Editor, The Spotlight:
Political primaries are difficult and trying events that can lead to either division or a unified vision.
As Town of Bethlehem public officials, all elected on the Democratic and Independence lines, we sincerely hope this Democratic primary for Town Board finally unifies the party – and more importantly the town – under a single vision of fiscal responsibility, program and service sustainability, and government accountability.
As elected officials and town governing partners, we are uniquely positioned to understand the duties and demands of the Town Board job and to consider who might best work with us to more effectively manage the Town of Bethlehem.
While both candidates are good, sincere and hard-working people, only one of them – Jack Cunningham – has an actual record of successful public service at the town level, the right “on-the-job” experience for the Town Board, and the professional financial expertise we could use right now.
We see Mr. Cunningham’s additional local government experience running Colonie’s Department of Public Works, as we view his past experience running the Town of Bethlehem as Supervisor, as a significant and timely benefit and in no way a conflict of interest.
In fact, it’s rather disingenuous to suggest there’s any real interaction between different communities DPWs, or actual voting situations, that could even create a potential conflict. Furthermore, our newly revised ethics policy would prevent any potential conflicts of interest from occurring by causing a board member to abstain from such a vote.
We also believe it’s important for the Town Board members to work together as a team, collaborate as colleagues, and put individual differences aside for the betterment of the community. We know Jack Cunningham is that kind of colleague because we’ve all successfully worked with him in the past.
Therefore, we unequivocally endorse Jack Cunningham for Bethlehem Town Board because he is the most qualified candidate. And we strongly encourage all Democrats to join us in voting for Jack on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Joann Dawson, Bethlehem Town Board member
Kyle Kotary, Bethlehem Town Board member
Nanci Moquin, Bethlehem town clerk
