I became involved in Brunswick politics quite haphazardly. I was asked to help out one my friends, Sue Haynes on her bid for Brunswick Town Council. Little did I know that I would become incredibly interested in politics over in Rensselaer County, and the challenges they face with both development and a new for new sources of revenue.

Currently the Brunswick Town Board is controlled entirely by members of the Republican Party, and is lead by Town Supervisor Phil Herrington. Phil and his brother, Rensselaer County Legislator Ken Herrington, own and operate a 550-cow dairy in Brunswick, one of the largest farms in the county. To feed this many head of cattle, they literally own or rent thousands of acres of land in the county.

There is an incredible demand for new housing and growth in parts of Rensselaer County. The Herrington family, like some other farm families, see the sale and subdivision of portions of their farmland as a potential source of revenue to pay for retirement. They would like to see parts of the county developed to bring in new tax revenue, and to also bring in money for themselves. Too often, however, that development is rushed without thought to the consequences to community.

Brunswick is incredibly hilly and lacks high-capacity roads or utilities to provide for such growth. Many of the developments would require extensive public services to be delivered to them, at a high cost to town taxpayers. People like Sue Haynes and Brunswick Smart Growth are particularly concerned about how the town is growing without significant check or discussion of the consequences of such growth.

Sue will be a new voice on the Town Board, one of a different party then the Republicans who currently dominate the board. While she will not have the power to create or defeat legislation, she will be a voice of change, that will force her colleagues to consider the impact of their actions. She will bring the perspective of Brunswick Smart Growth to the table, and make sure that there is an honest discussion of growth and change in Brunswick.

Paul Engelke would make the perfect running mate for her, if they only shared a party line together. He is a farmer, much like Sue and Brunswick Smarth Growth is concerned about growth and impact on the community. He brings the experience of being a businessman and a farmer to the table – and can understand very well why farmers like Phil Harrington are selling out their business. Engelke wants to allow farmers to get out of the commodity business and diversify their businesses.

Engelke is an unlikely character to get involved in politics, particularly in opposition to Phil Harrington and most of the Brunswick GOP establishment. Indeed, Engelke is a lifelong Republican. Yet, he ran into problems with Phil Herrington repeatedly stopping his attempts to diversify his farming business. When Engelke wanted to bring sledding to his farm, Harrington said no. When Engelke wanted to expand his farm stand shop, Herrington said no. While these rulings by the Town Supervisor and planning board fly in the face of the Agriculture and Markets law, they are what Harrington has stated is the law.

Phil Herrington does not simply have a vengeance against Engelke. Herrington ruled against a farmer trying to install a wind turbine on his farm, and other non-traditional farming ventures. While Herrington sees little value in preventing land from being developed, he is quick to stop low-impact developments on farms that would make them more profitable and more livable for those who choose to live the farm life. He would allow small developments such a stores and offices to be located on the farm, as long as they are generally compatible with a farming operation. These developments would not have the fiscal impact of massive housing developments on the tax structure, and could blend in well with the farm scape.

Vito Grasso is the Democratic-candidate that is running in a three-way race between Phil Harrington and Paul Engelke. While he certainly shares many of the concerns of the smart-growth people, he is not as strong of a candidate as Paul Engelke. Vito is a lobbyist, while Paul is a farmer. In a rural community, where farming still matters to a lot of people, Paul has far more pull and ability to defeat Phil Herrington. Moreover, the experience of farming gives Paul insight into the reasons why people give up the farm life, and prepare him more to lead Brunswick towards choices that will benefit all in the community.