It appears that the Town of Wawarsing will take a cue from the early start of the 2008 presidential campaign. On Tuesday, May 1, Town Councilman John Gavaris announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Town Supervisor at a local Democratic Committee meeting. Gavaris' decision appears unorthodox as he will be challenging the current Democratic incumbent, James Dolaway. "I have been seriously considering this move for the last four or five months," Gavaris said.

The move comes after a year marked by tensions and allegations made by Gavaris and other board members that Dolaway has been, at best, less than forthcoming about certain issues relating to the town. At worst, some board members have alleged that he purposely withholds information from the board leading Gavaris to refer to him at various points throughout the past year as "a dictator".

"He seems to operate from inside a bubble. He acts like he has more autonomy than he actually does," Gavaris argues.

Most recently, Gavaris points to his resolution to change the municipal bookkeeper position to a town comptroller. The major difference? The municipal bookkeeper is appointed by the town supervisor. A town comptroller would be a position appointed by the entire board and he or she would increase the board's ability to oversee town expenditures. Currently, the town supervisor acts as the fiduciary officer for the town, meaning that he signs all of the checks. Under the proposed system, the town comptroller would be required to co-sign every check and report every financial transaction to the board.

Current town supervisor, James Dolaway.

Though Gavaris' resolution for the new position was passed with a 4-1 vote (with Dolaway opposing), Gavaris and other board members have complained that he refused to sign off on the necessary paperwork, known as a "duty statement", which then needed to be sent to the county. The paperwork moved to the county level only after Deputy Councilman Tom Geelan was asked to sign the papers and send them to the county level.

When asked to comment on his challenge to the nomination, Dolaway had no comment except to say that he was waiting to "see who his friends are."

Democratic Committee member and Ellenville's village manager, Elliott Auerbach, described his view of Gavaris' challenge. "I'll be honest, it certainly sent a minor tremor through the committee. With his experience he does have a certain amount of credibility. It's [the nomination process] always been business as usual so I think this will energize and excite the caucus."

Ellenville mayor and fellow Democrat Jeff Kaplan offered his hope that the two would be able to resolve their differences.

Gavaris, who will turn 26 next month, entered politics when he was elected to Ellenville's village board less than four years ago, beating the record for youngest village trustee set by Joe Stoeckeler. He remained on the village board for little more than 18 months. He explained his reason for making the quick jump to the town by saying, "I felt that the village was on a straight – a good direction. I saw the village coming alive, but I didn't see that happening throughout the town."

The schedule for caucuses is set by the Ulster County Board of Elections. Currently, the date has not been set for Wawarsing's Democratic nomination though it usually takes place in late June or early July. No Republican nominations for any town positions have officially been announced though it appears that incumbent Terry Houck will seek reelection.

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