Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Clifton Select Board.
The vacancies, which include two three-year seats and one single-year seat, will be decided in a March 24 election.
The election comes at a time when Clifton residents have received bigger tax bills in back to back years while town budgets have depleted reserve funds. The board has recently undergone changes, with one member resigning last year and the position going unfilled.
The one-year seat is to fill the vacancy left by the resignation. Select Board Vice Chair Lee Bryant is seeking reelection, while Select Board Chair Dennis Harvey is not running this year.
All six candidates said the Select Board should look deeper into Clifton’s budget to make more cuts and save money, as well as find a way to calm rising tensions between residents over disagreements on how the town should spend its money.
Steve Armenia and Cynthia Grant are the two candidates running for the one-year seat.
Armenia, who was deployed three times with the United States Marine Corps, has lived in Clifton since 2020 and ran for a Select Board seat in 2024.
Making Clifton an enjoyable place to live by being fiscally responsible and lowering costs are Armenia’s main goals, he said, but he understands a single board member can’t always make large changes to the town.
“Whether you live in Clifton, you work there or you play there, I want to make it a good place for you, if I can,” Armenia said.
Grant, the former Newburgh town manager who retired last year, wants to make Clifton feel like the small town it did a few years ago, she said.
Being more transparent as a board and listening to residents could make interactions with residents less contentious, she said.
With her experience as a town manager, Grant said she would be able to help the board better understand what it can and cannot do. Examining contracts the town has entered into may be a way the town can lower its budget, she said.
“I do hope that, you know, I can bring my experience and knowledge to help the town,” Grant said.
Neither Grant nor Armenia have previous experience on the Select Board. However, two of the four candidates running for the three-year terms do.
Bryant, who is seeking a third term on the board, said his track record of being conservative and voting for what he thinks is right for the town should be enough for people to know whether to vote for him or not, he said.
The town is already on a “shoestring” budget but should still strive to be fiscally responsible, he said.
“We like to save money when we can. We don’t want to spend any more than we have to,” Bryant said.
Adding a veterans’ memorial in town, which he said the town is already saving for, is his main goal not related to the town’s budget or road maintenance, he said.
Gerald Folster, who previously served on the Select Board and is a planning board member, focused on Clifton’s division during a candidate preview night on Wednesday.
“I think the town needs a lot of coming back together, and there’s a way of doing it,” Folster said.
Listening to residents and their suggestions to work toward compromises would be an important part of how Folster would make decisions on the board, he said.
Greg Newell, who is retired from the U.S. Army, is best known in town for recording town meetings and posting them online.
Encouraged to run by other residents, Newell said if he’s elected he will try to push for updated ordinances that can more easily bring new businesses, such as by changing permitting requirements, creating a comprehensive plan, and improving transparency by posting the town’s budget and plans online.
The changes would be possible if the board would hold workshops that include residents and receive feedback, he said.
Being transparent is not a sure way to make the town less divided, he said, but is a good step.
“I’m not really sure how to do it, but try to get some of the division in town to calm down a little bit,” Newell said.
A veterans’ memorial is also high on Rebecca Vignaly’s list of projects she’d like to complete if she’s elected. She also wants to take a closer look at the budget, at both individual costs and contracts, to see what can be negotiated or cut to limit the town’s spending, she said.
Vignaly, a compliance officer running for the three-year seat, said the memorial and other events in town could allow residents to understand each other more.
“I really would like to see us get some events that can get people together,” she said.
