NORTH ELBA — The Democratic Party members in the town of North Elba nominated three candidates, two of which are Republicans, during a caucus Wednesday night.

Current Town Councilman Rick Preston was nominated for town supervisor. With two open seats available for town council members, incumbent Councilman Jason Leon and former Essex County Republican Commissioner Jack Moulton were nominated.

Both Leon and Moulton have officially accepted the nomination from the Democratic Party. On Friday, Preston said he had not yet decided if he would accept the nomination, but was leaning toward it. He said he was “amazed” by this rare occurrence and was still deciding what to make of it, but said there are some distinct benefits to running on both lines.

“This is local government, not national, so it should be about the people and practical solutions rather than partisan politics,” he said.

Preston said one of the reasons many local politicians, himself included, also submit independent petitions is to help gain support from the other side of the aisle. While he remains true to his Republican roots, he sees this development as a sign of receptiveness to that sentiment.

“I always say that I’m a community servant, not a politician,” he said.

The Republican party in Essex County does not hold caucuses, but circulates petitions instead. For those like Moulton and Preston who had already circulated petitions on the Republican party line, the nomination from the Democratic Party functions as a type of cross-endorsement, said Republican Election Commissioner Roy Holzer.

Moulton said he is glad to receive the Democratic nomination and to be on the ballot as both a Republican and Democrat. He describes himself as a “true centrist” who doesn’t feel totally aligned with either party.

“Broadly, nationally, now is the time we need to elevate centrist voices,” he said. “The more moderates we can bring into local government, hopefully that can trickle up.”

“Right now is not the time where there’s a lot of bipartisan action going on,” Moulton added. “I think we can at least point to North Elba and say, ‘We all still work together.'”

Leon, a Democrat, also said he was honored to receive the nomination.

“In the years as a village trustee and now town council, I hope I’ve proven to the community that they can trust me — that I’m transparent, open, honest — and continue to be that way,” he said.

He said he hopes to continue work on First Steps, expanding access to child care in Lake Placid and North Elba. Even though Leon is one of the younger members of the town council, he said he would like to see even younger members of the community start to be involved in leadership.

Moulton, who is 32, hopes to be the start of that trend. As he was circling petitions this spring, he said lots of people were glad to see “new blood” getting involved. Many of the issues North Elba is facing, like affordable housing, are key to helping younger people make their homes here, Moulton said.

The deadline for both designated and independent petitions has passed, so any additional candidates would have to join the November election with a write-in campaign. This particularly applies to the office of town justice, which has had no petitions or nominations.