Shaffer Endorses Ansel-McCabe

Middleburgh Town Council candidate Erynne Ansel-McCabe, right, has the endorsement of former New York Secretary of State, Gail Shaffer, who’s also a former Blenheim town supervisor and a state assemblywoman.

MIDDLEBURGH – Erynne Ansel-McCabe is making a second try for a seat on the Middleburgh Town Board, and this time she has a key ally:  former New York Secretary of State Gail Shaffer.

Ansel-McCabe lost her last bid for a councilman’s post on the board, but with her extensive work in the community, she decided to run this November.

She’s running against two incumbents, Wes Laraway and Carrie Shaul, and the top two vote-getters will win the two seats.

Even after Ansel-McCabe lost her last bid, she attended town board meetings to encourage councilmen to act on issues.  She also continued to survey residents to learn what they wanted to see in Middleburgh.

Those actions caught Shaffer’s attention.  The Blenheim resident---former town supervisor, former assemblywoman and the state’s longest-serving secretary of state---called Ansel-McCabe last winter.

“Gail said, ‘Erynne, I think you’ve got something here,’ ” Ansel-McCabe said.  “She encouraged me to run.  I’m thrilled.”

“I had people encourage me when I started,” said Shaffer, Blenheim’s supervisor in the late 1970s.  “Erynne’s just the kind of person Middleburgh needs.”

Ansel-McCabe is active with the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, the Schoharie Economic Enterprise Corporation and Schoharie County tourism, among other causes, and she was director of the Iroquois Indian Museum for 12 years.  

Middleburgh has been her recent focus.  Ansel-McCabe wants to work on safety issues, such as sidewalk replacement, speed limits and traffic lights, and she believes the town board should work on those issues with the village board and the state because Main Street is State Route 145.

Ansel-McCabe also wants to form a town board sub-committee to cooperate with the village, Middleburgh Area Business Association and the Rotary Club to support businesses and draw new ones to Middleburgh.

“I’m already doing some of this, but it needs to go to the next level,” Ansel-McCabe said.

Such involvement---past and present---impressed Shaffer.

“Erynne’s done a lot of community service,” she said.  “We need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and go to work.

“Erynne brings experience and passion, and it’s important to have quality people at the local level.”

Shaffer has been active in government and politics for years at the local, state and even national levels; besides her work in New York, she participated in three national Democratic conventions.  Her longtime interest, however, has always been the Schoharie Valley.

“This is a great opportunity for Middleburgh,” Shaffer said.

Besides her work in Middleburgh, Ansel-McCabe has experience with the Joshua Project, the County Chamber of Commerce, the Best House and Middleburgh Library, and was an original member of the Save Our Schoharie.