After eight years at the helm of the Clifton Park town board, Supervisor Phil Barrett will sign off on another two.
The Republican incumbent handily defeated Democrat Art VanderVoort Tuesday, Nov. 6, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Barrett garnered 4,839 votes to VanderVoort’s 2,493.
I’m certainly very humbled by the overwhelming support the residents of Clifton Park have shown for myself and the whole team, said Barrett the day after Election Day. `We’ve focused on the proper priorities for Clifton Park, and we’re getting things done.`
Barrett, 39, ran unopposed for the position two years ago. The last time Barrett was opposed in an election was 2003, in which he won with 65 percent of the vote. He said in the next two years, he will continue to implement improvements that have so far been successful in the town.
`We’re going to continue to improve with quality-of-life issues for Clifton Park residents,` said Barrett. He said the town has done well in being aggressive with open space initiatives, public safety, riverfront access and the building of a new town park in Rexford.
Barrett has caught some criticism for the timing of these initiatives.
`It took them 10 years too long to plan another park. We’ve been calling for a town park for 10 years. Meanwhile ,the commons is in disrepair and overcrowded,` town Democratic Committee Chairman Todd Kerner said in a previous interview. Kerner has questioned the motivation behind recent town initiatives, such as the park and the $150 tax rebate. Kerner said the only time town Republicans do anything is during election time.
Barrett said that’s far from the case.
`This town is 175 years old, so maybe we’re 175 years too late, because all of the initiatives I’m talking about have never happened before,` said Barrett. `In eight years we’ve done all of these things that the town has never done before.`
Barrett was born in Walter Reid hospital in Washington, D.C. His father was in the Army during the Vietnam War as a courier, although he never saw combat. Barrett lived in five different states before coming to Clifton Park in 1991, shortly after graduating from Providence College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
He served in the Army Reserves after college, from 1989 to 1996.
Following 10 years in the paper industry, he has worked in banking since 2001. For the past year he has been the vice president of business banking at Key Bank.
In other Clifton Park election news, Republicans Scott Hughes and Thomas Paolucci, with vote tallies of 3,979 and 3,931, respectively beat out Democrats Nancy Bellamy (3,117) and Margaret Catellier (3,018) for seats on the town council.
Longtime Town Clerk Patricia O’Donnell, a Republican, secured the position with 4,945 votes to challenging Democrat Theresa Izzo’s 2,145.
Democrat Robert Rybak bested Republican Erika Riebel for the position of town justice with a tally of 4,420 to 2,863.“