ELECTION 2023
By DIANE VALDEN
COPAKE—Even with no contested races on the local ballot, Copake voters will elect a new town supervisor and one new Town Board member this November 7.
Current Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler is not seeking re-election to a second four-year term this year, but the top spot does have an unopposed candidate in Democrat Richard Wolf.
Mr. Wolf, 76, is currently a Town Board member, a post he has held for the past six years, and is also deputy supervisor and notably, the town’s “point man” on all matters related to Hecate Energy’s quest to construct a controversial 60 megawatt (MW) solar facility in Craryville. He is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.
Mr. Wolf is a retired attorney who served for 30 years as the executive director and co-counsel for the New York City Board of Correction, which sets standards for healthcare and mental healthcare in the New York City jail system, including Rikers Island. The Board of Correction also “monitors conditions in the jails to insure a less inhumane jail environment for corrections officers and inmates,” he said.
An attorney since 1972, Mr. Wolf initially moved to Craryville in 1982, then to Breezy Hill Road in Copake Falls in 2011, where he lives with his wife, Abigail. They have two grown sons and four grandchildren: 10, 9, 6 and 5 years of age.
Mr. Wolf says he wants to take on the supervisor job because it has been his experience that unlike the dysfunction going on in Washington, D.C., members of different political parties on the Town Board have been able to come together to do things for the benefit of the town. He believes he has played an important role in that and wants to continue.
He sees some “big challenges ahead” including: scrutiny of the draft permit just issued to Hecate by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and ongoing developments in that matter; the Town’s bicentennial and related celebrations in 2024; the roads construction project, using federal and state funds, set to begin in the Copake hamlet in 2025 and the creation/repair of a second downtown parking lot for public use in conjunction with that project.
Mr. Wolf believes he has the advantage of being able to “hit the ground running” on all these fronts and is ready to take on the work. His election to supervisor will also create a vacancy on the Town Board, which he says will be filled by appointment early next year.
In addition to Supervisor Mettler, also not seeking re-election is Republican Town Board Member Terry Sullivan, 69. Elected in 2014 and again in 2019, Dr. Sullivan has served eight years on the Town Board and within that same time period served five years on the Taconic Hills Board of Education. Earlier this year, Dr. Sullivan, an audiologist and speech/language pathologist, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Previously always in good health, she told The Columbia Paper it was a shock to her and everyone who knows her. The diagnosis was part of her decision not to run again. But it has not kept her from working or finishing out her five-term on the school board in June and completing her current term on the Town Board, which ends in December. She maintains a positive attitude and hopes she can serve as an inspiration to others who may face similar health challenges. She says she is “doing really well” with her treatment and plans “to stay involved” in her community.
Running unopposed for Dr. Sullivan’s seat is Republican Bob Haight, 63. Current Town Planning Board chairman, Mr. Haight has held that position for 12 years and served as a Planning Board member for 2 years before that.
A project manager in commercial construction, Mr. Haight lives on Farm Road, with his wife, Wonell Miller. Together they have five grown children and four grandchildren ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old.
Mr. Haight says he believes he can continue the tradition as a Republican who can work with Democrats for the betterment of the town.
His election to the Town Board will create a vacancy on the Planning Board, which will be filled by a recommendation from the Planning Board to the Town Board which will make the final appointment next year.
Running for re-election to the seat on the Town Board he has held for eight years, is Stanley “Stosh” Gansowski, 74, a registered Conservative Party member, endorsed by Republicans.
Raised on a dairy farm in nearby Ancram, Mr. Gansowski has lived in Copake for the past 50 years. Initially in banking, Mr. Gansowski retired as operations manager with the Taconic Telephone Corporation. He and his wife, Carol, reside on Weed Mine Road. They have one grown son and two grandchildren, ages 14 and 11.
Mr. Gansowski seeks another term because he works well with Mr. Wolf and “can make this happen.” He says he has some time on his hands, is up to the task, and loves Copake.
Also on the Copake ballot this year, running without challenge, is Town Justice Hilarie L. Thomas, an attorney. She seeks her second four-year term and is running on the Republican line.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Lynn Connolly is running unopposed for her second four-year term. She is endorsed by Democrats and Republicans.
Town Highway Superintendent William “Bill” Gregory seeks to serve another four-year term. He has held the job of highway chief since November 2009. Running without a challenge, his name appears on both the Democratic and Republican lines.
To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com
