Jane Eck, Democratic incumbent for the job of Wawarsing Town Clerk, is, for the first time in eighteen years, being challenged for her position by Republican candidate Dolores Peluso. Raised in the hamlet of Napanoch, and mother of four with her husband Richard, Eck has been part of administrations that have received a number of grants that she says have helped improve the way the town clerk’s office, and by extension Town Hall itself, runs.

“In my tenure as town clerk, I’ve received six grants — New York State Education Grants. Four of them were written by me, two of them weren’t. They were for the GIS [Global Information System], which is what I’m working on now,” says Eck, describing the system as a kind of computerized atlas that provides detailed records and information on the town’s streets and systems, allowing for the town to run more efficiently.
“We’ve almost completed putting all the town roads into it, and marking where there’re private roads. It’s a little bit complicated, and it’s a big task that we’ve undertaken. Normally it’s done by assessors, but our assessor didn’t opt to do it, so it’s in my office. It’s something for the future, and it’s really, really great…but it’s a lot of work,” she adds, with a laugh.

Another grant Eck obtained, one to put the town’s records on microfiche, was the third highest grant in New York State, and the highest for Ulster County.

As a state-certified, registered municipal clerk (RMC), and the town’s records management officer (RMO), Eck has handled the town’s office, bonds and laws, and has acted as the record officer for Town of Wawarsing’s board meetings. In addition to her experience and her qualifications as an RMC, Eck believes simply having a strong wealth of knowledge and information about the area is part of what sets her apart from her competition.
“You have to be very knowledgeable about this area,” says Eck of the requirements of the position. “You have to be dedicated. You have to have experience — I was the deputy clerk for three and a half years before I ran for town clerk…it’s very difficult to step into this kind of a job and not know any of the specifics that go on in this office. You’re mandated by the state for so many things. You have to manage a check book, you have to balance it, you have to do state reports.”

Eck listed a variety of responsibilities including filing reports with the DEC, the state comptroller’s office, the Health Department, the Ulster County Treasurer’s Office, as well as the New York State Agriculture and Marketing department.

“Those are all branches of government that we have to answer to every single month with reports. So you have to have a little bit of a background.” Eck then adds, “You also have to have broad shoulders to take the abuse when people are very angry or upset about something; to calm them down.”

Responding to the criticism of her opponent of Eck’s less than friendly demeanor, the veteran clerk disagrees, citing that she’s never received a complaint about her attitude.

“I’m here to serve everybody, not just a particular group or an ethnic group or whatever it is,” she says. “I go actually above and beyond my job. I’m always on call — twenty-four hours a day. I get calls at home constantly, much to my husband’s aggravation. As far as friendly attitude: the Town of Wawarsing is also a business. There’s a time to be friendly, and there’s a time to be business-like. But anybody that comes in here does not get abused or anything.”

As far as plans for the future, Eck is staying the course, working on getting another grant to re-bind old, historic records going back to the early 19th century, an expense meant to preserve Wawarsing’s past.
“All our records are computerized, which was a feat in and of itself,” something Eck achieved during her time in office.

“I feel I’ve done a good job in the eighteen years. I’ve implemented a lot of new procedures here, and received a lot of grants for a lot of the things I have implemented. I’ve never turned down somebody who’s asked me to stay and do something for them or come in and help them on a weekend when they couldn’t get in here.”
As for her campaign strategy, Eck puts it very simply, saying, “I just feel that I’m the best person for the job.”

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