(Photo by Dion Ogust)
Ward 3
Incumbent Majority Leader Reynolds “Rennie” Scott-Childress beat former Alderman Brad Will in the Democratic primary this week, with a 171-52 advantage in unofficial results. Scott-Childress will hold the Democratic party line in the hopes of retaining his Ward 3 seat on the November ballot.
Scott-Childress has served as majority leader of the Common Council since January 9, 2018. A history professor at SUNY New Paltz since 2005, Scott-Childress has coached youth soccer, taught disadvantaged students, and led rail trail cleanups. He’s also served as a member of the
Kingston Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee since its inception. On the Common Council, Scott-Childress serves on the Finance and Laws and Rules committees. Scott-Childress was appointed to the Common Council by Kingston Mayor Steve Noble in 2016.
Will, an architect and environmental advocate was hoping to return to the Ward 3 seat he resigned from in April 2016 several months after being fined $1,000 by the city’s Ethics Board for voting on matters related to renovations to the Pike Plan without disclosing his role in the project as an architect. Will was elected to the Common Council in 2013 and 2015.
Ward 7
In the battle to represent Democrats in Ward 7, Laura Nordstrom defeated Michael Oliveri 134-26 in unofficial results.
Nordstrom spent over a decade working in the community-based non-profit sector with the Boys & Girls Club of Kingston, RUPCO, and the YMCA of Kingston before shifting into government. She is currently a legislative aide in Hyde Park Endorsed by the Kingston Democratic Committee, Ulster County Young Democrats, New York Working Families, progressive organization Run For Something, and grassroots advocacy group Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson.
Oliveri has already earned the Republican and Conservative lines on the November ballot. He’s currently the public transit dispatch and operations coordinator for Ulster County Area Transit, where he’s been employed since November 2008. He also serves as a motivational speaker to foster children and “at risk” teenagers through his own MAO Inspires. Though he did not earn the Democratic party nod, Oliveri will again face off against Nordstrom in November as he holds the Republican and Conservative lines.
The Ward 7 seat is currently held by Patrick O’Reilly, an unenrolled alderman, who is resigning this month from a 30-year teaching career and resigned effective Tuesday, June 2. In a Facebook post, O’Reilly said it was a requirement of his membership in the teachers’ union with the New York State Local Retirement System that he is not employed by both at the time of his retirement. He added that he expected Mayor Noble to appoint him to serve the remainder of his current two-year term, which ends on January 1, 2022.