The GOP candidates for Colonie Town Board all have a common concern about the direction of the town: its finances.
Pete Molinaro, Kevin Halburian and Tom Jasiewicz were on hand for a campaign kick-off on Sunday, June 5, at the Lansing’s Farm Market and Greenhouses on Lisha Kill Road. They share the same sentiment as Denise Sheehan, who is running for supervisor of Colonie, that the town is heading in the wrong direction.
I knew we had some problems before the town changed hands, if you will, and I had some hope things would change, said Jasiewicz, former owner of Communications and Technology Solutions and a volunteer firefighter for the Verdoy Fire Department. `And to be quite honest, it’s gotten considerably worse.`
The debt and taxes have gone up in the town since the Democrats took over, he said, and the town has been losing jobs. He said he takes issue with the town changing laws to allow political friends to keep their jobs, referring specifically to the earlier controversy surrounding Department of Public Commissioner Jack Cunningham.
Jasiewicz started his Communications and Technology Solutions business and then sold it. Having this experience, he said, allowed him to see the entire lifespan of a business, which he believes would help streamline some departments in the town, such as the fire department coordinating with the dispatch.
After he sold the company, he gained a lot of free time. When he was running his business, he said he didn’t have time to try and correct things in the town he didn’t like. Now that has the time, he’s making his run for a position on the board.
`I actually helped out on a few campaigns to kind of see how things worked, and that’s when I said I was really ready to throw my hat in the ring,` he said. `Most people look at government and say, ‘Oh, I don’t think I can do that. That’s way above my head.’ But I looked at that and felt I could manage it.`
Halburian, who has been a physical education teacher for 24 years at Colonie Central High School, said seeing waste in the administration at his school made him feel as though he could make some changes in the town.
`The budget is just killing me,` he said. `Just how they say one number but it’s really not that low. As a teacher, I can see how much waste is in the school and I can only imagine how much waste there is in the town. I can’t do anything about the school district, but I can do something in the town.`
Halburian said he believes he can help in areas of the town such as the parks and recreational department and also with the landfill. With his father recently passing away, Halburian said he is constantly concerned about his mother’s well being, which translates into his desire to make sure the town’s seniors are taken care of.
He shares the sentiment with Jasiewicz that the environment at Town Board meetings can seem hostile, as he referred to it more as an `us against them` atmosphere. Jasiewicz said the town board seems interrogate those who speak during the public comment period, mainly singling out Attorney Michael Magguilli.
Molinaro, who has stood up to speak during several board meetings, said he believes Magguilli does his job well for the town. He added that he has had many civil conversations with Magguilli and said he respects him. For the first time he approached the board, he said he sensed their apprehension because of his political affiliation but said that has since changed.
`The demeanor is a lot more cordial now than the first time I started coming around,` he said. `Maybe they realized I wasn’t there to point fingers, I wasn’t there to make accusations, I was there to raise issues and put my point across as respectfully I could. I do think there was change over.`
Molinaro, a volunteer firefighter, a former school board president of the Menands School District and an insurance lawyer, said he first got involved in town issues when the town was set to eliminate the emergency airlift program with the EMS department. Then came the issue of looking for a private-partnership with the town’s landfill, which he said is a valuable asset.
He said as an attorney he is very familiar with the FOIL laws and has previously requested that the town open up the meetings of the landfill committee to the public. This goes along with his push to have more transparency in town government.
`All the information should be out there,` he said. `It’s got to be participatory. I know they’re [the town] worried. I understand they think ‘Oh, they’re going to demagogue it.’ I understand it but that’s part of being in government.`
Molinaro wants to return the town as a beacon for the entire state. He wants the town to be more innovative and said right now is the opportunity for the town.
`We have such a rich community,` he said. `As far as resources, people, land and businesses, you have that kind of critical mass to do special things here. That’s why I’m excited about it.“