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Harry Bolton is the oldest of six brothers. A Vietnam era vet, he served as an Army Intelligence Specialist in Asia and earned an Army Commendation medal for his service.
Recently retired after 20 years with Verizon as Manager of Construction Contracts for the Northeast, he is now president of his condo association at Heritage Hills. He also served on the Heritage Hills Society Board.
Bolton was first elected in 2009. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8213.
A graduate of City University of New Jersey with a BS in Business Administration, he has lived in Somers for eight years. He is engaged to Victoria Roach and has a 24-year-old son from an earlier marriage.
1. Why are you running for Supervisor?
I am running because as a town we need to prioritize our needs. The residents of Somers entrust us to take care of our buildings and roads and I just dont see that being done. We have buildings that are in disrepair, highway trucks that were purchased in the 1980s. We should have had a plan to do regular maintenance on our buildings and to replace these vehicles. I have a strong business background with experience in contract negotiation and construction. These qualifications are exactly what is needed to plan for the future of Somers. We also need to bid out all professional service contracts and get the best prices we can, this is not being done by our current Supervisor.
2. Why should Republicans vote for you in the primary and how are you different from your competition?
I believe that I am the real Republican in this race. It was the Republican & Democratic Party chairs along with the incumbents who made a back room deal and decided that the incumbents should all run unopposed. I believe the voters need a choice and deserve a choice at the polls in November. By voting for me the voters of Somers will have a choice at the polls in November. I have run this race independent of any party backing. I am running to serve the residents and the residents only. I believe that I can prioritize the residents needs and work toward putting a long term plan in place for the future of Somers. My opponent has been in office 14 years. After 14 years Supervisor Murphy has no long term plan for Somers. No long term capitol improvement plan, no long term maintenance plan, no long term vehicle replacement plan and no disaster plan. I believe in term limits, my opponent does not.
3. What is the biggest issue or problem in Somers right now and what would you do about it?
Somers does not have a long term Capital Improvement Plan. We do not have a long term Property Maintenance Plan. We do not have a long term Equipment Replacement Plan for our Highway Department and we do not have a proven Plan for Storm Disasters. As elected officials we should not let our buildings, roads and equipment deteriorate to the point where everything becomes a critical repair. The porch at the Van Tassel House has been declared unsafe and the Police Departments locker room has flooded for years. Why arent these problems being addressed before an election? If the recent storm was an ice storm in the middle of winter, the residents of Somers would have been in serious trouble. In Short.......WE NEED A PLAN. I would gather our resources and personnel and formulate a PLAN. Then execute the plan.
4. What has been your greatest accomplishment as a member of the Town Board?
Being a member of a Town Board is a collaborative effort. There are very few occasions in which we can say we actually accomplished something by ourselves. However I worked hard and had the cooperation of the Town Board to establish Koegel Park as a Dog Friendly Park. This was the First such park in Somers and has been working well.
5. What would you like to see in Somers that is not currently part of the community?
As a boy I grew up in a Summer Beach Community. I felt that this was an excellent way of building a sense of Community and in fact I still have friends who I first met at this Beach Club over 40 years ago. During the hottest part of the summer, I noted that the kids in the Somers summer program at Reis Park were sitting under a tent in at least 102 degree heat. A town pool would benefit not only the summer camp, but many of the residents in Somers. I do not believe this would adversely impact any of the lakes in Town and would go a long way toward helping our kids build a real sense of community. We do not have the finances for a pool at this time, but it is a goal we can work towards as a community.
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