Ancram Supervisor Race Pits Incumbent Colleen Lutz Against Her Predecessor

Ancram voters will choose their next Supervisor Nov. 3 with incumbent Colleen Lutz facing her predecessor, James MacArthur for a full two-year term. 

Lutz was elected only a year ago but her term was shortened to one year after a New York Court of Appeals ruling moved certain local elections to even-numbered years. Early voting for the election begins Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. 

Lutz, who is not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties, grew up in Stanford, Dutchess County. She has lived in Ancram for 28 years and has served on several town committees. She is also a board member for the Roe-Jan Watershed Alliance and works as a full-time biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program. 

MacArthur, a Republican, was raised in Ancram, was the town’s highway superintendent for nearly 20 years, and served as supervisor for one two-year term from January 2024 through December 2025. He stepped down as state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in June. Both Lutz and MacArthur are members of the Ancram Volunteer Fire Company. 

On Oct. 17, candidates participated in a Meet the Candidates forum moderated by the Herald, where they answered a number of questions, including  their stance on taxes and Flock Safety Cameras.

What do you hope to achieve for the town, if elected this year?

Lutz: I feel like Columbia County is very Hudson centric. That’s where the population is. I really feel like the towns that are out here, like Gallatin, Taconic, Copake, we need to work together. I really feel like there are certain services I’d like to see be more broadly available to people that live out here. We have an aging population and it can be hard if they don’t have family around, how do they get to different events, things like that. 
So I’d like to work hard on doing that and also working on trying to get young people involved in the town. It’s succession planning, I’d like to really work on getting young people more engaged. 

MacArthur: There’s a few derelict buildings in town that need to be taken care of. The intersection by the firehouse of the [Routes] 82 and 7 still needs improvements to make it much safer to travel through there. The sight distance from looking in both directions if you’re on County Route 7, and you have to look up and down 82, is just terrible. I think one of the things that really concerns me is that I think our zoning is way too restrictive, especially for new homeowners that want to build a home and live in Ancram. I think it’s just too difficult of a process to go through, right at the moment. There’s a few things in our zoning that I believe yes, could be a little less restrictive.

Why do you think voters should choose you as Ancram’s next supervisor?

Lutz: Because I am a very average down the middle type of person. I have definite ideas but that doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to have a conversation and maybe I’ll come to a different conclusion. I am willing to listen to what people have to say. I tell people, if you stop here, my door’s open, come in, I don’t care what I’m working on, I will stop. 
I’m here for you, if you’re having a problem, let’s try to work on it. Don’t just let it bottle up and stay inside and fester and then nothing really happens.
I try to be accessible in whatever way works for them. 
I have specific days that I’m here, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but if those days don’t work for you, I’ll come find you. I will go to your house. I actually had a constituent where I went to their house because they’re disabled. I sat down and talked with them about some of the tax laws that we were passing. I have no problem doing that. 

MacArthur: I believe that I have more time to put in now  that I’m through with my term as the commander of the Department of New York, VFW. I am currently retired so I have much more time to put into the job now. I believe I’m  really qualified. I’ve lived in the town of Ancram my whole life. I know most of the residents. Certainly,  I don’t know everybody in town, but [most people.]  I just came there with common sense and humility for the taxpayers. I have no special agenda. I just want to do what is right for the town of Ancram.

Ancram’s Financial Advisory Committee has recommended a 9.5% increase in town property taxes in an effort to keep the budget balanced after the town went 16 years without any tax increases. To implement the increase, the Town Board has introduced a resolution for a local law that would allow it to override the state mandated tax cap. 

Lutz: What have you learned from working on the budget this year that you would take with you to your next term, if elected?

Trying to be as realistic with your budget is the most important thing to do. Trying to research different things about what incomes are looking like, especially if you’re investing, which we do a little bit, in treasury bills and things like that. So we have a balance that gets rolled over and you’re constantly looking at interest rates and you don’t want to overestimate your actual income. You want to be as realistic as possible because it’s a night are at the end if you’re not. The other thing is trying to get people involved as early as possible, trying to talk with the departments individually to get an idea of what their needs are. Like for the assessor, do you expect that you’re going to have a lot of grievances, because that all has to be factored in this. So really communicating with the people that work here, that the budget is dependent on. It’s also frustrating when there are things outside of our control that make it very difficult when creating a budget, like when inflation is where inflation is and fuel prices are out of control and how that impacts all of the supplies that we have as a town. . 

MacArthur: What do you believe is the most fiscally responsive path forward over the next two or three years?

I think the current Town Board, along with the FAC has done exactly what they have to do. Unfortunately, I feel a little differently than I did three years ago when I became supervisor because I always kept taxes flat, which I’m sure everybody enjoyed. When we were campaigning for my first term, we thought that it was a good idea that we cut taxes for a change. So that first year I was in, we cut taxes. Believe me, I’m not a man that wants to raise your taxes every year. The problem is, insurance goes up. Fuel prices go up. 
Medical prices go up. People’s wages go up. We all want to make more money, but when we do, then prices have to go up in the same way with taxes. So we’ve got to learn to live with it. and no more, as far as I’m concerned, and I hate to say this, but there can be no decrease in taxes as long as we live the way we live. Instead of doing a 9%, which I know we have to do, I understand the problem, maybe even 2% a year can keep us a lot better than we are, but we can’t just cut taxes because of what’s going on around us. I’m sorry to say that. That cannot happen, and I agree with what the town board is doing. The only other way we can get more money in this town is more business, and do we want more businesses in Ancram? 
I’m not sure we do. And if we did, where were we put them? I don’t know. Other than that, we have to rely mostly on our taxes in the very few businesses that we have.

Ancram voters will consider a ballot proposition this November that would increase the town’s annual contribution to the Roeliff Jansen Community Library from $29,977 to $48,850. Do you support or oppose the proposal, and why? How do you weigh the library’s educational and community services against concerns about the growing cost of living and property taxes?

Lutz:  I support the library wholeheartedly. Full transparency, I was on the board for years. I was also the secretary of the board prior to becoming the supervisor here. 
The proposal would be roughly $7.91 per $100,000 of property value. I figured for my own property, it’s going to be about $35 for the entire year. That’s with access to Ebooks, 24×7. 
The library that we have has a tremendous amount of programming. One of the best programs I went to was the Braver Angels Program that they sponsored, and that was a game changer when you’re out in public and you’re speaking with people with different views, and it helps you learn how to listen and how to converse calmly and respectfully. So, I got that through the library. 
It cost me nothing. Well, it cost me $35. it is a public good, it is for everyone. 
And Ancram has to pay its fair share. The other towns of Copake and Hillsdale pay up to $100,000 per year for the library. With all three of the towns together, that only accounts for 40% of the library’s budget. That library does a tremendous amount of fund raising, so that they don’t have to make its taxes as expensive as they are. They’re an anomaly. Most libraries, about 70% of their budget is funded by taxpayer dollars. 

MacArthur: I think the library is good for our community. 
There’s only one reason that I probably will vote no and that’s because it raises taxes, which I know sounds stupid, because we’re raising the taxes here in town. But how much can we take in raising taxes? Personally, I have to stop somewhere that would be with the library, only for that one reason.

MacArthur:  While serving as supervisor, at a February 2025 Town Board meeting, you became frustrated during public comment, left the meeting, and did not return. Looking back, how do you assess your handling of that situation? What would you do differently today, and what reassurance can you give voters that you would handle similar disagreements differently if reelected?

First off, I apologize for what I did. 
I just don’t have the temperament for what went on in that meeting, and I could say other things about it, but I’m just going to say, I just don’t have the temperament with that, and I don’t think there’s any place for it. I don’t care if it’s here in the town of Ancram, or if it’s in Albany, or if it’s in Washington, I think it’s just stupid. People need to get along with each other, work with each other. Sometimes you can find something you both agree on but there’s always disagreements and you need to figure out how to work that out so it’s a positive thing for everybody. 
I guarantee you, if I get reelected, I won’t walk out with another meeting again. I can’t guarantee it, but I’m going to do my best that there will be none of that back and forth, and stupid discussions like we’ve had in the past. I’m not going to allow it as a town supervisor if I get reelected. 

What is your stance on Flock Safety cameras?

Lutz:  We’re not only dealing with this in Ancram, we’re also dealing with it at the county level. We are lucky in the fact that we do not have our own police department so we do not have any Flock cameras ourselves. 
The sheriff’s office has a total of eight within the county. I’m very conflicted with this.
In public, there’s no idea of anonymity or that you have privacy. However, I do have a problem with surveillance, without probable cause, and that’s what an APLR is. Just by driving through it, it’s reading and taking your information. I also have a very big problem with Flock itself and how they handled the data that is collected. So I don’t want to see our information out there, that could be used nefariously by other entities that have access to this data. I am in support of not having Flock on any of the town properties. 
I can’t control what the Department of Transportation does. I can’t control the Sheriff’s Office other than to suggest to them that they reconsider their contract with Flock. Whether they continue to do it or not is one thing I would like to strengthen that contract to make sure that we understand who owns the data and who has access to it. Locally, I trust our sheriff. I trust our deputies. 

MacArthur: I don’t know who the dummies were that came up with this idea and I don’t know who the dummies are that are allowing it in their towns and cities. But I just think it’s a stupid idea.