Pine Plains Town Board member Trevor Roush will seek the Democratic nomination for town supervisor at the party’s caucus on Saturday, June 6, opening a potential contest for the town’s top elected office.
Current Supervisor Brian Walsh told the Herald on Tuesday, June 2, that he has not decided whether he will seek reelection. The supervisor’s seat is typically a two-year position, but a state court ruling in 2025 required many local elections to shift to even-numbered years. To make that transition, some terms have been shortened, putting Walsh’s seat back before voters sooner than usual.
Walsh also said a date has not yet been set for the Republican caucus.
Roush was elected to the Town Board last November, when he received 447 votes, more than any candidate in the races for Town Board or supervisor. Democrats Roush and Murphy Birdsall won the two open board seats, while Walsh narrowly won reelection over Democratic challenger Kevin Walsh.
Brian Walsh’s decision comes after months of public scrutiny over his handling of a proposed Flock Safety camera installation, which led the Town Board in March to adopt an oversight resolution requiring board approval before license plate readers or other public safety camera systems can be activated or operated on behalf of the town.
Roush, a registered Democrat, said he would also be open to speaking at a Republican caucus if invited and would consider running on both party lines if given the opportunity. If he were elected supervisor, his board seat would become vacant and the board would appoint someone to fill it.
Roush is a Stissing Mountain High School graduate who farms in Pine Plains, runs a small forest-management business, and has two young children. He said his priorities include strengthening local businesses, bringing more activity downtown, and drawing more residents into town government. He also cited his experience with grants and project management as a co-founder of the nonprofit Oldtone Roots Music Festival.
If elected, Roush said he would take a collaborative approach: “There’s many forms of leadership, and sometimes being a good leader is also being a good team player. I think that the supervisor’s role is to facilitate other board members and directors in their duties.”
One immediate change Roush said he would support is to move Town Board meetings to the town-owned community room, above the library, which has more space than Town Hall.. “I think this would ultimately lead to more people being able to come,” Roush said.
Roush said the long-discussed new Town Hall project, which would involve construction of an estimated $4.5 million municipal building, would not be one of his top priorities because he does not believe residents see it as urgent. But he said the town-owned property behind the Bank of Millbrook, previously discussed as a possible site for the building, should not be left neglected. Instead, he said, the town should make the land usable in the near term without foreclosing future options.
Roush said he would hold regular open office hours if elected. “If people see what you’re doing, it’s easier to be transparent,” he said. “The door would never be closed.”
Roush also wants the town to do more to support local businesses: “If the town is not purchasing items that they could purchase in town, why should residents? People are looking at us.”
He also said he believes Pine Plains should be more welcoming to applicants seeking to start businesses and should consider creating a business development committee to help entrepreneurs refine plans and navigate the approval process.
“Being open for business means allowing people to do business,” Roush said.