Pine Plains Forum: Questions, candidates, and a list of wishes

Pine Plains Forum: Questions, candidates, and a list of wishes
Voters turned out Wednesday, Oct. 18, to meet local and county political candidates at the Pine Plains Free Library. Photo by John Coston

PINE PLAINS —  The long table at the candidates event on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Pine Plains Free Library held places for 12 candidates, starting with the two candidates for Dutchess County Legislature: incumbent Republican Gregg Pulver and Democrat Chris Drago.

Town Board candidates Jeanine Sisco and Kevin Walsh, both Democrats, were in line with Republican contenders Paul Murphy and Jim Smith. For the position of town justice, there was Democrat Stella Isaza and Republican Rich Brenner. Also present were Republican Lisa Ambrose and Democrat incumbent Carl Baden, who are running for highway superintendent; and Town Supervisor Brian Walsh and Town Clerk Madeline DaFoe, who are both running unopposed. The two Walshes are not related.

Over 100 people filled the library’s Community Room at the Pine Plains Library for the forum. The sponsors were The Millerton News and The New Pine Plains Herald. Ryan Orton of Stanford moderated the program.

Supervisor Walsh and DaFoe indicated that they are happy with their work, and will continue to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. The candidates had a brief time to introduce themselves; this was followed by questions from the audience and the forum ended with closing statements from each of the candidates.

Sisco and Kevin Walsh are longtime residents, and both have raised families in Pine Plans. They jointly agree that they will preserve the rural and historic character of the town; conserve open space; protect and promote agriculture; create housing options for young families and seniors in particular; and will promote employment, small business and transportation options. Also, they would like to relocate Town Hall to the center of town, and will look into the possibility of a central septic system.

Murphy is a 50-year resident of Pine Plains who wants to see programs for youth and seniors expanded. He’d also look into ways to help businesses thrive and grow, as well as into affordable housing. He would also preserve the rural aspect of the town.

Murphy and Smith are proponents of fiscal responsibility, believing government should be run as an any other business: with a budget, plans and long-range goals. Smith is pro-solar, believing that solar energy is what is in the future, and he sees the benefits in it, having faith that the zoning board will make sure everything is done appropriately.

Isaza has experience as a practicing attorney for more than 28 years, having served as a criminal defense attorney, and is a former assistant corporation counsel for the City of Poughkeepsie. Living in Pine Plains for more than 20 years, she is a member and former president of the Pine Plains Lions Club, and is a member of the New York Bar Association and the Dutchess County Bar Association. 

As a defense attorney, she looked for fair sentencing including alternatives to incarceration when suitable. She has handled cases in housing, domestic violence, and matrimonial and family law, and speaks fluent Spanish.

Brenner is in real estate, but feels that one doesn’t need a law degree to be a town justice. His experience includes 25 years in law enforcement as a deputy sheriff and investigator, and working with the district attorney’s office. 

Serving in the Pine Plains Hose Company as well as a member of the town and school boards have given him the experience to make good judgment calls. He’d rather see mistakes corrected than repeated, and rehabilitation rather than punishment.

“Pine Plains is my home and the community is my family,” said Baden. He has learned a lot over that past four years, has built up relationships, honed the skills of himself and his crews, and wants to continue to use that experience to make the roads in Pine Plains safer under all circumstances.

Ambrose has stated that she will give up her current job to be full-time at the highway department if elected. A 20-year Pine Plains resident, Ambrose is a volunteer firefighter, and said that she plans to work side by side with the maintenance crews, and will strive to work with surrounding areas and the New York State Department of Transportation in bad weather and emergency situations.

The majority of the questions were for Pulver and Drago. Pulver is serving his sixth one-year term as chairman, and has served in the Legislature since 2014. A farmer by trade, Pulver said he enjoys doing what he does, and helping people. When asked about an accomplishments in the Legislature, he mentioned the Dutchess County Stabilization Center in Poughkeepsie. He worked with Legislator Will Truitt to pass a countywide animal abuse registry law as well as passing an anti-tethering law. He worked with Assemblymember Didi Barrett and others on obtaining the Mobile Health Unit RV.

Drago, feels that the current leadership is not working, mishandling tax dollars and not meeting basic needs of constituents in northern Dutchess County. He is particularly upset by the $25 million renovation of the Dutchess Stadium. 

He will work toward obtaining better emergency and mental health services, and  wants better cell coverage and a climate-ready infrastructure. A native son, Drago said he is a business leader, and has his finger on the pulse of what the county needs. He wants to keep Dutchess County affordable and keep young people here.

Latest News

Packed house hears Hitchcock estate golf course pre-application

Dozens of people crowded into the courthouse at the Washington Town Hall on Reservoir Drive in Millbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to watch a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC. David Blatt and Henry Hay of Centaur Properties LLC described their plan to build an 18-hole golf course with limited membership and residences on the historic 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Photo by Nathan Miller
"This is nothing like Silo Ridge," said Centaur Properties co-founder Henry Hay. "This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It's completely different. It's much higher quality."

MILLBROOK — Dozens of residents of the Town of Washington packed into the courtroom in Town Hall on Reservoir Drive for a standing-room-only regular meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Well over three-quarters of the crowd were there to listen in to a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC, a New York City-based development company that’s proposing an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities and luxury residential development on the 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stanford home market sees nine sales in July and August

Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.

Christine Bates

STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.

At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Out on the trail
Nathan Miller

Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.

Millbrook Library dedicates pollinator pathway garden

Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.

Leila Hawken

MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.

“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.

Keep ReadingShow less