In the Town of Gardiner, the candidate of the Gardiner First party with the Republican endorsement, will oppose Democratic nominee Michael Hartner this November for the post of town supervisor. Political newcomer Ryan Wiley filed paperwork to run as the candidate of Gardiner First on May 20. On June 17, Wiley was also endorsed by the Gardiner Republican caucus.
Five-term incumbent supervisor Marybeth Majestic – a centrist Democrat who has at times in the past also been Gardiner’s Republican nominee – decided to retire from the post after the Gardiner Democratic Committee voted on February 13 to endorse Hartner for supervisor.
Prior to being elected to the town board in November 2023, Hartner chaired the town’s environmental conservation commission and drinking water protection committee, co-chaired the board of assessment review and was a member of the ethics board. He was notably proactive in the town’s efforts to halt unlicensed construction and operation of glamping sites in an ecologically sensitive area on Camp Ridge Road known as the Awosting Club.
Wiley, 36, who has not previously held political office or volunteered for municipal committees in Gardiner, has described himself as a local farmer, real-estate investorm and owner of a construction business, as well as the father of three boys. His campaign website emphasizes preservation of farmland and scenic resources, hamlet revitalization, and government transparency.
Since Wiley tossed his hat into the ring, the Gardiner Democratic Committee has unearthed a June 2, 2023 tweet posted on Wiley’s Twitter account asserting that “The problems faced by black Americans today stem more from freedom than oppression.” Public access to the account was shut down shortly after the GDC began circulating the tweet, which it described as “incendiary.”
The Gardiner Democratic Committee has also endorsed Roberta Clements to replace Hartner on the town board, Brian Stiscia for reelection as highway superintendent, and Robert Rich for reelection as town justice. Elections will be held November 4, and the elected representatives will take office on January 1, 2026.
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