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.

Robert is a candidate for Town Board in this fall's election, so I thought it important to post this interview before we go to the polls. Robert is an interesting guy - part activist, part lawyer, and part actor and theater founder. A lifelong follower of his own head and heart. I had a wide-ranging and fun interview with Robert, and no matter what happens on November 4 I think we'll be seeing a lot of him in Claverack.

Thea is the Director of the Claverack Library, and thanks to her leadership and to the contributions of many in the town our library has become an essential part of Claverack. And I do mean essential - part senior center, children and family space, and community center, the Claverack Library serves so many functions that the town doesn't have as stand-alone services. We'll talk about what brought Thea to the library, how the library has changed over two hundred years, and what the future looks like. Don't forget that library funding is on the ballot this fall - vote November 4.

I talk with Peter Hoffman, a Claverackian who left NYC after running two successaful restaurants for 20 years. Famous as the chef-owner of Savoy in Soho, one of the first "farm to table" restaurants in the city, Peter moved to Claverack to be closer to what he loves - the food, the farmers, the outdoors, the countryside. And as he's become more and more involved with the community, he's taking his ideas to a new arena by running for Claverack Town Board.

What is this about and why? Who could possibly be interested in what's going on in a small town in upstate New York? The people who live here, that's who.