NEW SCOTLAND — It’s been a generation since the last competitive clerk’s race in New Scotland. Now, the woman who replaced the town’s longtime unopposed incumbent is running to keep the seat she was appointed to late last year. She is being challenged by a member of the Conservtive Party backed by the town’s “revitalized” Republican Party.

Lisa Williams, appointed clerk in December 2020, is squaring off against Lori Dollard for the office’s full two-year term. Williams will appear on the Democrat and Working Families Party lines on Nov. 2, while Dollard has the Republican and Conservative lines. 

The candidates, in addition to being asked questions about their relevant backgrounds, were asked the following questions: 

— Why are you running for office? 

— Hours

Many people, because of their own jobs, have limited time or opportunity during normal business hours to come into the clerk’s office should they have the need to do so. 

Do you think that evening hours are warranted for the office?  

— Minutes

Meeting minutes don’t have to be approved by a board to be posted. Should the drafted meeting minutes be made available online before the board approves them?

Williams

Lisa Williams has lived in New Scotland since 2007; she and her wife, Anne Mellody, live in Clarksville. She has a bachelor’s degree from Empire State College in human services and previously worked at the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

She’s seeking re-election, she said, “Because I care about people. I want to help the people in the town of Scotland. I’ve always wanted to help people.”

Going back to her time at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Williams said she’s always wanted to give back and be a part of advocating for people in addition to learning from them “in order to help them understand what is available to them.”

As to whether evening hours are warranted for her office, Williams observed that “very seldom” have people had a hard time getting into Town Hall before the current closing time, 4 p.m.

“But if there is a need,” she said, “I wouldn’t mind it, staying open till five or so just to make sure we help those workers” who can’t make it in during regular hours. 

On making minutes available two weeks after the meeting, she said, “Yeah, they could be made available online, if really needed. There shouldn’t be a problem.”

Dollard

Lori Dollard has lived in New Scotland since 2001. 

She is the coordinator of the activities department at the Daughters of Charity, a small order of nuns. She got her two-year degree at Broome Community College and then her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Utica. She and her husband, Brian, will be married for 30 years on Nov. 2, Election Day. They have four adult children.

Dollard is running for the office, she said, because it’s a great opportunity to work in her own community, helping her friends and neighbors “when they come through that door or call me on the phone or email.”

She also sees it as a unique opportunity and a challenge, pointing out that only about 1 percent of people ever run for office. And she was asked to run, something she was “honored” by, she said. 

As to whether evening hours are warranted for the clerk, Dollard said it would depend in part on what residents were “looking for in terms of service,” and pointed out a lot of what people need is available on the town’s website.

And she would also accommodate residents. 

“I live like two miles from Town Hall,” she said, “I could always arrange for another time that would work better for them.”

But rare for a candidate running for office, even at the local level, Dollard admitted not to know something and admitted it. “I don’t really know all the rules of the building or security and all that stuff at this point,” she said. “But I would really think that would be a way to do it. Just kind of help them, you know, work out a time, maybe even if it’s off hours that could work.”

She even suggested maybe the office could be open for Saturday hours, if possible.

On making minutes available two weeks after the meeting, Dollard said as long as board members have had an opportunity to have a look at them to ensure that the “particulars are indeed correct before anything got circulated,” she’d be in favor of making the minutes available.