Among the many elections taking place right now is a contest for the role of Rochester Town Supervisor. The incumbent is Democrat Erin Enouen. Her challenger is Republican Ian Morse.

Morse grew up in the town and attended Rondout Valley schools. He was a three-sport athlete, playing football, pole vaulting, and acting as captain of the wrestling team. He describes himself as a fiscal conservative, “but also someone who is moderate on social issues. I am not in favor of an abortion ban, for instance.”

From school he went to University of Albany for a BA, and then to Charleston School of Law, graduating in December 2018 – a semester early. He is currently the village attorney for Ellenville.

Enouen is from out west – Oklahoma, where she first got interested in government. “My first love was civics,” she says, “and I was president of the debate team.” After school, she went to St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There she met her husband and things took a different turn. “We decided we wanted to learn how to farm.”

That’s the desire that led her to move to Gardiner to learn farm work. “We drove here in a 2001 Prius with our stuff and our cat, Scout (Scout passed away this summer).” She took to the area quickly. She and her husband now run Long Season Farm on Route 209 in the town.

“I loved being out in the fields,” says Enouen. “It’s not financially rewarding but the work is what we love.”

Enouen was serving on the council when Town Supervisor Mike Baden resigned at the end of April. She’s been doing the job ever since. Enouen is currently filling out the remainder of Baden’s term, which ends December 31. If she wins re-election next week, she will have two years in her own right as supervisor.

The Issues

The big point of difference between the candidates is the town’s new zoning changes. These updates include changes to the town’s floodplain, aquifer protection district, historic preservation district, and economic enterprise district.

“I feel those are not beneficial for residents,” Morse says. “I would not approve the changes as proposed.”

Enouen, on the other hand, believes: “Nothing in the changes is that radical. There are differences in some areas, but nothing too radical for most landowners. We are trying to strike a balance between keeping rural areas with the appropriate density of housing and identifying areas in the town where we could have some higher density.”

Both Morse and Enouen cite housing as a major focus for the job.

“Housing is going to be a priority going forward,” Enouen says. “We will be looking for projects in 2025.”

“The biggest issue we face is the cost of housing and the shortages,” Morse says. “The zoning changes envisaged, do not help.”

Morse has a tax proposal that he thinks will be popular. “I want to offer a 10 to 15 percent tax break to taxpayers who have been residents of the town for fifteen years or more.” This would be similar to county tax breaks for volunteer firefighters and EMS workers, and, Morse says, would not apply to second homes.

He adds that “It would be a little like a variance, it would continue with the taxpayer, but not for the property. Once it was sold, say to someone moving into the area, it would cease. I am thinking I will need to check with the town attorney, because this might need a law from the state legislature.”

Enouen’s experience as a farmer has her looking closely at wells and irrigation. “We have irrigation systems [on our farm],” she says of the dry spell currently plaguing the county, “but I know wells are running dry. We have to look at these weather patterns and be sensible. So, for instance we should avoid high density housing in low well-yield districts.”

Early voting has begun in Ulster County, and Election Day is November 5. To look up your polling place, visit the Board of Elections website (www.elections.ulstercountyny.gov).