By TOM RUE Monticello election slate take shape
MONTICELLO - Candidates for mayor and two trustee seats are shaping up for Monticello's election this March, in what may become a heated race.The Democratic team will include incumbant mayor Robert Friedland seeking re-election; former Thompson supervisor John Barbarite and political newcomer Alvin Dumas for trustee positions. All three slots are for a term of four years. Friedland, 51, owns a B&B Landscaping. Barbarite, 50, is an electrician and contractor; while Dumas, 30, is a professional driver.
Trustees seats are vacated by the decisions of Evelyn Vandermark and Gloria Cahalan not to seek re-election.
Contacted on January 21, Friedland said his team of candidates had not yet met to form a platform, but he predicted it would be centered around "taxpayer concerns."
Republican trustee Gary Sommers, a bitter foe of Friedland throughout Sommers' two year tenure on the board, was originally named as candidate for mayor on petitions filed January 16 with the Board of Elections. But even on the day the petitions were filed, Sommers told The River Reporter he doubted he would run, stating that of the three candidates named on the petition only one was definitely interested.
Republicans nominated for Sommers for mayor, with June Bartole and Monis Brafman for trustees. Of the three, only Brafman is following through. Bartole also pulled out.
Conservative petitions named Sommers for mayor, with Rosenberg and Brafman as running mates.
Democrats are now said to be considering a court challenge to the validity of opponents' nominating petitions due to these and other alleged irregularities.
Monticello funeral director James Kenny, 51, said the Republican committee met on January 18 and endorsed him for mayor, along with Braffman and David Rosenberg -- a registered Democrat and former trustee who lost a bid for mayor two years ago as an independent. Rosenberg, 42, is an architecht. Brafman, 61, owns a title-searching company.
Contacted at home on January 21, Sommers refused to explain his reasons for pulling out. He claimed he was too busy to talk to a reporter.
Kenny stated he has been thinking of running for mayor for the last year. "I don't like the situation that has been going on in the past, from what we read in the papers. I want to change things and look ahead down the road," he said.
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