HIGHLAND, NEW YORK— Town board meetings this year have been tumultuous: with a member of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office present, a gavel and rules of decorum introduced, the town attorney threatening to walk out, the town clerk walking out of a meeting, and board members having to attend mediation sessions. 

But, the two candidates vying in this election to join the Town Board both say they want to mend the town’s disconnect. 

Town of Highland residents will choose between Democratic and Lifting Neighbors candidate Sonia M. Kidney and Independent and Highland First candidate Gerald Finn to take current board member Jim Akt’s seat. 

Akt had been appointed by the previous town board in December, 2023 to fill a vacancy after Chris Tambini resigned from the board that same month. 

According to the Sullivan County Board of Elections, town board appointees are required to run for their seats when next up in the elections. Akt, who was appointed and currently holds the seat, will not run.

The Board of Elections confirmed that Kidney or Finn will be elected to serve for what is left of Tambini’s original term, just one year. Highland voters will vote to elect someone to the seat for the normal four-year term in November 2025.

Mending the divide

Kidney has been a lifelong resident of the town of Highland and says, “It's time to move forward." She understands that people might be “fearful of whatever changes are coming” and wants to "help in any way so they can feel comfortable moving forward.” 

“I can help bridge the communication gap that we’re having,” she says. 

Finn also grew up in Highland, then left and raised a family in Orange County, and has recently returned to Highland to settle after retiring. 

“Highland is split, and I have a foot in both camps,” Finn says. There is a feeling of separation between the long-time locals and people who have moved more recently, he says, and he has connections to both long-time locals from his adolescence and new-er residents from working at the Barryville Farmers Market. “I can bring things together.”

Sonia M. Kidney (D) (Lifting Neighbors)

Kidney says the election of three new board members in 2023 “made a very powerful statement that it’s time to move forward.” Her focus is to “enhance and expand” the programs the town currently offers for youth, veterans, and aging residents. 

An Eldred Central School student and coach of the Eldred Yellowjackets girls' High School Soccer team, Kidney says, "There are a lot of people that know me. I went to school here, owned a business, and raised a child. I have every aspect of this town in my view.” 

“We’ve spent our lives here and want to make the best of what our town has to offer,” she says. "We can now build a better future.”

Kidney acknowledges Highland has changed. "things are moving so quickly I want to be there to help any transition,” she said. However, she added,  it isn’t helpful to be “fearful of whatever changes are coming.”

With business and county government work experience, Kidney says she has a “diverse set of skills that can move the community forward.” Her work as an owner of Countryside Farming and Heating has given her knowledge of budgets,  and from her time working for Sullivan County Government she has deep knowledge of surveys, land records and taxes, as well as an understanding of the programs the county can provide for towns like Highland.

Sonia M. Kidney says, “That’s who I am: From the Town. For the Town.”

More information about the candidate here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02aC1LvWe8DojPTWMNLxb9NbUtZArJh4pFaFPNs9K3CWCvJ3fLpgv59VJmiYEDpgml&id=61565721702664

Gerrald (Gerry) Finn (I) (Highland First)

Finn, a registered Democrat, said that due to filing issues, he was not able to run on the Democratic line. Some Republican town residents tried to get him on the Republican line but didn’t get enough signatures, he said. 

Finn says he decided to run when current appointed board member Jim Akt said he would not be running. 

“I went to high school in Highland in the 70s,” and he’s always had strong ties to the area, he says. Currently, Finn serves as an alternate on the Highland Planning Board. 

Finn says he’s “concerned about whether everything is fiscally appropriate,” and has 18 years' experience as Chief Financial Officer of a non-profit, Abbot House. “I know how to manage money and I understand how it works," Finn says, adding that no one on the town board has the financial expertise he brings. 

“I’m concerned that anyone who disagrees is labeled as divisive,” he said, but added that he brings a voice of “let's listen to what people are saying and decide what we think based on not who is saying something but what is being said.”

If I disagree with Pizzolato I'm going to say it and if I agree I am, If I disagree with Katelyn I'm going to say it, and if I agree I will too, 

John Pizzoloto, democratic chairperson, and Katelyn Haas, republican board member, have a long history of disagreeing on town board business and personally. The two attended a mediated discussion in BLANK TIME facilitated by BLANK BLANK. 

“I’ve been labeled as divisive. The chair of the town's democratic committee didn’t want me to run, but I’m staying above the fray and paying attention to the facts." “I can bring things together,” Finn says.

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