No challengers filed to run for either village trustee or mayor this year in the March 19 election, just the incumbents: Mayor William Murphy and trustees Jeannine Mayer, Brian Martin and Patrick Landewe.
The election will be held Tuesday, March 19 from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 43 Partition St.
The mayor
Murphy is a fifth-generation Saugertiesian and was elected to the board as a trustee in 2003. He was reelected in 2005, 2007, and again in 2009. When former Mayor Robert Yerick stepped down in Feb. 2010, Murphy was selected to replace him. He was elected mayor in 2011.
Murphy and his wife, Dana, have two children, Jaclyn and Jillian. He is employed by IBM as a custom software administrator. He is the commissioner of the SAA Youth Basketball League and a member of its board of directors. He graduated from Saugerties High School and the College of Saint Rose.
Murphy said this year he and the trustees would bring in a budget with no tax increase and hope to do the same next year. He said because the village no longer has to pay the town $204,000 per year for police protection, that money was used to cover other areas of the budget, allowing for no tax increase.
“We will also continue to support the big events that help bring tourists and their money into the village, such as the Garlic Festival, the Holiday in the Village, [Sawyer Motors] car show and bed races,” Murphy said. “I’d also like to see the storefronts continue to be occupied, which means a healthy Saugerties economy.”
“There really isn’t a lot to fix in the village,” Murphy said. “We’ve finally been able to stabilize our costs of the last three years. But one of the things that I do want to see taken care of this year are repairs to our sewer line system, which is beginning to take place.”
Jeannine Mayer
A lifelong resident of Saugerties, Mayer graduated from Saugerties High School and Ulster County Community College. She’s worked at M&T Bank on Main Street for 34 years. She is seeking her third term on the Village Board.
Mayer has two daughters and four grandchildren.
She is deputy mayor responsible for public relations. She serves as liaison to TV23 and the Saugerties Area Chamber of Commerce.
For Mayer, who describes herself as a “person of few words,” it’s all about the storefronts.
“What I would like to see for the next two years and forever is every building and storefront in the village rented,” she said.
To make this happen, she’d like to see the board focus on cleaning up some of the more run-down areas of Partition St.
“Being on the Village Board, and as a member of the Kiwanis, I am involved in most every event in some way,” she said. “I love to show off every aspect of what Saugerties has to offer, while at the same time, attract people into our area that have a positive impact for us.
“Working together with other groups helps foster individual growth and has a powerful impact on strengthening our community,” she added.
Brian Martin and Patrick Landewe
Neither Martin nor Landewe responded to phone calls or email requests for comment.
Patrick Landewe, the lighthouse keeper, was appointed to the board when Murphy was appointed mayor. He came to Saugerties more than eight years ago to work on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. He is a graduate of Saint Louis University, with degrees in English and philosophy and a master’s in American Studies.
He is liaison to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, and the village representative with the Lower Esopus Watershed Partnership.
Martin is a lifelong resident of Saugerties and a Saugerties High School graduate. He and his wife, Mary, have three children, Emily, Amanda and Brian Jr.
He was employed by the village for 23 years, first with the police department as a dispatcher, then with the village Department of Public Works. He was a volunteer with Diaz Ambulance and the Saugerties Fire Department, where he served as chief from 1999-2000 and 2005-2007.
As a trustee, he oversees the village water department and Parks, Buildings and Grounds, and is liaison with the tree committee and Seamon Park Board.
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