I was a strong proponent of the ward system referendum that took place in 2018. The ward system will break up the town into four wards where one councilperson will represent one ward each and be voted on by the residents of that ward. The supervisor would continue to be voted on town-wide. The hope is that it will allow for greater representation of all parts of the town and will prevent any block vote from a certain geographical location in town from winning a majority on the town board. Chester voted overwhelmingly in favor of it... five years ago.
The town board under Supervisor Valentine’s tenure stated they would wait for the 2020 census to take place before implementing it. Once the numbers came out, the excuse was they need to find a law firm to help with it. I can’t explain why prep work wasn’t done for it for three years. By 2022, no progress had been made. Councilman Holdridge got elected and took charge of it. Now we are close to approving a final map and protecting the town’s future. Brandon is getting it done and he has my vote for town supervisor because of it.
Stephen Keahon
Chester