SCHODACK — A former newspaper reporter will top the ticket this year for the Democrats in Schodack.
Kristin Shaw, a former staffer at the now defunct The Independent newspaper, was tapped to run for supervisor by the town Democratic Party.
Joining Shaw on the ticket will be Joe Visalli and Elizabeth Gable who are running for the Town Board.
A town resident for 20 years, Shaw has been active in the community as a member of the Castleton Kiwanis, the Greenbush Reformed Church and a Girl Scout leader. She covered the town for The Independent for 15 years.
Visalli has been a member of the Planning Board for 16 years and is chair of the Schodack Solid Waste Committee. The retired director of the state Energy Research and Development Authority has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in environmental engineering.
Gable has been a long standing attendee of Town Board meetings and was a columnist for The Independent. She served on the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals from 2003 to 2007 and co-founded the Schodack Area Land Trust.
The Republican Party endorsed Dennis E. Dowds as supervisor over incumbent Beth Secor, who is collecting signatures in the hopes of running a primary.
The party also endorsed incumbent Debra Young and James Bult Jr. for Town Board. Incumbent Republican Michael Ziegler decided not to seek re-election.