Stillwater mayor Ernest Martin has held his job for 22 years and is being challenged by Rick Nelson, a lifelong village resident who has never held elected office.
The race for mayor is one of the few contested races in Saratoga County on Wednesday. The mayoral position in Stillwater, with a population of about 1,600, is non-partisan.
Mayor Martin said he has the necessary experience to lead the village forward. The village’s finances have been in good shape. Martin pointed to a recent audit by the state comptroller’s office, which said the community is under “No Designation” of fiscal stress.
“We’re progressing very good, and I just want to keep the village that way. I’m afraid if I leave there won’t be no experience left on the village board to carry on the projects we got going on for the future, and I want to stay.”
Nelson, who runs a landscaping and home repair business, has also served on the village zoning board and Waterfront Revitalization Committee. He said he’s running on a platform based on the concerns of local residents he collected while going door to door.
“I mean, I have a lot of respect for Ernie, and for 22 years he’s led the village. But people deserve a choice, and I think that fresh eyes on existing situations will be good for the village.”
Mayor Martin pointed to the legal battle between the Town and Village of Stillwater and other Saratoga County municipalities with General Electric. Communities were forced to shut down or move their water supplies when GE began its PCB removal project on the Hudson River.
The town and village received $4 million toward the cost of a new water system.
“I just got done fighting a long, hard battle with General Electric in a lawsuit which we won, and it gave us a new water system, and we paid for that. And like I said, financially, the village is in excellent shape, and we’re progressing toward the future. We got a lot of things going on.”
Stillwater, like many aging upstate communities, had several water issues with the harsh winter. The mayor said he is working to replace old sewer and water lines.
Challenger Nelson also said he’d focus on the village’s infrastructure.
“Granted, it was a very cold winter. And the DPW did a great job addressing things in a timely fashion, but I believe there needs to be some kind of a building program so we’re replacing lines yearly, so we’ve got newer lines in there that hopefully won’t be susceptible to this kind of damage.”
Nelson also said he’d like to establish a published schedule of when roads are to be repaired.
The mayor said he’s want to put new energy into the village economy.
“We’re looking to see if we can attract some new businesses towards our community.”
Nelson said he wants to restore a sense of hometown pride among village residents.
“Mr. Martin has worked hard, and he has stated that he’s reached out, and I respect that, but again I think that a fresh set of a eyes and anew voice might be a great way to bring people in.”
When asked if he had any words for his challenger, Martin said…
“I just hope everybody in the village gets out and votes.”
