The Stillwater village Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, March 21, to accept the annual election results for 2017 and to honor retiring Trustee Timothy Campbell, who did not seek re-election this year.
Campbell received a cake and plaque for his many years of dedicated service to the village, mostly overseeing improvements in the Department of Public Works. He said he was stepping down from service to allow “younger blood” to take over in his role.
Campbell was first appointed to the Board of Trustees in August, 2013, following the resignation of Keith Collins. He was elected to finish the remaining two years of that term in March, 2015.
He is a third generation village resident, a graduate of Stillwater High School, and a retiree of the former General Electric Silicones plant in Waterford where he worked for 37 years as a heavy industrial mechanic. He was also a member of the village Zoning Board of Appeals for four years. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a B-52 Crew Chief.
Campbell and his cousin are best known in the village as the “Zamboni Brothers” for running and maintaining the village ice skating rink each winter. He announced that he will be stepping down from that volunteer role as well.
No one submitted petitions to run for Campbell’s vacant seat March 21 so the village accepted write-in candidates for the position. Winning the seat with 24 write-in votes was Judy Wood-Zeno. Other write-in candidate votes were as follows:
- Laura Berlingieri – 21
- Kelly Gardner – 14
- Margaret Rubin – 7
- Paul Lilac – 3
- John Nett – 3
- John Basile – 1
- James Bloomingdale – 1
- Patrick Nelson – 1
Trustee Eunice Marshall ran unopposed on the March 21 ballot for re-election to a new four-year term, gathering 57 votes. Both new Trustee terms will begin on April 3. A total of 132 votes were cast overall in the 2017 village election.
Also on the ballot was a special proposition asking residents for permission to move the Stillwater annual village elections from the third Tuesday in May to early November when the state elections are held. The proposition passed 60-9.
Other villages throughout New York State have decided to go that route in an effort to boost voter turnout and save money. Stillwater will become the first village in Saratoga County to hold its local elections in November.
A November voting day will also enable the village to hand over the responsibility of holding local elections to Saratoga County instead of the village running it themselves. March is also a busy time for village officials to hold an election as it works to prepare the annual budget and organize water billings.
The village’s first November election will not be held until the fall of 2019, extending some of the terms of elected officials until the process catches up.
In other business March 21, village officials honored Stillwater teen Seth Marshall with a special plaque for earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Seth is a member of Twin Rivers Council Boy Scout Troop #4035, and is a senior at Stillwater High School. He is also a member of the school’s National Honor Society, and the son of village Trustee Eunice Marshall.
Seth completed his Eagle Scout project last summer by building a large flower planter that now surrounds the sign at Major Dickinson Children’s Park.