In Hurley, former deputy supervisor Peter Humphries is challenging incumbent Mike Boms for town supervisor after former supervisor Melinda McKnight ended her bid to regain her seat.
Here are their responses to a candidate questionnaire.
Mike Boms
Q: What do you think are the three most important issues facing the town, and how would you address them?
A: We are currently in the planning stages for the new town highway garage. This involves the necessary steps of alienating and swapping park parcels for the designated site. Plans are actively being drawn up and are under review.
We continue to address the leachate contamination at the closed landfill superfund site and are working towards a sustainable solution.
We are in the process of initiating an ambulance service as an integral part of the emergency medical services needed for the town.
Addressing the stormwater drainage issues that have affected many of our residents for years remains a priority.
Q: What makes you qualified for the job?
A: Having served on the town board for six years prior to becoming supervisor, I have a solid understanding of the challenges our residents face. My focus is on finding effective solutions, and I am committed to doing what is best for the town in a non-partisan manner.
About Boms: I am a widower with a daughter, Erica, and two grandchildren, Liam and Bianca. For 28 years, I taught high school chemistry, biology, and computer science and coached varsity track at Onteora High School. Currently, I continue to be involved in education by teaching biology at both Marist University and SUNY Ulster.
Peter Humphries
Q: What do you think are the three most important issues facing the town and how would you address them?
A: The most and only important issue in the Town of Hurley in the Democratic primary is electing the endorsed Democratic slate of candidates. In the 2023 primary election, all the current elected officials lost and chose to run in the general election as Republicans.
All the endorsed Democrats in 2025 commit to not accepting the Republican line if they lose this primary. The non-endorsed candidates have not committed to not accepting the Republican line for the second time.
Q: What makes you qualified for the job?
A: I started and ran award-winning landscaping businesses in New York, California and Florida, set up and operated restaurants; spent 25 years in professional auto racing logistics; designed and built three professional race shops.
I care about people and will always stand up to defend those facing injustice. I have always championed the rights of workers to have healthy, safe working conditions – including in my role as a former public official in Hurley. I currently work to ensure that those facing food insecurity have access to healthy meals at the Good Neighbor food pantry, and by distributing meals to local shelters, soup kitchens and through Feed Hudson Valley.
About Humphries: I have lived in the Town of Hurley for 16 years. I was raised in the Town of Woodstock and am a graduate of Onteora High School. Since caring for and losing my beloved wife to a brain tumor in 2016, I have lived alone.Â
Every day I do my best to fulfill my promise to her; that I would try to make the world a better place for her daughter and the next generations to come. Hurley has become my new family, and those promises hold true to every single resident. I will be available to any one of you at any time for anything you might want to speak to me about.
Join the family! 
