Polls open just before sunrise Tuesday, November 6th at the Sloatsburg Elementary School, where registered Sloatsburg voters can cast their ballot. The polling station remains open until 9 p.m.

In Sloatsburg, four candidates vie for two open Village Trustee seats and one Mayor is up for election. There’s also a Village Justice spot up for re-election. On the state level, the 38th District State Senate seat us open as well as the State Assembly spot for the 98th District. Voters can also vote for any three of the six candidates vying for a judicial spot on the 9th Judicial District for the State Supreme Court.

On the federal level, the 17th District Congressional seat is up for grabs as well as the U.S. Senate seat. Additionally, there are Presidential Electors for President and Vice President for voters to choose.

The Village Trustee race has perhaps garnered increased interest locally as two incumbents face off against two candidates running for governmental office.

Current trustees Barbara Berntsen (Republican) and Mark Reimer (Republican) are running on a platform under the banner of Preserving Historic Sloatsburg. Berntsen is seeking a third term as trustee and Reimer a fourth.

One of the duo’s final voter messages on their A Partnership For Sloatsburg site states that “Protecting from overdevelopment requires teamwork not political patronage to one party affiliation. We work together for you.”

The incumbents also suggest that “National issues are not local issues. We work together to solve problems and protect the local zoning we worked so hard to achieve. Please vote . . . and don’t worry the ballot will not catch fire if Republicans vote on Democrat line for Mayor and Democrats vote the Republican line for Trustee. Thank you all again. We hope we have earned another term.”

Tom Buckley and Dan O’Leary are both running for Village Trustee on the Democratic, Conservative and Independent tickets, with a platform stating “It’s time for a change.”

Although this is the first run for public office for Buckley and O’Leary, each has extensive experience in community service and/or as members of local boards. Buckley is a former chief and president of the Sloatsburg Fire Department, as well as a current board member of the Sloatsburg United Methodist Food Pantry and past member of the Sloatsburg Planning Board.

O’Leary is a past president and treasurer of the Pine Grove Lakes HOA, former member of the Sloatsburg Planning Board and current member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Both candidates take a stand on village debt reduction and support additional funding for local roads and the Sloatsburg Fire Department. If elected, they say they would return to the village 10% of the trustee yearly salary of approximately $4,600 dollars, as well as push for periodic extended village office hours that allow residents to interact with Village Hall after normal working hours. The duo state they would also work to maintain the rural and semi-rural character of Sloatsburg.

Read more about all four Village Trustee candidates here.

Following is a sample ballot for the November 6th election.