GOP seeks to break Democrats' lock on Amherst Town Board

They won both Town Board contests in 2019 and look to maintain their dominance in this year's election for town supervisor and two board seats.

Amherst Democrats have the advantages of incumbency and voter registration in upstate New York's most populous suburb.

Supervisor Brian J. Kulpa, Councilwoman Jacqualine G. Berger and Councilman Shawn A. Lavin argue they have been good stewards of town finances, helped to lead Amherst through the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic and encouraged responsible growth in the town.

"We're a strong team moving Amherst forward," Berger said.

Republicans, however, are running a spirited campaign to try to gain a toehold, if not a majority, on the Town Board.

Supervisor candidate Jay DiPasquale and Town Board challengers Ray Herman and Daniel J. Rider say out-of-control spending has produced higher taxes for town property owners and Democrats have made decisions without transparency. The GOP candidates also blast the town's agreement with a development group that underpins a massive proposed transformation of central Amherst.

"The town really needs to go in a different direction," Herman said.

Kulpa has large financial advantage in supervisor race

Kulpa, 43, took office in January 2018 after previously serving as Williamsville mayor. He retains his ownership stake in the consulting firm Clark Patterson Lee, but is no longer a full-time employee.

Kulpa said he and his fellow Democrats have stabilized the town's finances; laid the groundwork for the transformation of the aging Boulevard Mall; encouraged development that maintains green space and spurred the revival of the Eggertsville neighborhood; and helped expand the town's retail-focused economic base by welcoming a "290 medical spine." All of this, Kulpa said, in a town that has a larger population than Albany.

"It’s in need of reinvestment and in need of reinvention and we’ve done that," Kulpa said. 

DiPasquale, 60, who is not currently employed, has a background working in public administration, including serving as an adviser with the U.S. State Department in Iraq and as deputy Allegany County administrator.

His 2015 tenure as the Chattahoochee Hills, Ga., city manager was a tumultuous one, with some residents accusing DiPasquale of pushing out the city's popular police chief and of harassing people outside a local school, charges DiPasquale denied. He ultimately resigned after less than six months on the job.

"I fell on my sword for the good of the city," DiPasquale said. Kulpa declined comment on his opponent's employment history.

Campaign finance records show a wide gap in the amount of money the two supervisor candidates have raised. Kulpa this year has raised just over $85,000 through the beginning of this month, on top of $2,300 he carried into 2021, with many donations from political allies, lawyers, developers, and current and former town employees.

DiPasquale, however, had taken in just $3,250, saying he's had to run a "grassroots" campaign as a result.

Debates over parkland dominate discourse

In terms of issues dominating discussion in Amherst, at the top are two controversial proposals over the future of parkland in the town.

The Amherst Central Park concept has stirred up controversy, with critics objecting to the town's sale of public land near its Northtown Center to make way for a medical office building and parking lot. Democrats insist the cost of building new, upgraded athletic fields to replace those lost, along with future public improvements, will be covered by new revenue generated by this and other private development in the area.

Still, opponents remain skeptical. 

The Republicans also vow to let the public have a greater say in decisions, such as those concerning the sale of town athletic fields and the future of the Audubon Golf Course.

"The biggest problem is we have one-party rule in Amherst," Rider said. "We have no public discussion of anything."

Democrats say they have acted transparently in making decisions about land use in the town.

"I don't have anything to hold back," Kulpa said.

Then there is the perpetual headache in town government, the fate of the former Westwood Country Club, a brownfield site. The Westwood property fight has occupied two supervisors and could drag in a third.

"The main focus, as I've told everybody, is to preserve that as green space for generations," Lavin said.

DiPasquale said Democrats have gone too far to appease its owners' interests.

"Why is it the responsibility of the taxpayers in the town to bail out a group of investors because they bought a golf course?" DiPasquale said.

Republicans also blasted the rate of spending and the rise in property taxes in the town budget between 2019 and 2021 under the Democrats. The proposed $148.4 million 2022 town budget calls for no change in the property tax levy, the amount the town collects in taxes, and a small drop in the property tax rate.

GOP narrowly missed earning board seat in 2019

In the two Town Board races, Democratic incumbents Berger and Lavin, who were initially elected in 2017 with Kulpa, are facing GOP challengers Herman and Rider.

Berger, 65, also the deputy supervisor, is a longtime organizer with public-sector unions and retired from SUNY Empire State after 20 years. Lavin, 40, is director of veterans services for Erie County and is a captain with the Air National Guard 107th Attack Wing, based in Niagara Falls.

Herman, 63, is a lawyer and longtime former assistant district attorney for Erie County. Rider, 76, is a Navy veteran, licensed professional engineer and longtime executive in the heavy construction industry who sits on the Amherst and Williamsville traffic safety boards.

Berger lost the Conservative primary earlier this year, when Lavin and Herman grabbed that party's two ballot lines for the general election.

With the two Democratic incumbents also holding the Working Families Party lines, supporters of the Republican candidates formed a new party, United for Amherst, that offers another place on the ballot where the challengers can pick up votes.

Republicans note a GOP candidate lost the final Town Board seat in the 2019 election by just 49 votes. But Democrats have a sizable enrollment edge, with 43% of registered Amherst voters compared to Republicans' 29%.

Also, Town Justice Kara Buscaglia won a competitive primary contest against Republican Kathy Weppner, sweeping every ballot line, and is assured of re-election.