Kinderhook supervisor

Published:

Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:13 AM EDT

Incumbent Doug McGivney, a Democrat, is being challenged for the town of Kinderhook supervisor seat by Republican Patrick Grattan.

We are pleased to note that (thus far) there is none of the nastiness that dominated the last election cycle. This way, voters can focus on the issues, not the clash of personalities. We hope that this continues.

There is no question that both of these candidates have extensive experience. McGivney has been the supervisor of Kinderhook since 2000 and has accomplished much in that time. He lists the creation of Volunteers’ Park and the Dorothy Ostrowski Senior Center as some of his proudest accomplishments.

Grattan is a former mayor of the village of Valatie, serving in that capacity from 1991-1997. Two of his accomplishments during his tenure was the establishment of the Valatie Medical Arts building and the creation of Valatie Woods, a senior housing complex.

Of course, both candidates would like to see taxes kept down. Grattan sees doing this through shared services and McGivney would have monthly or quarterly sessions to examine the budget monthly in order to make adjustments to expenses when revenue comes up short.

On the county level, Grattan sees the Ockawamick purchase as a bad plan and McGivney was one of its biggest champions. Also, Grattan disagreed with the way the situation itself was handled, with city of Hudson officials being left out of the process.

“Time for a change” is often bandied about every election season. We feel that this actually holds water in this case. The townspeople of Kinderhook deserve a leader who will not hop on board any issue without carefully considering the impact their vote will have not only on their town, but the county as a whole. We believe Grattan can bring a fresh perspective and a critical eye to whatever topic comes before him. A town deserves a leader who will take the time to carefully look at all the different facets of an issue before arriving at a decision.

McGivney has served the town well, but the time really has come for a change. Kinderhook voters should cast their ballot for Grattan.

Share this Article

Article Rating

Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.

OV Observer wrote on Oct 17, 2009 10:30 AM:

" Implicit in the Register Star's endorsement of Grattan is the criticism that Supervisor McGivney has historically put the interests of his constituents -- the residents of Kinderhook -- over that of the other towns in the County. It seems to me that the primary responsibility of a Supervisor is to do what he or she feels is best for his or her Town. However, the Register Star would apparently prefer someone who is willing to act at the expense of Kinderhook. If that's your criteria, I suppose Grattan is the man for the job. "

stonepound wrote on Oct 17, 2009 9:58 PM:

" The best change we can have is to turn Columbia County Blue so we can all be part of the recovery. This means supporting McGivney and along with other forward thinking democrats! "

swingbatter2 wrote on Oct 18, 2009 11:15 AM:

" I am truly surprised by this. Though McGivney took an unpopular position on DSS/Ockawamick, so did the entire Board of Supervisors. Most of the rest of Columbia County could take a lesson from McGivney on effective and open government, and creative ideas. We need more Doug McGivneys, not fewer! "

You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.

Registered users sign in here:

Become a Registered User

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login? (requires cookies)
	Forgot Your Password?

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts!

Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required!

*Create a Member ID:
*Choose a password:
*Re-enter password:
*E-mail Address:
*Year of Birth:
	(children under 13 cannot register)
*First Name:
*Last Name:
Company:
Home Phone:
Business Phone:
*Address:
*City:
*State:
*Zip Code:

Return to: Editorials « | Home « | Top of Page ^

Archives > Opinion > Editorials