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Date: 4/6/2023
GRANVILLE — When residents head to the polls on April 10 to cast ballots in the municipal election, they will have two choices for the Selectboard: political newcomer Edwin A. Beckwith or incumbent board member David Ripley.
Ripley, 43, has served on the board for the last 12 years, and is currently serving as its chair.
When he was asked why he was seeking reelection, Ripley said he wanted to keep the town moving forward, which is “pretty much my reason” for seeking another term.
“A number of things are happening [and] I’d like to see them through,” he said, referring specifically to replacing Public Works Superintendent Doug Roberts when he retires.
He also pointed to the good working relationship he has with the board’s other two members.
“We work well together,” Ripley said.
While recognizing the town doesn’t expect a lot of growth in coming years, he said it was important to keep the tax rates for residents affordable.
“We want to be fiscally responsible for the taxpayer,” he said.
When asked what the biggest challenge the town is currently facing, he pointed to unfunded state mandates, specifically meeting the requirements of the Police Reform Act signed into law in December 2020.
Ripley said the act has created budget problems for small towns throughout the state.
He gave one example of how the act has adversely affected Granville.
When police officer recruits are working toward state certification, they must train and then pass a driving skills test, but that training is only offered at an academy on Cape Cod.
“It’s a logistical nightmare, and that’s just to do the driving course,” he said.
And while the town is footing the bill to help prepare a new police officer, once that officer completes the training, often he or she will leave the force for a better-paying opportunity, Ripley said.
“[The state] needs to change the rules,” Ripley said
Ripley’s family has a “long history” in town and owns and operates Maple Corner Farm on land the family has worked since 1812. Ripley is also a carpenter, is married and had three children, all girls.
Ripley’s challenger Beckwith, has lived in town for “95%” of his life.
When he was asked what his primary motivation for running for the Selectboard seat, he answered, “to give back to the town.”
Beckwith, 71, also said that over the last couple of years, several residents had approached him about running for the board and after spending a few months thinking about it, decided to pull nomination papers.
“I said, ‘If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do this before my health turns around,’” he said.
While Beckwith is new to politics, his father, Edwin S. Beckwith, and brother have served on the Selectboard in the past.
“My dad was on the board for over two decades,” he said, adding his brother served for six years on the board.
Beckwith, a musician who plays the accordion and piano and was in the backing band for the rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group The Coasters, is the co-owner of Hilltown Pork Inc.
The meatpacking company was founded in Granville but operates now in Canaan, New York.
That background in business, Beckwith said, has given him the skills to provide sound financial leadership to the town as a board member.
“I’ve been in the family business for three and a half decades and my knowledge would be beneficial for the town,” he said.
He, like Ripley, also wants to keep property tax rates affordable, especially for the elderly and retirees, but recognized some of the challenges small towns face.
“You can’t rob Peter to pay Paul, if Paul doesn’t have the money,” Beckwith said.
If elected, he recognizes he would be the “new kid on the block.”
“I just want to listen to everybody and come up with a solution,” he said.
In addition to Selectboard, several other town offices will be elected. Voters can cast their ballots from noon to 8 p.m. Monday, April 10, at Town Hall, 707 Main Rd., Granville.