Just weeks after being denied the endorsement of the Malta Republican Committee, Councilman Cliff Lange has announced his intention to step out of the town’s political landscape by taking some time off at the end of his current term. Lange made the announcement Tuesday, May 15, at his home with his wife, Diane, by his side.
I have worked hard to perform my duties in the spirit of commitment and compromise, and now it is time to make the hardest decision towards Malta’s future, he said. `It has been my privilege to serve Malta, but now I feel it is time to step aside. I will be taking some time off at the end of my term to devote more of my energies to my family.`
Lange, 65, will finish his term on Dec. 31, completing 24 years of consecutive service on the Malta Town Board. Add in his time on the planning board prior to taking office in 1984, and Lange’s years of dedication to the town climb to 32.
`This might be it. I don’t know,` said Lange when asked about returning to politics in the future. He left the door open to returning to town politics and said another run for supervisor is not necessarily out of the question.
`The future will tell where I will go,` he said when asked to project his plans. `Right now I need time for myself. My family needs me more than ever.`
Lange said he will be making a clean break from the town by resigning from the committees on which he serves. He will continue to be an active member in area civic organizations, including the Malta Sunrise Rotary Club, the Rising Sun Lodge Brotherhood of Masons, the Shriners Organization, the Malta Business and Professional Association, and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife will continue to sponsor the `1,000 Book Kid` reading program they began at the community center.
Another resignation he said he intends to tender will be to the Malta Republican Committee, on which he serves as one of 24 elected committee members with voting privileges. Lange has been a member of the committee for more than 30 years and has served as a past vice-chairman for the organization.
`The Republican Committee has been good to me,` said Lange. `This little hiccup is good for the Republican party and for the town.`
The `hiccup` Lange alluded to is the recent weighted vote by the committee members that resulted in challenger Tara Thomas garnering more votes than either Lange or the other incumbent seeking endorsement, Donna Gizzi, who came in a close second.
`They did what they thought was best,` said Lange adding, `They should be required to vote for two or get off the committee. It is not fair to the district they represent.`
Both Gizzi and Lange have expressed their disappointment in a number of committee members who opted to only cast a single vote despite there being two board seats to be filled. Had those committee members, believed to be about eight, voted for an additional candidate the numbers would have been drastically different, said Lange. In fact, Lange said, had he done the same thing and only cast a vote for himself, it would have given him the most number of votes, thereby guaranteeing the committee’s endorsement.
`I feel this is the right thing,` he said of retiring. `A big load is off my shoulders.`
During his press conference Lange reflected on his years in office and the impact he has had on the town.
`I have tried to create the Malta we can all be proud of. I have been committed over the years to building on our youth, parks and recreation programs,` he said. `The emergency services and emergency preparedness have been priorities.`
Lange referred to his work with the budgets, commented on his fostering of a strong working relationship with Mayor Dixie Lee Sacks of the village of Round Lake, and the reorganization of town government. During his time on the board he said, `We have created new positions, such as a town planner, comptroller, director of parks and recreation and a full time historian in order to provide more efficiency and effectiveness in improving the quality of life in our community.` “