Milne, a Republican incumbent, is running for a second term on the board. Evans, who is independently affiliated, says he wants to join the board to lend his experience to the issues facing the town.

After initially planning to run for his first full term on the board, Harrietstown Councilman Jeff Denkenberger decided not to run last week, as he’s busy with work and his family and thought he wouldn’t be able to devote the proper time to them and the town.

Denkenberger was unanimously appointed to the board by the rest of the councilors in January after former Councilor Howard Riley resigned.

Last week, local Democrats also nominated Milne and Evans to represent their party in the election, so both candidates have nods from both major party lines.

Jeremy Evans signs paperwork after being nominated to run on the Republican Party line for an open Harrietstown council seat at a caucus on Wednesday. Evans and Harrietstown Councilwoman Ashley Milne were both nominated to represent the GOP, and were also both nominated to represent the Democrats on the Nov. 7 ballot at a Democratic caucus last week. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

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Milne

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Milne was half-way through her speech at the caucus when her daughter Eva, 3, ran up and jumped into her mom’s arms. Milne held Eva through the rest of her speech as her daughter pulled on her hair. Afterwards, she and another voter spoke about how moms are good at multitasking.

Milne said when her parents met town Supervisor Jordanna Mallach’s parents, the two sets of parents both talked about how they knew their kids would be politicians. From a young age, she said, she was always best friends with the whole town, a small town similar to Harrietstown.

Milne started by telling two politician jokes, derisive ones about politicians lying or being dull. But she said these are not good representations of the politicians she knows. There are the small few who make headlines for bad reasons, but Milne said most politicians she works with are good people trying to make their communities better.

“I would dare say that most of the people who are quietly doing their jobs we don’t hear about,” she said.

She said the makeup of the town board is quiet but effective, and the members all work well together.

Milne recalled a time in a doctor’s office waiting room in Plattsburgh. She had her young kids with her. The television in the room was playing a Dr. Phil episode about extreme dogs that have attacked people and it was showing some pretty graphic images. Worried about her kids having nightmares, she was troubled and spoke up.

“I finally looked around the room and I said ‘Can I please turn this off?'” Milne said. “Every single person in that room said ‘Yes! Thank you.'”

In a room of around 40 people, she said they all wanted to turn it off, but no one spoke up or did it until she opened the gates. Milne said she can be the voice for the people who don’t speak up.

“If I’m elected I want to be that voice. I want to stand up for our values in the Republican Party and continue to uphold these values that made America great,” Milne said.

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Evans

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Evans could not speak at the Republican caucus since he is no longer a member of the party. He became an independent in 2021. But Republicans could speak for him, and caucus organizer Ray Scollin and voter Ron Keough endorsed Evans, saying he represents the values of their party.

Evans left the GOP to run for village mayor independently last year, saying he would not carry the “baggage” of the national party leaders. This was a trend Scollin said was seen across the country.

“Do we want more Republicans to come in who are like minded to Jeremy and Ashley?” Scollin said. “Yes. We have to earn that. We have to bring them back.”

He said endorsing someone like Evans shows their values of integrity and fiscal responsibility.

“Jeremy Evans has been a guardian of the community purse,” Scollin said.

Scollin said Evans is not afraid to speak his mind and works with others well. In a time when the nation’s political parties are not working together, he believes Evans can bridge that gap. It’s not as wide of a divide as national politics makes it, he said.

After the caucus, Evans said it meant a lot to him to have people show up and vote that they want to put their trust in him.

With only him and Milne running for two open seats, he’s guaranteed a spot on the board in November. So for now, he’s biding his time and trying to learn as much as possible first. In the meantime, he said he welcomes conversation about the town’s issues.

One of the key issues he’s identified is the affordable housing shortage, which he said will be a “top priority” for him.

“We can’t solve every contributing factor to the housing crisis, but we’d better be doing everything we can under our control,” Evans said.

Early voting in the general election will begin on Oct. 28 and last until Nov. 5. Polls open on Election Day, Nov. 7, at 6 a.m. and will be open until 9 p.m.