By Logan Breen | SUNY Institute for Local News
On November 4, voters entering the polls in Harpersfield will find two local offices on the ballot. Heidi R. Stevens, R, is running for re-election as the Town Clerk/Collector. And Donna M. VanSickell, D, and Dwayne C. Hill, Farm and Family, are running for re-election to their two seats on Town Council.
The Mountain Eagle spoke with the three candidates recently to learn more about their backgrounds and their goals for Harpersfield.
Heidi Stevens has held the Town Clerk and Tax Collector position since the beginning of this year, January 1, 2025. She was appointed to the office following the mid-term retirement of Linda Goss. It is her first position in political office. The 2025 General Election is Stevens’ first time running for clerk/collector.
Stevens has lived in Harpersfield for nearly nine years now. She has “grown to love the community and the residents who reside here,” she said. She wishes to stay in the clerk/collector position “to continue to be able to serve the community.”
She said she enjoys working alongside Town Supervisor Lisa Driscoll. Among her goals for Harpersfield, she plans to continue updating the Town of Harpersfield’s website and making other administrative improvements within Town Hall. Stevens said she “hopes that all public information will be easier to access, for both the residents and the employees of the town.”
Town Council Member Donna VanSickell moved to Harpersfield in 2007. Going as far back as 1980, however, she and her husband visited the area often before relocating permanently. She previously worked as a dental assistant and office manager.
VanSickell is seeking re-election “to continue working for the town’s best interests.” She was first appointed to the council in February 2024. She has no prior experience in political office, though she said that her time on the Harpersfield town council has taught her “a lot about all it takes to make a town run well and try to keep taxes as reasonable as possible.”
Keeping taxes in check are among her goals for another term in office. She explained that even though the costs for everything are rising, “it is in everyone’s best interests” to prevent taxes from rising. The town board members, she said, “all live [here] and pay taxes too.”
“Keeping the community informed and safe” is also among VanSickell’s top priorities.
Town Council Member Dwayne Hill has lived in Harpersfield his entire life. He operates the Shaver-Hill maple syrup farm with his brother, Dennis, and son, Damian. He was first appointed to Town Council in February 2023.
Prior to joining the Harpersfield town board, Hill was the president of the New York State Maple Producers Association for ten years. Hill explained that the role took him to Albany often to lobby on behalf of the state’s maple syrup producers. “Over the years I got to know a lot of legislators,” he said, “and kind of learned how the government operates.”
If re-elected, Hill said he hopes “to listen to the community’s needs and to keep expenses at a bare minimum.” He elaborated: “I think a big issue is due to all of the high prices [that] homes in our area are selling for, which is eventually going to drive taxes up even more.” He wants to continue working “to keep taxes and expenses under control” for Harpersfield residents.
Looking to the future, Hill also stated that “we need to keep encouraging and supporting small businesses in our community, to hopefully keep some of the younger generation here.”
Voters in Harpersfield will also find three Delaware County offices on the ballot. Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond, R, is seeking re-election; he is unopposed. Gary A. Rosa, D, the sitting Family Court Judge, is pursuing another 10-year term; he is also unopposed. The Delaware County Treasurer position is a contested race between Carli R. Pinner, R, and Ronda L. Williams, C.
There is a single proposition on this year’s ballot: a statewide ballot proposal related to land use at the Olympic Sports Complex near Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. New Yorkers are being asked to approve the state’s development of around 325 acres of “forever wild” land within the Mount Van Hoevenberg facility in exchange for adding at least 2,500 acres of new public land to the Adirondack Park Forest Preserve. Environmental advocacy groups, including the Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Council, and Protect the Adirondacks, are urging New Yorkers to vote “yes” on the amendment.
All Harpersfield residents will cast their votes at Harpersfield Town Hall, located at 25399 State Highway 23. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Service, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.
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