This election day will be relatively placid in the Town of Marlborough – because by and large the candidates this year are running unopposed. The one key exception is the race for Town Board, where newcomer Maribeth Wooldridge-King is running for her first time on the Democratic ticket. The other two candidates on the ballot are incumbent Republicans Dave Zambito and Ed Molinelli. The top two of the three candidates will take seats on the board.

 

Marlborough voters will also vote on a referendum to extend the town supervisor’s term. It is currently set at two years. If approved, the referendum will change that to four years. The other referendum on the ballot would be to increase the operating budget of the Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library in Milton by $36,700 to a total of $189,200.

 

The Southern Ulster Times submitted questions to each of the candidates. Their responses are included.

 

Scott Corcoran, 53, is seeking another term as supervisor for the Town of Marlborough, with Republican endorsement. Corcoran is an almost-lifelong town resident and holds an A.A.S. degree in Business Administration from Dutchess Community College. He is lead technician for manufacturing operations at ON-Semiconductor in East Fishkill. He and his wife, Tammy, have been married for 29 years and have two adult sons, Matthew and Ryan.

 

I have been Supervisor for two years and previously served as a Town Council member for 10. My three main goals when I was elected to the Board were to keep taxes down, thus helping attract new development in Marlborough; to upgrade and improve all our buildings and parks; and to upgrade and improve our equipment, including vehicles, IT systems and programs. 

 

I believe I have been effective in achieving all three of these goals. We have kept taxes under the 2 percent cap every year I have been on the Board. We have attracted multiple developers to invest in our town, and the number of developers has grown rapidly in the past two years. We have upgraded our Town Hall, Community Center, Cluett Schantz Park, Sands Avenue Park, and the Milton Landing Park and Pier. We are currently looking to bid out our Highway Department building for a complete update inside and out. We have updated all our computer systems and next year we will be updating all our software systems. 

 

We also have installed security cameras and high-speed wi-fi in all buildings and parks. The goal was to get our town into the 21st century, and we have done that.

 

Our priorities are to keep taxes flat, to keep increasing our housing market, to keep attracting new business into the town, to keep expanding our infrastructure facilities, and to keep expanding and promoting our great agritourism community. We also need to attract skilled workers to fill upcoming open positions in all our departments. 

 

I want to keep taxes flat so we can retain and grow our town’s residential and commercial taxpayers. I want to complete the expansion of the Marlboro sewer plant and the new community/recreation center. I also want to start and complete the upgrade to the town’s Highway Department building, install pickleball courts at Cluett Schantz Park, continue to work with the DOT to install turning lanes along the 9W corridor, and continue to expand our town’s recreation activities.

 

David J. Zambito, 56, is seeking reelection as councilman for the Marlborough Town Board. He is endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties. Zambito is a Marlboro High School grad, attended Dutchess Community College, and owns Zambito & Son landscaping. His family includes son John-Lincoln Zambito and better half Arlette Porpiglia.

 

I’m finishing my second year as councilman: I was appointed for the first year, then reelected for the second. I have 30-plus years of experience in behind-the-scenes community involvement. I served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for 14 years before stepping down to take this appointment. I’ve been a member of Marlboro UNICO for more than 30 years.

 

I’ve served as vice president, president, and currently hold a seat on its advisory board. I’ve known all the town officials and employees from long before I accepted the appointment. I’m self-employed in my own hometown, so I see firsthand what goes on.

 

I’m effective because I’m an easy guy to talk to. I’m available all the time. I’ll always give you a response to any questions you may have… although that might not always be what you want to hear. I’m hands on. I’ve worked on numerous town projects with the past administration, as well as the current.

 

In a nutshell, renovations, expansions, and growth. We have our new community center being completed. We have our town highway and water department building moving forward to be renovated. We have our sewer treatment plants and water mains under expansion. Plus, we have several commercial and residential building projects on the docket, such as new housing projects and pending business plans.

 

I’d like to continue to move our town forward when it comes to smart growth and projects that will benefit our town.

 

I think everyone can agree that the top issue always seems to be taxes. We all would like to keep our taxes low. Reduced taxes would be even better – but unfortunately, that is not reality. Managing a town is just like managing a business, and our town is a large business. Like any business, expenses increase. So far, we have kept the town tax increase at just over 2 percent. I would like to see this continue.

 

Maribeth Wooldridge-King, 69, is running for the Marlborough Town Council for the first time. She is a native of Detroit and has 48 years’ experience as a registered nurse, most recently at the Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She is also a published author of textbooks and scientific articles, a presenter at the Oncology Nursing Society’s annual meetings, and as a college-faculty adjunct. She holds a B.S. degree in nursing from the University of Michigan and a M.S. from Boston University, also in nursing.  She and her husband, Daniel, live in Milton and are the parents of four adult children: Kyle, Ryan, Colleen, and Thomas. 

 

This is my first effort to be elected to public office. As a registered nurse and nurse administrator, I have developed a skillset that transfers well into serving as a councilperson. I listen well and I’m not afraid to ask questions and seek information on things about which I’m unfamiliar. I’m also proactive, anticipate and plan accordingly for the future, fiscally prudent, enjoy working to benefit a larger community, and a strong team player. Best of all, I like to have fun and enjoy a good laugh when I’m doing it.

 

I moved to Milton in May 2020, after living in Highland Mills for 35 years. I attended my first Town Board meeting in January 2021.  Since then, I have regularly attended the board meetings. In fact, I’ve probably attended more town board meetings than anyone else in town except for those on the board. I began to think, “I could do this” and as time went on that became, “I can do this!”  If elected, I would also be the only town board member without a full-time job.

 

We have distributed 2000 (yes, 2000!) door hangers with my picture and information directly to homes and residences as a way of meeting voters, controlling our mailing costs, and increasing my visibility.  Three issues kept coming up:  the traffic and safety of our roadways, particularly 9W and Lattintown Road; tax increases, making those who have lived here for generations wonder if they will be able to continue to live here; and the impact of new housing developments (which all seem to cater to people from New York City) and their impact on our schools, roads, and taxes. 

 

I’ll work to develop a long-term plan to address congestion and safety on our roadways. I’ll also support growth and development that is affordable, sustainable, and energy efficient, while exploring innovative and unconventional ways to increase our tax base. I also want to establish a mechanism for continued community input on the all the above items.   

 

Ed Molinelli, 67, is running for reelection as a councilman on the Marlborough Town Board as a Republican. This will be his fifth term. Molinelli was born and grew up in Brooklyn and studied at Brooklyn College and St. John’s University. Molinelli’s grandparents lived in Marlborough and he now lives in his grandmother’s 19th Century house on Hudson Terrace. He works in sales for Hudson Valley Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Newburgh, and has two adult sons, Jerry and Matt. 

 

I’ve now served 16 years on the Town Board. If I win this term, it will be my last. We’ve made a lot of progress in the past few years at getting new things in our town. For instance, we redeveloped the dock area on the river below Marlboro village. It’s a nice place now. Our board also helped to bring the Marlboro Bayside project to town, which will add 120 new apartments at a time when housing is needed. I also pushed to build the new lighted bocce courts at Cluett-Schantz town park; we started with four teams and are now up to 20. That’s what it’s all about: using our town’s recreational funds to support things that people of all ages in the town are going to enjoy.

 

We’ve gotten a lot done, but we still need to build the town’s tax base. We need to get a larger concentration of people – in the hamlet of Marlboro and throughout the town – to support efforts such as attracting a supermarket to our town. In the past we’ve approached several supermarket companies, who told us we just didn’t have a large enough concentration of people. With all the new building that’s going on, we are optimistic that will improve. It will be a matter of getting property on 9W but I’m optimistic that we will eventually be able to attract a smaller supermarket chain to Marlborough. Finishing the new Bayside apartments is the first step. It will have 120 new apartments, likely housing about double that many people.

 

I want the town to continue to keep the lid on spending and keep taxes down. I’m a frugal representative and I’ve worked to do that for the entire time I’ve been on this Board. I’ve been through three or four town administrations, and I’ve always been the one to say, “Why buy that?” or “We don’t’ need that!” Fortunately, the town administration we’re working with now is on the same page as me.

 

I think most people know what I stand for and that I will do the right thing for most people in town. I have seen a lot of change since I first started on the Town Board, and most of it has been for the good. I’d like to continue that positive trend. We’ve come a long way in this town, believe me!

 

I’ve always been a community-oriented person. I ran the Boy’s Little League in Marlboro for 20 years, and I was also a basketball and soccer coach. People have gotten to know me in town so they know they can come to me as their councilman. I think that’s important in any elected office.