Jon Decker
Jon Decker, 69, has a long history with the Town of Lloyd and an even longer resumé. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Democrat served two non-consecutive terms as town supervisor before winning a seat representing Highland on the Ulster County Legislature.
A number of issues have brought Decker back to Town Hall for another run for the supervisor’s chair, and not least among them is the flooding that occurred after Irene and Lee hit New York State.
“I’ve never seen this, and I’ve lived here since 1941,” he said of the flooding. “The flood’s going to be a continuous challenge.” Like his opponent, Decker said that his constituents in town reached out to him and asked him to run. “I feel capable. I think I’ve got a couple years left in me.”
Decker — an Army veteran and a father of two adult children — has made his living as the owner of D & D Auto Supply, which has locations in Highland and New Paltz. And outside of his time as supervisor and a county legislator, he also sat on the Lloyd Planning Board for eight years and worked as a Town Board member for two.
While the Democrat did have some praise for outgoing Supervisor Raymond Costantino — especially his work to make the Hudson Valley Rail Trail a fixture of tourism in town — Decker also wanted to bring change to how things have been done at Town Hall.
“I think it was, in the previous administration, it was kind of a one-man show with Raymond,” the candidate said. “There needs to be more transparency in the town’s operation.”
Decker said he’d like to see the Planning Board reclaim its normal role of acting as lead agency during SEQR reviews — something that during the Costantino years had been a Town Board job. He’d also like to see the Town Board rely on executive sessions much less than they currently do.
As far as his priorities for how he’d act as supervisor, Decker said he thought Highland had a leg up on nearby towns, like New Paltz or Gardiner, when it came to commercial developments.
“We have an advantage as a township that is kind of unique in the county — the availability of water and sewer,” he explained. With that infrastructure present, the Town of Lloyd is a lot more attractive to businesses that would like to open up shop. Decker said he’d rely on that strength as supervisor.
Gov. Cuomo’s 2 percent tax cap is a big issue for the Democratic candidate, who added that it will make budgeting a challenge for the Town of Lloyd. He sees cuts and a reigning in of spending as inevitable. “It may lead to some cuts as far as headcount in the town employees,” he added.
Decker would also like to explore green technology, such as wind power and solar panels, to see if they’d save money for the town. He’d also like to work with the town’s truck drivers to make sure they’re not idling and wasting the fuel for which taxpayers pay. That being said, Decker was not sure that green technology would be a magic button to solve all of Highland’s problems — but it is an option.
The former supervisor said he thought his past experience would be an asset he could bring to Town Hall. “I’m very proud of my previous time as supervisor,” he said. ++
