Thank you New Paltz Democrats for choosing me to be your general election candidate. Thank you Amanda Gotto for your service to our community and for running a cordial campaign.
I’m proud to have been democratically selected to be on this November’s ballot, along with my endorsement from the Working Families Party, to be on their ballot line. I’m excited for the next steps towards serving as our town supervisor.
During the race, my approach and intentions were clear and upfront. I will take on the supervisor role while working towards consolidating our town and village boards.
Another point of pride for me is that I ran on this platform without spending any money on my campaign or receiving any in-kind contributions. This was intentional. It felt especially important to give voters a true and unfiltered chance to decide whether or not they wanted me in the supervisor seat to lead our community in the near term, and to position us to empower New Paltz’s future leaders with one local government.
Consolidation of the town and village has been debated and studied for at least 80 years. People’s reluctance to change is expected. We need to be patient and do an exceptional job explaining why consolidation makes sense, for it ever to be agreed to by voters.
For the last year, we have been working in earnest to determine how New Paltz could function with one board, as one local government, at this moment in time. Past proposals were rejected, but, now given the current options, we could consolidate without disrupting or reducing the delivery of essential services, and the number of staff needed to provide for our community would not change. Moving to a single board would primarily streamline leadership and better help us smartly plan for the future.
Our New Paltz sensibilities, where we have been, who we are, and why we cherish this community are some of our greatest strengths. We will be better prepared to enjoy the benefits of our community’s assets and uniqueness with one board.
But first we need to complete the consolidation agreement and continue to chart a path towards how to most effectively serve our whole community.
Stay tuned for more public hearings on the process. A robust and very New Paltz process will make for a better consolidation agreement for town-wide voters to consider. A referendum on whether to move to one local government is anticipated for some time in 2026.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
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