West confirms bid for second term

By Alice Hunt
Poughkeepsie Journal

NEW PALTZ — Village Mayor Jason West has confirmed he will run for re-election in May, despite often criticizing the position’s salary.

In December, West said he might not run for re-election because he simply couldn’t afford to.

Now, West said, he will find a part-time job to supplement the mayor’s $25,000 annual salary.

“I love the job, and there’s been a lot I’ve been able to start, and I want to see those things through to conclusion,” the Green Party member said.

Those projects include affordable housing legislation, the creation of a biodiesel refinery in the village and environmental protections like the proposed wetlands law.
West has advocated raising the mayor’s salary to $40,000 with full health benefits. In December, the village trustees granted West health benefits but have not agreed to the $15,000 salary increase.

Unified ticket formed

West, along with trustee candidates Shari Osborn, a Democrat, and Richard Steffens, an unenrolled voter, will run as a unified ticket despite the various party affiliations, or in Steffens’ case, lack thereof.

The variety of party affiliations is appropriate for the progressive village, Steffens said.
“This is a pretty representative ticket of who the village is,” he said.

Osborne is chairwoman of the village’s Shade Tree Commission. Steffens is a lifelong New Paltz resident who owns several real estate companies. He served as a village trustee in the early 1980s.

Trustees Julia Walsh, a Democrat, and Rebecca Rotzler, a Green Party member, will not run for re-election.

West was first elected in 2003 at the age of 26 as part of the “Innovation Party” along with Rotzler and Walsh.

When Walsh, who had been unenrolled, switched to the Green Party in late 2003, New Paltz was one of the nation’s few governments with a Green Party majority. Walsh later switched her party affiliation to Democrat.

The trio gained international attention when they performed about two dozen same-sex marriages in 2004.

No other village resident has come forward to run against West, Osborn or Steffens.
Petitions for the village election will be officially available next week.

Candidates must receive 100 signatures from village voters before qualifying for election.

The election will be held May 1.

Village trustees and the mayor serve four-year terms. Trustees Terry Dungan and Michael Zierler will be up for election in 2009.