Tiffani Silverman brings over twenty years of combined fiscal, legal and human resources experience. She began her career in the public sector at the New York Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society and continued to work in the human resource areas of environmental law firms and then most recently as Director of Human Resources at St. Anne Institute, a nonprofit community organization serving Albany and the surrounding towns. Tiffani was recognized this past year by The Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) as a rising leader and sits on a national Human Resources Committee for The Association of Children’s Residential & Community Services. Incorporating advocacy is a priority in her work. Tiffani graduated from University at Albany and received her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certification from Cornell University. Visit Tiffani’s website here.

Candidates for County Legislature

Gary Galuski was elected to the Rensselaer County Legislature in 2024 and proudly represents the City of Troy. He is deeply grateful to the voters of Troy for their overwhelming support and trust in his leadership.

A lifelong resident of Troy, Gary has a deep-rooted commitment to his community and a strong desire to improve the lives of its residents.

Previously, Gary served on the Troy City Council, where he worked tirelessly to address the needs and concerns of the city. His time on the council provided him with valuable experience and insights into the challenges Troy faces.

Gary played an active role in initiatives aimed at improving local infrastructure, enhancing public safety, and fostering economic growth, always with a focus on creating a brighter future for all.

As a County Legislator, Gary continues his mission to make Troy a place where families and businesses can thrive. His dedication to progress, combined with his understanding of local government, makes him a strong advocate for the people of Troy.

Elected in 2018, Carole is a hard-working, self-starter who is resourceful, creative and solution-oriented. She is very active in the community, volunteering for a variety of causes to assist those in underserved areas. She regularly attends neighborhood association meetings so she can hear the various concerns of our residents.

Carole ran for this seat to help expand adult and youth opportunities in Troy. Some initiatives include: fostering greater resource sharing among local municipalities to save tax dollars; acting as a watch dog for the County’s budgetary finances; promoting operating efficiencies and providing accessible responsive constituent services.

Carole worked for over 37 years for the State of New York within the criminal justice system retiring from the Board of Parole in 2014 as an Assistant Public Information Officer. Throughout those years, she dealt with victims of crime; spoke to parents of felons, as well as discussed goals and objectives with county probation departments statewide regarding their drug treatment programs for alternatives to incarceration.

She was a past President of CSEA Local 668 (NYS Probation & Correctional Alternatives) as well as shop steward (NYS Division of Parole).

As your Rensselaer County Legislator, Carole worked closely with the District Attorney to establish an Animal Abuse Registry where convicted offenders’ photos and information would go on a website to expose them from being able to obtain animals. That was eventually passed in July of 2021. She consistently assists residents by listening to them and trying to resolving their concerns. Carole Weaver serves on the Public Safety/Judiciary, Social Services, Contract and Insurance Committees. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Minority Office.

Bob Crowley is a lifelong resident of Rensselaer County, has lived in Poestenkill for the past 20 years and has been a member of the Poestenkill Democratic Committee since 2007, serving as Chair until 2023. He is a graduate of Union College, a former Peace Corps Volunteer, and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from SUNY Albany. Bob retired from New York State having worked with the Division of the Budget, Department of Transportation, and Division of Homeland Security. He is a former President of the Rensselaer Land Trust, currently serves on the Board of Hudson Taconic Lands and was the Treasurer of the George Washington School Parent Teacher Organization. Bob served as a longtime Church Council member and former President of St Timothy Lutheran Church (now Hope Lutheran Church) in North Greenbush and remains active with that parish. He has three adult children who live locally and a 101-year-old mother.

As county legislator, Bob’s priorities will include:

Govern our county in a fair and sound manner. Bring fair representation back to the County Legislature so the variety of interests and concerns of county residents will be heard. Renew trust and openness in our county government. Ensure county government takes the lead in county-wide services, especially our ambulance. Protect county residents from drastic cuts to Medicare, education, and disaster assistance that have been enacted by Republicans in Congress.

James (Jamie) Matzdorf has lived in North Greenbush for 38 years. He was a PTO officer at Bell Top School and Columbia High School, served as PTO president at Howard Goff Middle School for 2 years and was thrilled to have the opportunity to coach his daughter in Classy Lassie softball. Jamie managed and then owned Grapes & Grains Wine and Spirits on Route 4 for 24 years before retiring last year.

As a local small business owner and a longtime county resident, he knows the challenges facing our business community as well as the delicate balancing act required to ensure that our values and small town essence supports responsible, planned growth. Before Jamie became a local businessman, he taught politics and political communication at SUNY Albany and SUNY New Paltz, was the general manager of the Legislative Gazette newspaper and published the Mountain Eagle newspaper in Tannersville, in Greene County. Yeah, it was a heck of a commute. Especially in winter.

Mary Frances Sabo is a hardworking and visionary leader who is running to serve on the Rensselaer County legislature for District 2 (towns of North Greenbush, East Greenbush and Poestenkill). Mary Frances is serving her second term on the North Greenbush town board. Mary Frances has many accomplishments on the town board including:

*Sponsoring a resolution that registered the town as a New York State Climate Smart Community and securing funding for climate initiatives to help the town prepare for severe weather events;

*Establishing an Open Space Committee that prepared a draft Natural Resources Inventory for North Greenbush;

*Advancing and enacting local laws to increase greenspace in new developments in town;

*Sponsoring and enacting a local law that requires recycling of water in car washes;

*Advocating for hiring union workers on town projects;

*Advocating for and securing pedestrian improvements on Route 66.

Mary Frances is retired after serving New York as an attorney for nearly 23 years. She spent most of her career at the New York State Insurance Department and Department of Financial Services where she focused on expanding health coverage to the uninsured and then worked at the New York State Department of Transportation. At DOT she worked in a variety of areas, including land use and motor carrier safety. She graduated from Dartmouth College and George Washington University School of Law.

Mary Frances has lived in North Greenbush for 22 years. She is married with 3 young adult children. She served as a girl scout troop leader and president of the Bell Top PTO. Mary Frances formerly served as a Trustee of the North Greenbush library and on the board of CEO, a local community action agency. She currently volunteers as part of a team assisting an Afghan refugee family who assisted the U.S. Army settle in the Albany area and uses her expertise while serving on the Capital District Transportation Committee’s Vision Zero Advisory Committee.

Hi. I’m Mike Decker — and I’m running for Rensselaer County Legislature – not to climb a political ladder, but to bring something back that’s been missing for too long: decency.

I am a lifelong resident of Schodack, New York, and a proud graduate of Maple Hill High School. I was raised on a local farm and I believe this helped me to develop a strong work ethic and a deep appreciation for my community. For many years I volunteered as a basketball coach at Maple Hill. Some of the best times of my life were spent coaching, mentoring young athletes and fostering teamwork.

I have been married for 23 years to my wonderful wife Jessica with whom we share two adult sons. Professionally, I work for a green energy company, where I am committed to promoting sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. Through this work and volunteer efforts, I believe I have consistently demonstrated my dedication to both my community and the environment.

My name is Alan Gaynor. I'm running for the Rensselaer County Legislature because I want to do my part to make life better and fairer for the people who live here.

I grew up poor in a single-parent home. I learned firsthand the difficulties families face because of substandard housing stock and the lack of commonsense policies that help people struggling to pay their bills. My 30-year career was as a technical writer and best-practices business consultant, helping organizations communicate truthfully and concisely. I now live in Petersburgh with my partner Jackie Monette, a well-known and beloved art teacher who taught for many years in Berlin, Grafton, Petersburg, and Stephentown. Currently, I am retired and working as a part-time cashier and union steward at the Wild Oats food coop in Williamstown, MA, where I just completed contract negotiations, gaining an average 9% wage hike for the workers.

My background in writing, computer science, technology, engineering, and the media gives me a wide, strong basis for confronting the issues that face our communities. I will give a voice to those who share my values: caring for our environment and fighting for communities affected by chemical contamination; improving ambulance service throughout the County; supporting local farms and providing convenient sources of high-quality nutritious food; investing in our schools, including early childhood education; providing affordable childcare to support young parents; improving fairness in taxation and governmental policies; providing support for our neighbors in need all while celebrating the diversity that is our Country.

For greater detail, please visit my website: "Alan Gaynor For All of Us"

Lark Barnett Rutecki is a graduate of RPI and was elected to a full term as a member of the School Board for Rensselaer City School District.  During that time she served in a number of roles including President and Vice-President. Lark has also been nominated to serve on the Ethics Board for the City of Rensselaer.

Lark has spent her professional career working to resolve complex electronic discovery issues associated with litigation.

Rensselaer is a special place to her and a City she loves.  She and her husband own a home and have four young children, three of whom have already attended Van Rensselaer Elementary School.