CHENANGO COUNTY – It’s all about the gas. Tomorrow’s winners in the general election will eventually determine whether Chenango County is friendly to energy companies that want to do business in the Marcellus and Utica beneath our feet or not.
The ballots in only four of 23 Bullthistle municipalities won’t feature candidates running on some sort of shale gas drilling stance, or face opposition at all. Chenango County Board of Elections officials report that competition for supervisor and council positions is rare in the traditionally conservative towns of North Norwich, Norwich, Oxford and Pitcher. The gas drilling issue isn’t a factor in the one ward race for supervisor in the City of Norwich, either.
Both the incumbents and their rivals in every other town had something to say about this election year’s hottest topic, however. The majority advocated for safe drilling and the economic boom from extracting natural gas, but many others called for road use regulations, a longer New York State Department of Environmental Conservation review period or no drilling at all.
“Gas drilling issues has a lot of people coming out to run that normally hadn’t thought about it before. It has brought in an unusual number of candidates,” said Republican Party Commissioner Harriet Jenkins.
The following towns have, perhaps, the most contentious races on the issue: Coventry, Afton, Plymouth, Guilford, New Berlin, Preston and Smithville. The contenders’ opposing opinions about drilling in the race for supervisor in Afton are perhaps best representative of the conflict. Over the course of the year, the Afton Town Board has passed and then rescinded a road use ordinance that would have regulated the heavy truck traffic that comes with high water hydraulic fracturing. Republican Candidate John H. Lawrence said he is “definitely not” against gas exploration and fracturing,” but is “very concerned” about keeping the environment safe.
“I’m very glad people have held the DEC’s (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) feet to the fire so that they set the right guidelines have the right safety procedures in order,” he said.
His Democrat and independent party rival, political newcomer April M. Leggett, on the other hand, said at a town meeting earlier this year that a bonding agreement between Afton and the energy company, Norse Energy, was “so full of loopholes that you could drive a frack truck through it.”
There are two Green Party candidates opposed to drilling, Stacie Edick in Preston and Carol Omalyev in Smithville. And among a record number of independent party filers, some chose “Earth Friendly,” (Coventry council candidates Douglas B. Besemer and Marion Ireland); “Keep Water Safe,” (Kim N. Felter-Canarelli in New Berlin); and “Clean Water,” Peter Hudiburg in Plymouth and Corey C. McElligot in Guilford.)
Just last week, officials in the Town of Dryden faced off in a courtroom against lawyers for Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corporation which is suing the town for its zoning prohibition of natural gas extraction companies. The outcome of the trial will determine whether municipal governments can even use home rule law or land use authority to prohibit companies from drilling.
With so much emphasis on the natural gas issues, Democratic Party Commission Carol Franklin wondered what else town boards will address while in office.
“Yes, it’s the gas issue this year, but, then again, if a candidate goes in there with only one issue, how are they going to be the rest of the time?” she said.
High property taxes, assessment inequality and capital spending were other issues that popped up in interviews with candidates. Chenango County Treasurer William Craine said the negative trend in town and county tax returns from 2008 to 2011 shows the population is clearly struggling. Some other subjects debated within standing committees of the county’s government are departmental consolidations, the high price of pensions and health care benefits and monitoring government employees’ output via timesheets and performance reviews.
As the chart with this article shows, there will be at least four and could be as many as 10 new faces around the boardroom table making government decisions for Chenango County over the next two years - including the chairman of the board. Those retiring account for nearly a half a century’s worth of experience. And four seasoned supervisors have competition: Linda E. Natoli, R-City of Norwich Wards 4, 5 and 6, with 18 years in office; Arrington Canor, R-McDonough, with six intermittent years served; David J. Messineo, D-Otselic, with eight years; and James Bays, D-Smyrna, with 10 years.
The Board of Elections is gearing up for today’s elections and for several weeks after, when absentee ballots are opened. Absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than Monday, Nov. 7 and Nov. 15 is last day they may be received through the mail.
Chenango County elections commissioners won’t discover write-in candidates until the day of the elections. A write-in for supervisor in Guilford, Dennis E. Martin, announced his candidacy at the Commerce Chenango Meet the Candidates night in October. Other media outlets have reported that John Phelan, supervisor of Coventry, will be a write-in candidate after having lost his party’s nomination in the primary.