It's only me this week, folks, your host Jeff Kiplinger. I promised to 'unpack' data from the November 4 town and county election to see if we could learn anything about the winners, the losers, and the residents (that's us, and I hope we end up winners). I uncovered, I think, some interesting things that the major parties may not have noticed. By the way, if numbers and analysis make your head spin, you might want to skip ahead to about 8 minutes from the end for a summary.

Katy is a long time Claverackian, with a background and a track record of getting stuff done in both local and national government. We talk about what brought her family to the area, to the farm where she still lives, and about her journey into government. She's one of an increasingly rare breed who believe that government's job is to help, rather than to turn everything into a partisan fight. Katy spent 12 years serving Claverack on our Town Board, and we talk about her accomplishments. We also dig into the complexity of the job - it's harder than I thought - and talk a little about where the money to run a town comes from. This is a great conversation.

Gary Davis retired from the corporate world several years ago, but by then he and his husband had already bought and renovated an historic house in the Claverack hamlet. Like many of us they fell in love with the area, and what was planned as a weekend getaway soon became their permanent home. Gary quickly integrated with the community, contributing time and experience to help with food insecurity, with town government, and ultimately helped 'resurrect' the Claverack Historical Society. We talk about his story, and what the history of Claverack means for its future.