Former Colonie Planning Board member Brian Haak was appointed to the Town Board at its Thursday, June 7, meeting to fill the vacancy created by former Deputy Supervisor Nancy Hernandez’s resignation.
“He comes with quite a bit of experience in other positions. … I think he’s well qualified and I think he’ll be an excellent addition to the Town Board,” said Colonie Supervisor Paula Mahan.
Town Board member William Carl was appointed deputy supervisor at the May 3 meeting, creating the vacancy that Haak’s appointment fills. He’ll have to be elected in November to keep his seat.
Haak, a Democrat who has been involved in government for 25 years, is already gearing up for the November special election and has launched a campaign Facebook page where he states, “If elected, Brian would be the first openly gay elected official in the Town of Colonie.”
Haak said his sexual orientation is something he’s always been open about from the moment he entered politics at age 20 as a member of the St. Johnsville Village Board in Montgomery County.
“I had put it out there simply because it’s part of who I am,” said Haak. “Growing up in a small town, everyone sort of already knew that.”
He said he hopes to continue to be an example and said it’s “important to see LGBT people in positions such as Town Board members.”
Haak has also served as a St. Johnsville village justice, St. Johnsville town justice and St. Johnsville town/county supervisor. He said his long government tract reflects his commitment to serving the community.
“I enjoy government service. … I look forward to serving the people of Colonie and continuing to maintain our quality of life and continuing our work on the budget and finances,” said Haak.
He said his experience with finances will give him a leg up when it comes to drafting a balanced budget and keeping the town fiscally stable.
Despite the town being debt free, Haak said the future still holds challenges.
“I think we still face the financial challenges even though we’ve eliminated the operating deficit. We still need to keep our eye on the finances and provide services as cost effectively as possible,” said Haak. “We don’t want to turn around and find ourselves in the same situation somewhere down the road.”
Haak called the Town Board “very committed” with a “broad range of backgrounds” and said he was looking forward to adding his voice and “working as a cooperative body.”
Mahan said she was also looking forward to working with Haak.
“I’m certain with his background knowledge he’ll have a lot of good suggestions,” said Mahan. “We all work together as a team so I think he’ll be contributing to discussions on good decisions, sound decisions that are best for the residents of Colonie.”
Haak’s appointment instigated a personnel shuffle, creating a vacancy on the Planning Board, which was filled by Karen Gomez, also appointed on June 7 by the Town Board. Gomez’s appointment to the Planning Board created a vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals, filled by Kurt Huang, also appointed that night.
The Town Board usually meets every other Thursday but it will hold a special meeting on Thursday, June 14, to present information on the proposed Loudon House Project in Loudonville. There are no other agenda items scheduled.
