Captain Cliff Lange, longtime town of Malta official, was given a bon voyage party Friday night, Feb. 8, with more than 100 friends and colleagues giving him a send-off on his retirement.
The dinner party took place at the Saratoga Springs Elks Club and included a `roast,` reminding everyone of Lange’s humorous moments in public service.
`You learn to take a joke when you’re a politician,` said Lange.
Town historian Teri Gay spoke about Lange’s sense of humor and his political leadership.
`As all of you may have noticed, Cliff takes a few liberties with the English language ` and even makes up a few of his own vocabulary words,` said Gay. `Once, I started to keep a list of them because I was so intrigued by his, and a few of them are ‘brefixed,’ meaning breakfast, and ‘antique-nish,’ to describe the historic setting of the Village of Round Lake. Let’s face it: Cliff is silly, and when you’re with Cliff, you’re pretty much laughing until you’re sick. He was also born and bred for politics, and he is never better than when connecting with residents, listening to constituents, articulating his message and making personal contact.`
Lange served as town of Malta councilman since 1984 and served on the planning board from 1977 through 1983. As a councilman, Cliff has served on many committees, including the town’s deferred compensation oversight committee, emergency preparedness committee, zoning revision committee, master plan update committee, and open space committee.
Lange has lived in the town of Malta for more than 32 years. He has been married to his wife, Diane, for 35 years, raising their son, James. Lange is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, where he developed his love of photography. He is also is an avid sailor, captain of his own vessel and enjoys many hours on the water with his family. He is a retired insurance agent and sales representative from Prudential Insurance.
A member of the Rising Sun Lodge (Brotherhood of Masons), Cliff also belongs to Malta’s Sunrise Rotary Club (member and past president), Shiners Organization (32nd degree), and Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, among others. Lange is a member of Malta Ridge Methodist Church.
Lange presented his wife with a bouquet of long-stem roses at his retirement dinner to thank her for standing by his side.
`My wife was my partner in every sense of the word,` said Lange. `When Jimmy was six months old, she took him with us door to door. He was our campaign baby, and now he’s 24.`
Lange said he plans to spend time on his boat, which he regularly sails on the Hudson River through the locks out to Lake Champlain. But first, he’s heading down to Florida to brush up on his golf game.
As for his future in town leadership, Lange has no immediate plans but praised the work of town employees.
`I’m not closing the door on serving the town in the future, but I tell you this, the department heads do a great job,` said Lange. `We’re the luckiest town in Saratoga County to have the department leaders working for us. They won’t ever let us down.“