Lee Jamison is challenging Stuyvesant Town Supervisor Ron Knott for the second consecutive year, hoping that a shift in the political winds and frustration over a long-closed bridge can finally flip a seat she has never managed to win. Jamison, a Democrat, lost last year's race against the Republican incumbent by just 112 votes, and the rematch is shaping up as a test of whether the small Columbia County town is still as reliably conservative as it has long been considered.
Jamison, a semi-retired psychiatric social worker who has lived in Stuyvesant since 1982, is running for supervisor this November, according to dailygazette.com. Knott, who is seeking reelection, has served as Stuyvesant's supervisor since 2012, per the same report. Knott retired from his HVAC installation business and has said the role now gets more of his time than ever, telling The Daily Gazette he has “more time than ever to devote to a job” he enjoys.
Jamison said she decided to run again because, in her view, the current Town Board has stayed silent on national and local issues — including Columbia Memorial Health's pending downsizing, the station reports. She has also pointed to a changing political climate as a reason for optimism in a town that has leaned conservative for years.
A Bridge Closure Becomes a Campaign Flashpoint
Much of the race centers on the Route 25A bridge over Kinderhook Creek, which has been closed for months while Columbia County and New York State weigh temporary repairs against a longer-term full replacement, according to the same Daily Gazette account. Knott said the county will solicit bids for bridge-span repairs within the next few weeks, with repairs expected to reopen the span under a 12-ton weight limit that would let residents use the crossing again, though it would not accommodate fire trucks or school buses.
Knott said Columbia County voted against restoring the bridge outright because of conditions attached to planned federal funding, which he said requires any project to carry a 50- to 75-year life cycle. He added that the county has lined up more than $10 million in federal aid for a long-term bridge project, but that professional consultants have advised the interim repairs would need to be repeated in five years, with full replacement needed within 10.
Jamison opposes a full replacement of the bridge. She said that if elected, she would push the county to repair and maintain what she considers a national historic landmark rather than let it deteriorate and eventually replace it with a concrete structure, per the outlet's reporting.
Broadband, Waterfront and Parks on the Table
Jamison has made expanding internet access a centerpiece of her platform. One Daily Gazette questionnaire cited a county broadband study identifying 46 Stuyvesant residences without any access to service, while a separate Daily Gazette report described Jamison's proposal as targeting 40 unserved addresses in town — the two figures were not reconciled in the available reporting.
Beyond broadband, Jamison said she would prioritize making sure riverfront train-track repairs don't interfere with residents' access to the water. She has proposed developing Hummel Park for public use, including a possible native meadow and bird sanctuary, and said she would explore a pedestrian connection between Stuyvesant Landing and Stuyvesant Falls. She has also said she would pursue waterfront improvements to support public kayak or boat access.
Knott, for his part, touted the town's planned decrease in taxes and said he has worked with New York State to improve public riverfront access near Ice House Road and Ferry Road, while agreeing that access could still be improved further. He pledged continued sound financial management, town playground upgrades and greater resident involvement in decisions about the town's 50-acre nature area if reelected. Knott has described his leadership style as hands-on and accessible, saying he works on building facilities, maintains financial transparency as the town's chief financial officer and partners with volunteer committees to solve problems.
Resumes, Records and a Family Aside
Jamison has run unsuccessfully for both the Town Board and the supervisor's office in the past, according to a separate Daily Gazette report. She has pointed to her 40-year career as a psychiatric social worker working with people with developmental disabilities, including a stint as a Coarc director where she said she supervised a staff of 75 and oversaw a $1 million budget.
Accounts of Knott's tenure have varied in local coverage: one Daily Gazette questionnaire described him as having spent the past 10 years as supervisor after six years as a town councilman, while a separate Daily Gazette report put his time as supervisor at 13 years. Both descriptions come from the same outlet's reporting, and the discrepancy was not resolved in available records.
Jamison's son, Jamie Larson, a Rural Intelligence journalist, has joked that his mother should move to deeply Democratic Hudson to improve her odds in a political race, according to The Daily Gazette. Jamison herself has said she believes Stuyvesant is becoming more politically purple, pointing to what she describes as growing disapproval of the Republican administration and even some Republicans questioning its policies — sentiment she hopes could help her in a town long considered reliably conservative.
The supervisor's race is not the only contested seat in Stuyvesant elections. In an election held on November 5, two Town Board seats and two town justice positions were contested, while the highway superintendent race was uncontested, per Daily Gazette reporting. Columbia County Spotlight has also published a broader November election guide covering local candidates, tax questions and ballot-return information for voters across the county.
