Pulver, who has also served as chair of the county legislature for the last six years, focused on two key issues for the district. The first is encouraging economic and cultural growth in communities while preserving their agrarian and rural character. As chair of the Dutchess County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, which reports to the legislature, he has worked to facilitate District 19’s collaboration with the state and with land preservation groups like Scenic Hudson. Pulver said that partnership has enabled Dutchess County to purchase development rights and head off excessive commercial development, citing Westchester County as a negative example.
The second big challenge involves providing needed emergency medical services, an issue Pulver said he looks at “daily.” He said that coverage has changed drastically since he was captain of the Pine Plains Rescue Squad in the mid-1980s. In those days, he said, ”Our ambulances got there before everyone else, and now, we can’t get the ambulance out on our own, we have to have Northern Dutchess Paramedics” respond to calls.
Because there aren’t enough volunteer responders, Pulver said, towns now need to make contracts with professional groups that charge for their services (such as Northern Dutchess Paramedics). And because the more populated municipalities have a higher call volume, he added, they can pay much less per call than smaller towns. For example, he said, Pine Plains may get 180 ambulance calls a year while East Fishkill may get 10 to 20 a day. “How do we deal with everybody in an equal manner?” he asked.
Pulver said he tried to bring four smaller towns together in a consortium to help bring down their costs, but that plan didn’t work. “It became a territorial thing,” he said, citing how in one town, a supervisor said no to one part of the service plan, while the chair of the fire commission in another town said yes to that but no to another part.
Pulver said his role is to find ways for the county to support towns in their self-identified areas of need. For example, during the COVID pandemic, fire companies in District 19 could not hold their usual fundraisers, so Pulver said he helped the county fill that financial gap. Pulver said he has worked successfully to help towns develop farm-friendly zoning and common-sense approaches to solar panels. He added that because he is not dealing with “big social issues—no death penalty discussions, constitutional issues,” in the district, he can focus on “nuts and bolts … roads, providing sheriff departments” what they need.
Pulver cited three major accomplishments as chair of the legislature, working with Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, who is now Congressman for New York’s 19th District. The first was building the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center in Poughkeepsie, a 300,000-square foot facility. According to official Dutchess County publications, it is supposed to save the county $5.3 million a year as an alternative to other correctional facilities.
The second achievement he mentioned is the new Stabilization Center for Mental Health, which includes a walk-in center in Poughkeepsie and mobile units that will eventually deliver services throughout the county.
Finally, Pulver cited the $25 million renovation of Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, home to the Hudson Valley Renegades minor-league baseball team. Of the three projects he mentioned, the stadium has been the most controversial, with critics saying that the allocation should have been more carefully considered and that the funds should have been used to address more pressing needs. “It’s a park, we have to put money in all our parks, but this one happens to pay back,” Pulver said. (In December, Pulver told the Herald, “I can’t guarantee that this will be totally revenue neutral for the county, but we will come close to this being revenue neutral.”)
Given his extensive involvement in politics in Pine Plains—six years on the school board, 12 years as town supervisor, and 10 years in the Dutchess County legislature—does Pulver ever wake up worried about what is now happening or not happening in the town? “Yes, I do,” he said. There’s a “lack of communication, people aren’t talking to one another… lots of time and money gets spent arguing…. [There is] a them-versus-us way of thinking.”
He said elected officials need to stay in close communication with the people they are serving, and that the Town Board and the town supervisor need to be sure that they understand the issues and one another. Also, he urged community members to attend town meetings and review budgets. “People need to get involved,” he said.
Pulver said the key to his political success is his wife, Tonya. They have a daughter, Claire.
The election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting is from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5. Pulver and others running for office in Pine Plains are scheduled to attend a Meet the Candidates forum at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Pine Plains Community Room.