Hopeful to lead Malta steps up

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

The Democratic Party will field a candidate for town supervisor this fall, meaning there could be a three-way race for Malta’s top elected position.

The Democratic candidate will be Cynthia Young, 56, a self-employed bookkeeper and tax preparer, who also ran against incumbent Republican Paul Sausville two years ago.

The Democrats also have Carol Henry running as a Town Board candidate against two incumbent Republicans.

“I am running for town supervisor because I believe I can make a difference in the way our town is governed,” Young said. “The business of the town needs to be conducted in a more open environment, with spirited debate focused on what’s right for the residents of the town of Malta. I will work to foster a spirit of consensus-building among the Town Board.”

Young will face the winner of a Sept. 10 Republican primary, in which Sausville faces a challenge from Town Board member Peter Klotz.

Klotz, meanwhile, also has the support of the Saratoga County Conservative Party in the November election and plans to run in November even if he loses the Republican primary.

Young is a graduate of SUNY Oswego, where she majored in political science.

The 26-year town resident has previously worked in the town clerk’s and town assessor’s offices. She is a past chairwoman of the Malta Youth Commission and serves on the Malta Zoning Board of Appeals and the Board of Assessment Review.

Young, who also been endorsed by the Working Families Party, noted that she lost to Sausville by only 57 votes in 2011.

This will be her sixth time running for town office. She previously ran for town clerk and for the Town Board but has never won.

Henry, who is running for Town Board against Republican incumbents Maggi Ruisi and John Hartzell, also ran for the board two years ago but was unsuccessful.

Currently, Henry is chairwoman of the town Community Response Board, which responds to community issues that may arise with the GlobalFoundries computer chip plant. She is also a member of the town open space preservation and trails committee and the planning and zoning update committee. She is a construction project manager with Campito Plumbing & Heating in Latham.

“The population of the town has changed, and there needs to be a broader base of representation,” Henry said.