Democrats are hoping John Lockwood can provide them with a seat on the all-Republican Glenville Town Board. Republican incumbents Gina Wierzbowski and John Pytlovany are seeking to be reelected to the Glenville Town Board, but there is a sole Democrat, Jon Lockwood, running for a seat. The candidates faced off during a League of Women Voters candidate forum held on Monday, Oct. 17, at the Glenville Municipal Center. GOP incumbents focused on what progress has been made under their leadership, while Lockwood said the board has little dissent or discussion with a one-party rule. “I decided to run for Town Board because I have a concern that the Town Board is pushing [Supervisor Christopher Koetzle’s] agenda without any sort of opposition,” Lockwood said during his opening statement. “I think different and new viewpoints are healthy for a local government and I think the all-Republican board … I think they would benefit from different viewpoints.” Wierzbowski, liaison to the Public Works Department during her tenure on the board, pointed to a $50,000 savings from reorganizing plowing routes and keeping the bulk item and leaf pick-up programs for residents. Also, she said a leaf-composting program resulted in a $10,000 reduction in the budget. Pytlovany was appointed to the board in March after Mark Quinn resigned to work for the Schenectady County Board of Elections. His many years of police service and prior experience with balancing budgets are things he pointed to as strengths. When the candidates were asked about what could be consolidated in the town, Pytlovany said the board has worked for the past two years to see what areas can be consolidated. “Obviously, 65 percent of your budget is personnel, so whatever personnel that we can get to be able to do more than one job would be beneficial as far as the budget goes without sacrificing services,” Pytlovany said. “You will see that in what our current budget is proposing.” Lockwood said his opinion on consolidation was only “general” since he isn’t a member of the board, but he said consolidation of services could be good with the difficult economy. He added that jobs within the town can’t suffer by putting employees out of work. “I think jobs are pretty important, because jobs are what is going to bring the economy back,” Lockwood said. “I think that will be the main consideration in considering consolidation.” Wierzbowski said consolidation always has to “improve services and it has to save money.” She said there have been several areas discussed with the Village of Scotia for consolidation, including the contested and ultimately dropped police department consolidation. Some other areas she mentioned were consolidating the Parks Department, Highway Department, Water Department and Building Department. “To this day and I am sorry to say that we just haven’t been able to get there,” she said. “We certainly don’t want to put anyone out of a job.” The property tax cap also came into up, and candidates were asked if they support the mandate. All candidates said they weren’t in favor of going above the tax cap. Recently the board held a public hearing on a local law to override the tax cap, but Lockwood said he didn’t see the need to have such a “safety net,” as current board members have described it. Wierzbowski said there was never any consensus on the board to go over the tax cap, but the board wanted to be open and transparent on budget discussions. “We have to be open and honest with you, our residents, about everything that goes on in our town, which means if we have to talk about something like that it is our job to do so,” Wierzbowski said. “It is our job to keep you informed, it is our job to tell you what’s going on and that was part of it.”