On Election Day 2019, Rosendale residents will decide whether or not to extend the terms of office for the town supervisor and the superintendent of highways from the current two years to four. At the July 10 meeting of the Rosendale Town Board, a resolution was passed making January 1, 2020 the effective date of the changeover, amending a preliminary resolution expanding the terms that had already been adopted in June. The decision sets in motion a process requesting that the Ulster County Board of Elections add two referenda to the November ballot, one for each of the town offices.
The resolution passed 4-0-1. As town attorney Mary Lou Christiana was not present at the meeting to advise town supervisor Jeanne Walsh as to whether it was necessary or advisable for her to recuse herself from the vote on a term for which she will be seeking reelection on the same ballot, Walsh opted to abstain. “I’m committed to stay on, but even if it wasn’t me, I would support this change,” said the supervisor. “It’s very difficult to do a good job if you only have two years.”
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