The Working Families Party has made another endorsement in the race for Bethlehem town supervisor, and it’s hoping this one will stick.
The WFP has selected Richard Reeves-Ellington as its candidate in the upcoming election. It’s lost two candidates so far, with sitting supervisor and endorsed candidate Sam Messina bowing out in June and candidate John Clarkson opting to accept the Conservative Party’s support instead.
Reeves-Ellington has had a career in academia and the business world, as well as an active political life working on national and local elections. He recently switched his voter affiliation from Democrat to the WFP.
The new candidate said what spurred his involvement in the supervisor race was how the endorsements have shaken out thus far.
One thing that’s bothered me from time to time is the way in New York people grab more than one line, sometimes with conflicting ideologies, Reeves-Ellington said.
`It strikes me as people try and grab as many lines as they can to try to keep people out,` he continued, adding that he is not directly criticizing any of the other candidates.
The WFP had previously offered its support to Clarkson, a Democrat who is primarying Councilman Kyle Kotary on the Democratic line.
`We were definitely disappointed that John [Clarkson] decided to take the Conservative line. When we interviewed him, we felt his philosophies were very much in line with the philosophies of the Working Families Party,` said Karen Scharff, chairwoman of the Albany County WFP.
Kotary was also endorsed by the town’s Republican Committee, a move that has proven controversial among some GOP faithful Albany County. He’s also the Independence Party’s candidate.
Reeves-Ellington said addressing the town’s aging infrastructure will also be a vital part of his platform, which he will be building in the coming days. Similarly, he will be adding to his campaign website at www.richardfordelmarsupervisor.com.“