Councilman Scott Manley of the Town of Newburgh will once again seek a seat on town council for another four year term in the upcoming 2023 election cycle. Manley joins fellow board members Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio and Councilman Anthony LoBiondo who have also announced their re-election runs in the past several weeks.

Manley’s political career began when he was first appointed to the town board in August 2015 and elected in November of the same year for his first four year term. In 2017, Manley was appointed Deputy Supervisor for the town and in 2019, Manley was re-elected for a second term as a councilman. As councilman, Manley serves as liaison to the police department, accounting department, code compliance department and the zoning and planning departments.

According to his biography, Manley went through the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and graduated from Newburgh Free Academy. He went on to attend Orange County Community College to further his education and has lived in the town for over 40 years. He has raised two sons, Josh and Dylan in the town and his parents still live in the town today.

In 1983, Manley joined the Town of Newburgh Police Department and in 1993 he was promoted to Detective. In 1995, Manley was promoted to Sergeant until his retirement in 2008. Manley spoke briefly about why he chose to become a police officer here in Newburgh, his hometown.

“I can remember when I had my interview in 1983 to be a police officer, ‘why do you want to be a police officer?’ I want to be able to help people, especially the little guy,” said Manley. “They [interviewers] looked at me like ah, typical answer but that’s me and that’s the way I’ve been. It’s the way I was raised.”

Manley’s law enforcement experience assisted him once again on May 15, 2018 when a tornado touched down in Newburgh and left behind a trail of damage in its wake. A command post had been set up at the police department, and Manley assisted in running operations during the tornado. Manley remembered taking notes during several emergency management meetings and sharing all the information with the public via his Facebook page.“One thing I always felt with government is everybody needs to be informed,” said Manley. “Information is power. People are very curious. They want to know what’s going on in their town.”

Manley kept providing updates to his Facebook page to keep the public more informed about what was going on during that crisis. Now with the COVID pandemic over the course of the past few years, Manley continues to provide updates to his followers to keep them informed as much as he can.

For Manley, if re-elected, he was looking forward to the anticipated work and construction of the new recreation/senior center at Chadwick, increasing evening and weekend events at the acquired Desmond Estate and development of the Anchorage Marina property in the town. Manley also shared that he would like to work on building up the town’s departments and bring in more employees to fill open positions that are needed. Manley also encourages residents to attend various town meetings if able to, to learn more about what is going on in the town to make sure that they are informed and made aware of what is happening. Heading into election season, Manley is ready once again to lead alongside his fellow board members and to help his fellow residents and neighbors. He has also shared that if Piaquadio was to retire later down the road, Manley feels that what he has learned from Piaquadio over the past few years will help him easily transition into the role of which he is prepared for.

“My favorite thing is talking to people and getting to know people and I feel like this is my town, my people, and I’m constantly out there talking to people getting their ideas, and people come up with some great ideas,” said Manley. “I’m everybody’s voice here and whether I agree or disagree, I’m going to listen to all your points and get answers. I will never tell somebody, just make an answer. I will tell you, let me get back to you. Even if I can’t get them their answer, let them know I’m working on it. That’s what the people deserve. And that’s what we’re here for, to answer to them, to serve.”