Nunda candidates square off

Sponsored by the Nunda Township Republican Central Committee, the forum featured candidates in contested races for clerk, supervisor and highway commissioner.

Nunda Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano is up against Trustee Lee Jennings for the supervisor’s seat in the Feb. 26 contest. Provenzano has been clerk for eight years, to Jennings’ four years as trustee.

A third candidate, Kerry Leigh, dropped out of the race, but his name will remain on the ballot.

The winner of the race will face the township’s office administrator, Leda Drain, in April. Drain is running as an Independent.

Both Provenzano and Jennings said they were motivated to run because of a discontent on the board.

“The last three years, I’ve attended meetings that I felt were kindergarten classes versus board meetings,” Provenzano told the crowd of about 80 people. “The most important thing is we keep in mind who we represent – the taxpayers of Nunda Township, and we don’t allow our egos to get in the way and spend money unnecessarily because we can’t get along.”

Jennings also said that, if elected, he would treat the supervisor role as a full-time job, and that trimming the budget would be his number one priority.

“The town fund is in dire straights,” he said. “You have to start at every line item and cut if it’s not necessary. … Anything to cut expenses to get budget under control, and hopefully at some point build up the reserves.”

Jenning’s wife, Susan, is running against Angela Koscavage for the clerk job. Neither husband nor wife thought there would be a conflict if they are on the board together.

Both Susan Jennings and Koscavage answered questions that were submitted before or during the forum, and highlighted their own note-taking abilities, and professionalism.

In the highway commissioner race, seasoned businessmen are vying for the spot of a longtime incumbent.

Highway Commissioner Don Kopsell has served 16 years. Rob Parrish is a project manager for Geske and Sons, which has completed numerous road-paving jobs for Nunda Township. Mike Lesperance owns Iron Mike’s Excavating.