Putnam Valley Candidates Face Off in Forum

Nearly 100 community members turned out for Monday evening’s candidate forum at Putnam Valley High School. Hosted by the Putnam Valley Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of Putnam County, the debate featured candidates vying for highway superintendent, town board, county legislator and town supervisor.

Participants were allotted 20 minutes to make opening statements, as well as present audience members with reasons as to why they were worthy candidates.

Highway superintendents candidates Larry Cobb and Gary Wulfhop were amongst the first to receive questions from the crowd. Wulfhop, the incumbent, prided himself on his ability to work with a professional staff while Cobb, who won the town’s Republican primary back in September, said his technical skills are what set him apart from his competitor.

“I love my town, and I’m all about the service to Putnam Valley,” Cobb said.

When asked how he intended to keep costs down, Wulfhop said that his 26 years of management experience is what Putnam Valley needs to maintain a prudent budget.

“I intend to run the highway department like a business,” Wulfhop said. “Managing a $3.7 million budget is an awesome task, and by writing grants, I have been able to update our equipment, and we’ve been able to keep costs down.”

Four candidates vying for spots on the Putnam Valley Town Board included Robert Cinque, Eugene Yetter, Jr., Steve Mackay and Jay Michaelson.

Michaelson said that though this is not an ideological or partisan race, he sees the proposed raises to town employees as unrealistic during a time of fiscal instability.

“Obviously, the town cannot solve the global economic crisis,” Michaelson said. “But we need to tighten our belts.”

Yetter, a current town board members who prides himself “on getting involved,” said the town and county must be on the same page to fill the empty storefronts at Oregon Corners.

“This topic really hits me personally because I ran on that ticket to redevelop that area four years ago,” Yetter said. “Those are county roads at Oregon Corners.”

In terms of sustainable development, Cinque, also a town board member, commended his work on developing a zoning board that takes the environment into consideration.

“This provides an incentive for the town, whether it provides green space or recreation facilities to Putnam Valley,” Cinque said. “I’m proud that that is there for our town.”

In his closing statement, Mackay said the government is indeed a business, and that it needs to treat its “customers” with the dignity and respect.

“No company is giving raises in this economic climate,” Mackay said. “Taxpayers are our customers, and the taxes they pay us, they work really hard for.”

The county’s most tenured legislator, Sam Oliverio, faced off against political newcomer Allen Beals. Beals, a turkey farmer and retired gynecologist said Putnam Valley doesn’t need a career politician.

“There is no reason Oliverio should be seeking 18 years on the legislature,” Beals said.

Oliverio said that in light of a new executive, four new legislators just finishing their first term and two seasoned officials leaving the legislature, Putnam needs someone with experience to maintain county operations. As a fiscally-conservative Democrat, Oliverio said the county’s sales tax is necessary.

“Our sales tax helps us, it does not hinder us,” Oliverio said. “Our revenue from sales tax has increased every year, even with the slight increase.”

The town supervisor debate featured hopefuls Robert Tendy and Wendy Whetsel. Tendy, the incumbent, referred to the state-mandated property tax cap as “artificial.”

“The state has not reduced its spending, and we have,” Tendy said. “We’ve done our part and we need to keep pressure on Albany so they can do their part.”

Speaking of her accomplishments, Whetsel said she was the instrumental in getting solar panels for the town hall.

“At first, we did not have the money to for the full installation,” Whetsel said. “I worked with Sandy Galef to receive a grant, and now they will be installed with no cost to taxpayers.”