Colonie Town Supervisor candidates Republican Mike Hoblock and Democratic incumbent Paula Mahan presented their views on town development, how to bring the town out of a multi-million dollar deficit, town technology advances and more during a 90-minute debate on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road.
Hoblock, the former county executive, and Mahan, who is finishing her first two-year term as supervisor, will be vying for the seat of town supervisor in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, election.
The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Colonie Chamber of Commerce and drew a packed crowd as candidates were asked questions and given two minutes to respond in between a three minute introduction and closing statement. While some questions were fairly broad, others appeared to be directed at one candidate, although the League asked the questions be applicable to both sides in nature.
During the introductions, Hoblock spoke about how he planned to beef up town services if elected and take a closer look at the town’s cultural resources. He spoke of his previous political experience as county executive, a New York State senator and chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
In Mahan’s introduction, she explained that she was first elected in the wake of the revelation, that the town had been driven into a $19 million deficit. She mentioned other incidents her administration has brought to the public during her first term, including a paving job at the West Albany Rod and Gun Club that was said by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to have cost taxpayers more money than it should have and an e-mail `scandal` that involved a few employees in the EMS department.
`We have made great progress,` Mahan said later in her introduction, explaining that her administration has helped cut the town’s deficit by 45 percent to just over $16 million by the end of 2008. The topic of how much the deficit has been reduced came up several times during the debate, with Hoblock arguing that the deficit has not been reduced and that the Mahan administration has overestimated sales tax revenue and that the deficit has grown by $4 million. Mahan argued that the town’s outside auditors confirm the deficit is on the decline.
Mahan repeated several times during the debate that she was not `a career politician,` and that her 27-year background as an educator in North Colonie and at the Sage Colleges have left her experienced in the field of human services and prepared her for her role as town supervisor. She spoke about this in her answer after being asked whether she would support Albany County Executive Mike Breslin’s plan to close the county nursing home and instead focus on home-based services and assisted living.
Mahan said she thinks the county should offer a continuum of services, but that she understands that some people need the care of a nursing home and `if that’s what we need to do, that’s what we should do,` in regards to having a county nursing home. Hoblock said he agrees that there should be a nursing home. `I think we’re going to need a nursing home,` he said.
One question asked whether each candidate had filed financial disclosures during the campaign process-something Mahan said is required of candidates running for office as per the town’s ethics law. Hoblock said he did not file a financial disclosure because he said he was not aware he had to. He said that if he had known the law requires he do so, he would have. `The law is the law I follow,` he said.
Mahan said she did file a disclosure and said that it is important to see what someone running for office has been involved in. She brought up instances where Hoblock allegedly took per diems while being a state senator and said that if he had made a mistake he should own up to it.
Later, Hoblock did admit to taking per diems for transportation to and from Albany and Loudonville while being a state senator. He explained his belief that he lost an election after this came to light and that he has learned his lesson. `I made a mistake and I did pay for it,` he said.
One question asked what each would do about the abandoned buildings in town if they became supervisor. Hoblock said he has outlined that he would bring back an abandoned buildings task force to help ensure that fewer abandoned buildings exist in the town while Mahan said that when she came into office she had no knowledge of an abandoned buildings task force existing. Mahan said she would like to work on a way to solve the problem with abandoned buildings but that it does take time to notify the owners and turn the abandoned buildings around.
The candidates disagreed on a question about the Beltrone Living Center and the amount of money the town was paying in rent for office space in the building. While Mahan has maintained that the town was grossly overpaying for only rent in the building with $80,000 per year, Hoblock said that money was used for both rent and services.
Both candidates agreed on a question about what needs to be done about the sex offender population in town which Mahan has attempted to tackle this year when she created a taskforce to look at the number of sex offenders living in hotels and motels in the town and also drafted a law that would require hotel and motel owners to pay a licensing fee and cut the number of sex offenders living at their establishments. Hoblock said, in addition to the new town law, that he would file a Section 78 lawsuit against the county and state for pushing sex offenders into Colonie-something the Mahan administration also did this year.
The final question referred to a recent dispute that was the result of a campaign mailer sent out by the Colonie Republican Committee to residents near Onderdonk Road, implying that a piece of property the town is considering swapping with Guptill Holding Corp. for property that contains a kettle bog could potentially be used by the Guptills for mining.
When asked if mining would occur on that land, Mahan said, `Over my dead body.`
She went on to say that the land has not yet been swapped, but in the event that it is, there would be no mining on the land Guptill Holding Corp. obtains. The Hoblock camp has been arguing that the land is gravel rich and as Guptill has mined in the past, he will mine again.
In their conclusions, each candidate acknowledged their differences in thought but explained that if elected, they will do their best to make Colonie a quality place to live. Mahan promised `principle over policy` and `transparency not secrecy` while Hoblock promised to open up the budget process more to citizens and face, head-on, community challenges.
For more on this story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com, or read the Wednesday, Nov. 4, print edition of the Colonie Spotlight for election results.
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