Chatham Dems

The Good Government Party

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Election Results - updated Nov 24


It is evening before Thanksgiving and a good time to be thankful for our family, friends and the wonderful place we live in. It is also a good time to thank the candidates who worked so hard to become elected here in Chatham and everybody who was right there working with them. Running a full slate and competing for each position is extremely important. Although we didn't sweep all positions we were successful in two putting real Democrats on the Town Board and, for as long as I can remember, a Town Justice. But you want to know the results and here is the tally after the counting of the absentee ballots. Mind you they are not certified and official just yet but most likely will be. Here is how the election panned out (incumbents are in blue):
  • Supervisor
    • Jess DeGroodt (R,C,I) 721
    • Kurt Barensfeld (D,Chatham First) 575
  • Town Council (2 highest win seats)
    • Jean Rohde (R,C,I) 661
    • Bob Balcom (D, Chatham First) 642
    • Landra Haber (D,Chatham First) 594
    • Bob Johnson (R,I) 574
  • Town Justice (2 highest win seats)
    • Jason Shaw (R,C,I) 633
    • James Borgia-Forster (D, Chatham First) 626
    • Kandace Eaton (D, Chatham First) 620
    • Mike Hart (R,C,I) 605
It is hard to believe that the difference between the highest and lowest vote getter in the Justice race was a mere 28 votes. In fact if we could have convinced another 14 Democrats to come out and vote for James and Kandace we would have 2 Democratic Town Justices!
The candidates for the Town of Chatham, November 8, 2011. (left - right) Kurt Barensfeld, Town Supervisor; Landra Haber, Town Council; Bob Balcom, Town Council; James Borgia-Forster, Town Justice; Kandace Eaton, Town Justice.

See our "Just the Facts" page for important information about the Town budget and governance!
Welcome to the website of the Chatham, NY Democrats. The purpose is to provide you with clear and useful information about the Town, the local government and elections. We hope you find it informative and useful. We'll try as much as possible to be non-partisan, but after all, this is the Chatham Democrats website.

General Information


The Town of Chatham is located in the northwest corner of Columbia County, NY, and includes part of the Village of Chatham. We are an active committee dedicated to supporting good commonsense governing and true democratic principles.
Chatham's clocktower Chatham Summerfest Cattle on a Chatham hillside Ooms Pond Chatham is a farming community Farming in Chatham Kinderhook Lake, Chatham

Monthly Meetings


7:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month, 11 Kinderhook Street, Chatham. We'd love to see you at our next meeting!


If you would like to contribute content to the site, please email us here with your letter or idea for a piece. We’d love to make this a real forum for your ideas!

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