Over the last two years, divisiveness and threatening behavior have marred civic life in Ancram—including disrespectful treatment of women by town employees, the destruction of political signs and ill feelings over a grant awarded to a community arts center. Recently, verbal bigotry prompted town board members Amy Gold and Bonnie Hundt to draw up an anti-hate speech statement, which Gold presented at a crowded board meeting on Dec. 21.
Hundt described the latest episodes of belligerence, which took place on multiple occasions in November and December of 2023, as “drive-by bigotry.” Said Gold, “Racist and homophobic language was used against town members and visitors. The Columbia County sheriff was summoned each time, but no one got license plate numbers and the perpetrators fled the scene before the authorities arrived.”
The victims chose not to press charges; the offenders were never caught. One Ancram resident, who asked that their name not be used for fear of retribution, said that at least one of the wrongdoers was local. Newly elected Town Supervisor James MacArthur said Ancram has taken action to prevent further such occurrences: “Our town government addressed these issues and is working together effectively. The racial incidents were isolated and not a trend. Most folks in town get along pretty well.”
Former Town Supervisor Art Bassin and former Town Board member Hugh Clark declined to speak to the Herald, deferring to Gold and Hundt. Town Clerk Monica Cleveland also declined to answer questions. Board member David Boice did not respond to email or voicemail messages.
In the weeks leading up to the Dec. 21 Town Board meeting, Hundt said she was worried about potential threatening behavior by some attendees. Since May, when a controversial vote awarded a $67,500 grant to the former Ancram Opera House (discussed below), monthly board meetings had been full to bursting. Hundt asked the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department to send officers; Sheriff Donald Krapf, Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore and one other deputy sheriff sat in the front row.
Educational pamphlets in hand, the sheriff’s department attended the meeting in order to answer questions. They made themselves available to community members with additional concerns. Gold reintroduced the board’s October 2022 Resolution Supporting Inclusion and Understanding into the minutes. The meeting concluded without incident. Gold reintroduced the board’s October 2022 Resolution Supporting Inclusion and Understanding into the minutes. The meeting concluded without incident.
Gold’s anti-hate speech statement, which was signed by both outgoing and newly elected town board members, the town clerk and the highway supervisor, stated in part: “The personal safety of our community members, both physically and psychologically, is of the utmost importance. The Town Board unequivocally opposes any expression of hate, intolerance, prejudice, or discrimination toward any individual or group.”
Courtesy of nysheriffs.org
Krapf, a law enforcement officer for 27 years, said there has been an upsurge in the reporting of threatening acts in Columbia County over the past few years: “What’s happening here is a reflection of what’s going on nationally. People are more cognizant of what constitutes discrimination and hate crimes, and are more likely to call for help, where in the past they might have let it go.” He added, “Our goal is safety, and to build strong relationships between the sheriff’s department and the town. But the community doesn’t just depend on us, they have to depend on each other.”
The sheriff’s presence at the board meeting was unusual. “A few townspeople expressed their shock to me that the authorities were invited to attend,” said newly elected town board member Colleen Lutz. “Full meetings don’t bother me—I like it. If things aren’t discussed, they fester and feed the town rumor mill.” She added, “There were 20 people at our January 2024 meeting, and 25 attending on Zoom. That’s a lot!”
A contentious election season
It’s impossible to know whether the recent divisive incidents in Ancram are singular events or a reflection of deeper fissures in the community. Like other rural New York towns, Ancram’s demographics have changed with the steady arrival of urbanites over the years. The pandemic drastically accelerated that shift: In the first COVID year alone, more than 30,000 New York City dwellers relocated to the Hudson Valley, according to a July 2022 report by the nonprofit Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.
“We’ve had an influx of new hard-working volunteers,” Gold said. “That’s what makes these incidents so surprising. The town typically feels like a very caring and inclusive community, where neighbors look after neighbors.”
But three months before the drive-by episode, Ancram was in the throes of heated political races for the town board. “Polarization was fired up, and things really got nasty,” said Hundt. “Political signs on private property were getting ripped up. One case was lawn mower damage, others were clearly vandalized by being ripped in half; some simply disappeared.”
Lutz, who ran as a Republican on the Democratic ticket, said, “Both sides had only a few signs destroyed. I can’t say definitively, but it seemed that more belonged to the Democrats.”
Hundt said she felt threatened by social media pictures and messages targeting her during the campaign and she made two separate reports to the sheriff’s office. (The posts have since been deleted.) “[The sheriff’s office] was very agreeable and quick to respond,” she said, “No actual crime was committed, but my statements are on the record and I gave them photographs.” Hundt, a Democrat, lost to MacArthur in the race for town supervisor.
In September, Bassin, the outgoing town supervisor, sent an open letter via Ancramemail, the email distribution about community events run by the town. It read in part: “…residents of Ancram, regardless of their party affiliation, should feel comfortable expressing their views without fear…” He quoted the New York State Fair Campaign Code prohibiting “theft of campaign materials.” and cited trespassing, criminal mischief and petty larceny as possible charges; Bassin encouraged citizens to report any vandalism to law enforcement.
“I’d like to believe the destruction of political signs was one or two people in our town expressing their displeasure or disagreement inappropriately,” said Lutz. “This behavior was not unique to Ancram: I believe it’s a national trickle-down effect.” After Bassin’s statement was issued, Lutz said no further signs were destroyed.
A crisis in confidence
The political vandalism is symptomatic of other challenges facing Ancram. In response to persistent reports of misogyny, the town in 2022 established a Committee for Respectful Behavior (CRB). Ancram is possibly the only town in New York with such a committee, which functions as a human resources department for town employees and volunteers. Larger towns can afford a formal human resources department that, unlike the CRB, can take disciplinary action when needed. The committee was established at the recommendation of lawyer Elena Defio Kean, whom the town board hired to investigate reports of misogyny by town officials allegedly directed at female volunteers and town employees.
Credit: Judith Wolff
“The town had passed off the incidents as isolated episodes, which was not the case,” said Jack Lindsey, a former town board member and the Ethics Board chair since its inception in 2010. “I knew a number of these women, and they were not exaggerating. I decided to speak for them” —most were reluctant to come forward for fear of retribution— “and make it clear to the board that this was a town policy issue, not an ethics board issue.”
Lindsey read his prepared statement at the January 2022 board meeting, in part stating: “I have received 15 calls over the past year and a half… concern[ing] dismissive, sometimes hostile and inappropriate treatment of women who serve the town or who come to town hall for constituent services at the hands of certain men presently serving the town…. [W]omen working on behalf of the town are being bypassed, ignored, disrespected, and made uncomfortable by some currently serving elected and/or volunteer agents of the town…. Further, my observation is that the lack of swift, corrective action on the part of the town has exacerbated and widened the perception and deepened a crisis of confidence in equitable governance from our local leaders.”
The town board responded by hiring Kean, whose subsequent investigation revealed “various areas of concern and/or claims of conduct that resulted in individuals feeling alienated, dismissive, or devalued.” Kean found no violations of law. The town board implemented a number of her recommendations, which included the formation of the CRB; additional sensitivity training beyond the existing mandatory sexual harassment classes; a respectful workplace policy; and a confidential mechanism where town volunteers or employees could bring conflicts for mediation and resolution.
The five-member CRB has been active for a year and a half; co-chairs Isalyn Connell and Jaclyn Ryan are both experienced in corporate management. “We meet whenever we’re presented with an incident report, about every month or two,” Connell said. “We interview each party involved, then encourage them both to meet with us to find a solution to the problem. We’ve made a difference. Sometimes just airing grievances is all that’s needed. The complainants have been satisfied and we’ve never had to pursue legal interventions.”
The committee is advisory, not disciplinary. It contacts the town board only if legal counsel is necessary. “We also are available to advise the board if they have questions,” Connell said. “For example, we helped out with the anti-hate speech statement.” Lutz knows a few town employees who have used the CRB to settle differences of opinion: “They said the experience was really useful. The committee has affected an enormous change by helping people learn to work together and with others.”
A grant from the town engenders opposition
Last May, the town board approved a $67,500 grant for the Ancram Center for the Arts (formerly the Ancram Opera House) on the recommendation of the Ancram Strategic Investment Committee (SIC). (A $35,000 grant was also awarded for a town housing plan and trust, at the committee’s suggestion.) The SIC considered the art center’s proposal to build a community room along with proposals for solar energy, a town camp pavilion and baseball field improvements. After discussion at subsequent open meetings, the town board approved the grant by a 3–2 vote. (Democrat David Boice — now a Republican — and independent Hugh Clark voted no; the three Democrats voted yes.)
Credit: Judith Wolff
Gold and Hundt said they had no inkling about how upset some Ancram citizens were about the decision until the town board met in July. “Our meetings usually had around seven attendees,” Hundt said. “At the July meeting the room was packed with angry people that talked over us.” When asked if she had felt fearful, Gold said, “We were more frustrated than anything. Bonnie took the brunt of the comments in part because she was running for town supervisor. They harassed her.”
Gold and Hundt said the same attendees continued to pack the board meetings, in part to show their disapproval of the grant. Then on Dec. 20, the Ancram Center for the Arts posted an open letter to the community announcing that it would no longer pursue the grant. It said the vote to approve the funds “became a contentious one and remains so as we approach the end of the year. Our mission aspires for the opposite—to foster a sense of connection and community through the arts.”
Lutz said, “I think the locals were upset by two issues, and I’d like to believe the bigger problem was the amount of money involved, right or wrong. The other piece was about what values you have. If the arts aren’t a top priority in the community, they won’t get paid for. This happens everywhere. Take the schools, the first things to go with budget cuts are music and art.”
While three Ancram residents who did not want their names used said they believed homophobia fueled some of the backlash over the grant—the center’s executive directors, Jeff Mousseau and Paul Ricciardi, are partners — Ethics Chair Lindsey said that as a community member and volunteer he has “never personally experienced any direct prejudice because I’m gay.”
Mousseau told the Herald that he had no more to add beyond what was issued in the center’s statement. The president of the Center for the Arts’ board, Cathy Redlich, who’s also a town justice, said in an email that the center has deferred to the town board to “best use the monies going forward to serve the community.” Hundt said, “It was too bad; the community room was for Ancram residents, and they could have used it for free.” The arts center has secured a loan from the state to pursue its plans.
MacArthur revisited the town’s political discord in this week’s Ancramemail, saying in part: “I am aware that Ancram is divided in much the same way that this country is… [W]e want Ancram to thrive, we want Ancram to succeed and to be a warm, welcoming, stable home for all of us. And to do this, we need to reach across the aisle, look past our differences and embrace our similarities.”