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One incumbent, one former village board member, one newcomer vying for two Canton Village Board of Trustees seats

Posted 10/25/15

By CRAIG FREILICH CANTON -- A woman running to keep her trustee seat after two years in the job, a man with more than two decades experience, and a political novice are each seeking to win one of the …

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One incumbent, one former village board member, one newcomer vying for two Canton Village Board of Trustees seats

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

CANTON -- A woman running to keep her trustee seat after two years in the job, a man with more than two decades experience, and a political novice are each seeking to win one of the two village trustee seats up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election.

Carol Pynchon, 57, president of the board of directors at Gardenshare, is proud of her work and the work of the board over the course of her first term and she wants to build on that.

Economic and community development are possible “with partnership and teamwork with the town, particularly working to be sure services are shared for efficiency and effectiveness,” Pynchon said.

Sean O'Brien, a 40-year-old assistant professor at SUNY Canton running for political office for the first time, wants to see the community strengthened to the point where his two boys and other young people will consider Canton a real choice for a career and a life.

“There’s so much potential here in the village and downtown with the amazing resources already here,” O’Brien said. “We have to maximize those to everyone’s benefit.”

David Curry, 61, volunteered to run once again after Canton Republicans could not come up with a candidate, in part out of concern for the nature of the board.

As a lifelong resident, Curry worries that some people who run for office here might not be as invested in the community as others.

“People on these boards only live two, three, four years here and the next thing you know, they move away.”

Curry was born and raised in Canton, has been in the bar business here for 41 years, and has served as a trustee for 19 years and two years as mayor. He was also a member of the Canton Fire Department for 15 years.

“I’ve always been interested in this community,” he said. His devotion is strong enough that when no Republicans were chosen to run for trustee, he volunteered to run again.

Curry has developed some definite ideas about what the mayor and the board could do to serve the people better.

He doesn’t like the notion that the board “told us the village tax won’t go up, but the water and sewer went up.”

He dislikes the idea that the village might need a village administrator. “We don’t need that position.”

He said there is some interest in getting a slaughterhouse nearby, “but I don’t think people want that here. A slaughterhouse belongs in a rural area.”

He is concerned about talk of acquiring property for a solar installation. “I’m not against solar, but if we’re going to spend that kind of money for solar, let people know what’s going on and let them have some say in it.”

“Everyone wants better services but it depends on what it costs to the taxpayers,” he said.

Pynchon, who is finishing up her first two-year term, said that she is a believer in Canton.

Pynchon is “extremely proud of the way the village board has performed in the last two years. It’s a great group. We work well together. I expect that will continue with the leadership of Mike Dalton. We’ve all had some good ideas the last two years and I’m eager to build on it.

“I see tremendous potential for Canton as a place to live, work and visit. There’s a lot we can do to make it even more vibrant, in terms of the economy” and with things like the progress the village has made with parks and trails, she said.

“I was obviously a novice” when she joined the board. “I’ve learned a lot and understand the process better,” she said.

She said she is “most proud of the degree to which the community is engaged in the process” by attending board meetings and working with committees such as the Sustainability Committee which is leading the Solarize Canton campaign.

“I think taxes are high and residents need to get good services for their money,” she said.

“There are ways to do that without raising taxes. They’re high enough. The whole municipal government process could be more efficient. We don’t need more services, just good ones,” Pynchon said.

O’Brien has never held elective office before, “but it’s always been my dream to live and work here” since the days he came to the North Country to visit his grandfather and uncle every year. “Now I’m here. It’s a wonderful place and I’m working to make it better.

“I have two boys, 5 and 7 years old, so it’s very personal to me,” O’Brien said.

“Talking with parents of older kids, I hear them wondering if there will be jobs for them here. They should be able to stay and raise their families. Everyone should have that option. So we need some long-term economic growth. We have to share with everybody the story of how wonderful it is to work, study, live and play here,” he said.

He said he thinks small business is key.

“Number one, we have to try to grow small business in the community. We should let other communities know what an attractive place this is. We have two great colleges, a great school system, proximity to all the opportunities in the Adirondacks up to the border and across it,” O’Brien said.

“The tax burden is significant, and we can’t raise taxes without real tangible benefits,” he said. “I believe in good services, and I believe in good government, and in keeping people’s tax burden as low as possible to give people what they need.

“I’m really impressed with what the trustees have accomplished in the last few years. I respect them all, and out of that respect I hope I could persuade people I was someone who could be of help for the future,” he said.