Town Board Forms Transition Committee for Successors (Video)

With new people set to take control of the New Castle Town Board at the start of the new year, the current board voted Tuesday to establish a transition advisory committee, according a video of the meeting posted on NCCMC.com.

The committee, announced in a resolution that was included in the video, will include the three incoming board members: Supervisor elect Rob Greenstein, along with council members-elect Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky. Also included will be incumbent Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel and incumbent Councilman Jason Chapin. The five of them will constitute the new town board when the terms of the new members start on Jan. 1.

Greenstein, Katz and Brodsky ran as the Team New Castle ticket and, according to unofficial results, defeated the Democratic ticket. The loss ends the longstanding streak of Democratic slates winning town board elections and gives the trio a majority on the new board. 

Team New Castle ran on the Republican and Independence ballot lines, although Greenstein and Katz are registered Democrats while Brodsky is a registered independent. Mottel and Chapin are part of the incumbent, all-Democratic board and will be the only sitting members left who were elected with the party's backing  when the new board is constituted.

The trio will replace Supervisor Susan Carpenter and Councilman Robin Stout, who declined for run for re-election, and longtime Councilman John Buckley, who lost his re-election bid. Buckley's Democratic ticket included former Councilman Michael Wolfensohn for another available council seat and Town Administrator Penny Paderewski for the supervisor's office.

On the video, reading a resolution at the meeting, Stout described the job of the committee. It will include an orientation of the new board members to personnel; getting access of information to incoming members; scheduling meetings between new members and staff.

The current town board approved the creation of the committee after going into executive session, according to the video, and subsequently voted to go into executive session with the transition group.