Gardiner Democrats packed town hall last Friday evening to caucus for their 2017 slate of candidates. Most of the picks were uncontested and unsurprising; but incumbent town supervisor Marybeth Majestic, a registered Democrat who won on the Republican line in 2015, failed in her bid to snare the Democratic Party nomination this time around. Political newcomer Lisa Lindsley got the nod by a vote of 105 to 46. Majestic is expected to seek to become the Republican candidate for 2017 as well.
Lindsley, who pledged in her stump speech to “restore progressive values to our community” and to “advocate for open space,” became a full-time Gardiner resident in 2013 after 25 years of involvement in the local skydiving scene. She holds an MBA from New York University and runs a consulting firm called KarmaKapital that works primarily with not-for-profit organizations. Joe Mangan called Lindsley a “microfinance pioneer” in his speech seconding her nomination. She is also a founding member of Move Forward New York 19 and the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network.
In his nomination speech for Majestic, former town supervisor Joe Katz praised the incumbent’s track record and criticized Lindsley’s comparative lack of political experience. “I don’t want a supervisor who has not served on any boards or committees,” he said.
The rest of the candidates put forward by the Gardiner Democratic Committee were nominated by acclamation, receiving no opposition. They include incumbent town board member David Dukler, seeking reelection, and former Town Board member Warren Wiegand, who wants to be returned to the seat that he lost to Mike Reynolds by a hair-thin margin of 17 votes in 2015, after serving as deputy supervisor for eight years.
The Gardiner Democrats also seek to return Bob Rich to a second term as town justice and Brian Stiscia to a third term as highway superintendent — which would be his first four-year term, following a successful referendum last November to extend it from two years to four. Also up for reelection is town clerk Michelle Mosher, who has held that position since 1995.
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