Longtime resident and teacher John Barth is the Town of Crawford’s newest council member.

After Rory Holmes resigned from the town board officially on February 1, 2023, the position remained open with a few candidates interested. The board decided on John Barth, a heavily-involved community member who has lived in Crawford for about fifty years. He was appointed last Thursday and met with a round of applause from members of the board and members of the audience.

Barth became interested in joining after getting involved more with the town board over the past few years. “Now that my children are a little bit older, I thought it would be nice to get back into the community a little bit,” Barth mentioned, adding that he thinks he could bring something good to the board because of his lengthy time in the area.

On top of teaching sixth grade at Crispell Middle School, Barth is well known for coaching the Pine Bush Aquatic Club for 27 years. He also coaches the Pine Bush High School Girls Varsity Swim Team and is the assistant Boys Varsity Swim Team coach. He’s been a teacher with the Pine Bush School District for thirty years.

Barth is married to his wife, Janice, a Pine Bush art teacher. He also has three children, Maya, Ian and Caroline. Both Maya, who is 23, and Ian, 20, are in college. His youngest, Caroline, is a freshman in high school.

Barth has also coached youth soccer and Little League for years. All of this involvement makes him feel like he has a good handle on the community. “I just want to give a different, or, my perspective to the town,” mentioned Barth.

The council member position is temporary until the November election coming up this year, but Barth definitely plans to run.

“I just want to help out the town and continue in the way it’s been going. I feel like the board there, the other board members, are great people,” said Barth.