Ancram voters will choose between incumbent Supervisor Colleen Lutz and former Supervisor James MacArthur in November, a rematch of the 2025 race in which Lutz unseated him by 39 votes.
The town’s Democratic and Republican caucuses convened in June and July, respectively, and selected candidates for supervisor, an open seat on the Ancram Town Board, and two town justice positions.
Lutz, 48, who is not affiliated with either the Democrat or Republican party, is seeking a full two-year term. Her first term was shortened to one year after a New York Court of Appeals ruling moved certain local elections to even-numbered years.
“I’m very proud of Ancram and I want to continue to make Ancram welcoming and responsive to the people that live here,” Lutz said. “My job is to listen to the concerns of people and to try to solve issues that they have, and highlight things that are special about Ancram.”
MacArthur, 75, previously served as Ancram’s highway superintendent for nearly two decades. He stepped down as state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in June, and he is a member of the town’s volunteer fire department.
Now that he is fully retired, MacArthur said, he will have more time to dedicate to the town and address what he described as its most pressing issue: affordability.
“I would try to do something about the cost of taxes,” MacArthur said. “I know the state of New York has a lot of control over that, but I’m willing to work with our state legislators to try and fix this issue.”
The November ballot will also include a race for the board seat Lutz vacated when she became supervisor in 2025. The board interviewed six candidates for the position in February but decided not to appoint anyone, leaving the seat open until the election. The winner will serve the remainder of Lutz’s original term, which runs through December 2027.
Republicans nominated Rick Dubray, 68, who ran for the same seat in 2025 and lost by 18 votes. Jennifer Boice, a Republican, and Amy Gold, a Democrat, were elected as members of the Town Board at the time Democrat candidate Bonnie Hundt also lost the election, followed by Dubray. He owns a property maintenance business in town, mowing lawns, cutting trees, and graveling driveways.
“I’ve lived in this town for over 40 years, and I think that I can try to help most of the people here, especially our seniors, and work with the board members to try to get our taxes under control,” Dubray said.
Democrats nominated Joe Brown, 48, who grew up in New York City and moved to Ancram in 2019. Brown spent about 24 years as a journalist and is now head of editorial at eBay. He serves on the town’s Board of Assessment Review and writes for the town newsletter.
“If we want to keep our town economically diverse, we need to figure out how to attract and retain the broad diversity of people who live here,” Brown said. “I don’t go into the town council election with any agenda except to figure out how to represent the people in town, their concerns, and points of view.”
Incumbent Town Justices Catherine Redlich and Suzan Flamm, both registered Democrats, are seeking re-election and are running unopposed.