
The election will be held Wednesday — March 18 — instead of the usual second Tuesday of the month, in observance of the state regulation that village elections can not take place on St. Patrick’s Day.
Profiles of the mayoral candidates will appear in the weekend addition of the Register-Star.
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