Once again, the Watershed Post is proudly sponsoring a meet-and-greet for the local candidates in the town of Andes this Sunday, hosted by Andes Works at the Andes Hotel. (Here's video from the last one we sponsored, in 2011.)
The event will be a question-and-answer session moderated by Andes resident Jack McShane.
The election action in Andes focuses on the town board, which has been veering sharply more Democratic, and may be an indicator of a broader political shift in the Catskills, which are historically a Republican stronghold. (This shift will be tested on a nationwide scale when Democrat Sean Eldridge runs against Republican congressman Chris Gibson for the 19th Congressional District seat in 2014.)
In Andes, the shift began in 2011, when two Republican town board members, Ritchie Gabriel and Shayne Moshier, lost their bids to keep their seats to two Democrats: Thomas Hall and Wayland (Bud) Gladstone. A few weeks after the election the town board voted to pass a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing--a decidedly left-of-center move.
This time around, incumbents Martin Liddle and Daniel Grommeck, both Republicans, face Democrats R. Dale Cole and Thomas Joyce, for seats on the town board. All four candidates will be at the forum.
Andes' other hot race is for town assessor. Incumbent Tina Moshier, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Joseph Steketee. Both of them will be at the candidates' forum as well.
The only place in Andes where Republicans are keeping their traditional dominion is in the offices of supervisor and town justice. The town's longtime Republican supervisor, Marty Donnelly, is running unopposed as usual, as are the two town justice candidates.
It's worth noting that Andes Works, the organization that is hosting the forum, has an anti-fracking mission and was instrumental in passing the town's fracking ban.
To see the entire sample ballot for this year's election in Andes, click here. (And bravo to Delaware County for putting all the sample ballots online.)
Andes Works Hosting Meet & Greet For Andes Candidates. 3pm Sunday, November 27, 2013. The Andes Hotel, 110 Main St, Andes. 845.676.4408.
The Watershed Post does not endorse candidates for political office, nor does it endorse or oppose hydraulic fracturing. We're all for events that promote public discourse between political parties, like this one.
