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Nurse with passion for 'environmental justice' wins town council seat, judge re-elected to fourth term in Potsdam

Posted 11/6/18

POTSDAM – A nurse who says her primary focus will be “environmental justice and environmental protection” has won a seat on the town council and a town justice has been elected to a fourth …

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Nurse with passion for 'environmental justice' wins town council seat, judge re-elected to fourth term in Potsdam

Posted

POTSDAM – A nurse who says her primary focus will be “environmental justice and environmental protection” has won a seat on the town council and a town justice has been elected to a fourth term.

Democrat Toni Kennedy received 1,957 votes for a seat on the five-person town council, compared to 1,412 for Larry Colbert, a Republican from Norwood who ran to bring a conservative view to the board.

They ran for a one-year term created due to the death of Town Supervisor Rollin Beattie in May. Democratic town board member Ann Carville ran unopposed for the town supervisor seat, receiving 2,542 votes.

Prior the election, Kennedy said she is “very passionate” about environmental issues and wants to see local government take steps to make better use of renewable energy.

She is a registered nurse and case manager at Northern Lights Home Health Care and a Potsdam Central School Parent Teacher Association vice president. She volunteered for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election for president. She has three children.

Colbert is an electrician, retired from Alcoa after 36 years, and has done a lot of electrical work since then. He has worked part time for Lowes and Wal-Mart, and served for a short time as code enforcement officer for the Village of Potsdam.

Meanwhile, Democrat Samuel Charleson, was elected to his fourth term with 2,145 votes, compared to 1,379 for his Republican challenger, Kenneth “Juddy” Plumb.

Charleson has served 23 years as a county corrections officer, a SUNY police officer and a St. Lawrence County Sheriff deputy.

Plumb was a state trooper serving 20 years as an undercover officer and a school resource officer and has been public education instructor at SLL BOCES teaching college level Criminal Justice classes for the past 11 years.