A newcomer and an incumbent candidate will appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballots in the upcoming Marbletown Town Board election this November.

Newcomer Ken Davenport, a local business owner and volunteer, is looking to fill town board member Eric Stewart’s shoes as he chases a spot on the Ulster County Legislature. Current town board member Don LaFera, whose four-year term is at its end, planned to take another crack at the town board seat. Tim Hunt, who replaced Susan Sprachman mid-term, is looking to keep his seat for another four years if voters see him fit to do so.

High Falls resident Jeannie Werber was also chosen by the Marbletown Democratic Committee to serve on the board. While she was unable to be reached for an interview, as of this writing, she was chosen because of her experience with grant work in the non-profit sector. Werber felt that her leadership and communication skills, along with her dedication to thorough fact-checking before making a decision, will make her an impactful addition to the board, according to the MDC website.

“Although I have limited experience in local politics, I come with skills and passion to work as a team that will benefit our town and residents,” Werber previously said.

The Shawangunk Journal reached out to these candidates to ask a couple basic questions about themselves and their plans if elected.

What makes you qualified to serve on the town board?

Davenport says as a business owner, he managed a team of over 100 employees, managed budgets, and crafted agendas with business goals that he worked to meet. There he says he learned how to listen and address concerns about how to productively work with and benefit from the thousands of clients he serviced.

“Being involved with a multi-family business my whole life has taught me about democracy,” he explained. “You need to build consensus to move the organization or town forward towards achieving the goals it set out for the betterment of all.

Additionally, Davenport once served on the board of the Ulster Performing Arts Center and the Bardavon Theater House in Poughkeepsie, and currently volunteers with People’s Place in Kingston.

Aside from his time on the town board, which began in October 2020, Hunt explained he has managed the proposal, budget-design and implementation of numerous multi-million-dollar projects. Hunt was recently funded by the National Institutes of Health, through his job at Columbia University, to complete a study on community-based intervention relating to the opioid epidemic in 67 communities. He applies these lessons to his work on the board.

“In Marbletown, [I appreciate] the different stakeholders and communities, [try] to make sure people are heard [and find] that place of compromise, so you actually can go into action,” Hunt said. “Every meeting I facilitate has a problem area to address and then actions to take.”

LaFera said that his past term on the town board taught him all of the lessons he needed to continue as a member. He learned how to write laws while drawing in public feedback, along with the less-glamorous task of drafting budgets, negotiating with unions and other team efforts with the town board.

“People don’t know what they know until they do the job,” LaFera explained.

Before his time on the board, LaFera was the president of the High Falls Civic Association, served on a special town committee on economic issues and currently serves as the High Falls Fire Company president. LaFera also opened the “Lounge” home furnishings store in 1996, along with another furniture store he has since left, and once owned “Bel Aire Automotive” in Accord.

What are some of the most important issues facing the town?

Davenport is invested in maintaining and improving the town’s infrastructure. Access to clean, readily available water is among his chief concerns: an issue that has afflicted residents of Stone Ridge and along Route 209 for years now. Davenport also wanted to ensure that town facilities are maintained and upgraded where possible. He would like the same care to go into local trails and parks. Davenport felt that the public needs to be readily educated on these issues, and their future implications, which will simultaneously help the board with decision making.

Hunt was one of the board members who spearheaded the revitalization of the Marbletown Ethics Law and the board that will help preserve it. He is working to rally a team to oversee its implementation. Hunt is also interested in finding ways to expand the infrastructure of Marbletown, especially the High Falls Water District (HFWD). He and his fellow board members have been negotiating with the county to expand the HFWD to areas in Stone Ridge, which historically suffered from poor water quality and dried-up wells.

LaFera spoke about the recently approved Ambulance Improvement District, which will use taxpayer dollars to fund a permanent ambulance service. LaFera acted as a liaison between the Marbletown First Aid Unit and the town board, and wants to oversee its implementation. He is also invested in trying to create affordable housing options for low-income residents. He was proud of the town’s current accessory apartment law, allowing folks to rent an attached or detached apartment on their land, and the short-term rental law he helped pass, which helps regulate the volume of Airbnb’s in town.

Early voting begins October 23, while the general election is November 2.