THE 2023
CANDIDATES
The Town of Kinderhook Democrats hosted a caucus on June 9 at the MHG municipal building to nominate candidates for Town offices in this year’s election on November 7.
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Democrats nominated two first time candidates and one former County candidate for the offices of Town Council, Town Clerk/Tax Collector and Town Justice.
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Ken Golden
Candidate for Town Justice
Ken Golden is a life-long resident of upstate New York and has lived in the Town of Kinderhook for nearly 30 years. Ken’s background as an attorney includes many years of both public and private service. He has served as an Assistant District Attorney in Columbia County, participating in all aspects of criminal prosecutions and appeals; a senior attorney at the NYS Department of State and the Department of Labor, where he conducted disciplinary hearings and drafted regulations for the protection of the state’s workforce; and as a member of an established Albany law firm specializing in complex litigation. In 2015, Ken was selected as the Democratic nominee for Columbia County District Attorney.
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As an Assistant District Attorney, Ken participated in all aspects of criminal prosecutions, Grand Jury proceedings, and appeals to the Appellate Division and Court of Appeals. In administering a federal grant, he was responsible for overseeing the prosecution of all cases involving domestic violence, reporting relevant findings to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and sponsoring training and educational programs throughout the county to increase awareness of the importance in the prevention of domestic violence.
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In 2016, Ken was selected to participate in the American Bar Association’s Clemency Project to review the sentences of inmates serving long federal terms to determine if they met certain conditions for a revised or reduced period of incarceration. Ken also served as a volunteer attorney with the ABA Veterans’ Claims Assistance Project preparing claims on behalf of disabled veterans and as Columbia County delegate to the Democratic Judicial Conference in Albany from 2017-2019. Ken continues to serve as an accredited counsel with the Veterans’ Administration and is currently an adjunct instructor in Healthcare Law and Ethics at Maria College in Albany, New York.
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“Justice Courts play a pivotal role in New York’s justice system. Their jurisdiction is broad, ranging from traffic infractions to misdemeanor criminal matters, including drunken driving cases, sexual offenses, domestic violence assaults, drug offenses and other charges. In such cases, local justices set bail, conduct suppression hearings, authorize search warrants, preside over jury trials, and impose jail sentences of up to one year. Their civil jurisdiction includes, not only small claims matters, but also residential and commercial landlord-tenant cases, summary eviction proceedings and other civil disputes.”
Local courts necessarily interact with countless State and local government and nonprofit organizations and have a significant impact on their communities, affecting the work of county prosecutors, defense providers, law enforcement personnel at all levels, corrections departments, including Probation and juvenile services as well as State agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
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For thousands of New Yorkers who come before Justice Courts each year, it is their first and often their only contact with our system of justice. All expect and deserve not only fairness and impartiality but the highest standards of independence and integrity from dedicated and experienced professionals.
Nataly D. Jones
Candidate for Town Clerk/Tax Collector
Commitment to public service and community are two of my core values and are evidenced by my work experience and family history. For the past 400 years, members of my family have held public office from the local and state level all the way up to the President of the United States and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This legacy has imbued in me the value of public service and community.
As Town Clerk/Tax Collector I will elevate and modernize office functions. Improving communication with the town’s residents is one of my goals. To achieve this, I would institute regular email notifications and updates about meetings, agendas and community events, improve website functionality, and increase social media presence. I have been thinking about running for Town Clerk/Tax Collector for quite some time and look forward to the challenges of the position and continuing to serve the town in that capacity. I firmly believe I have the skills and experience necessary and that I am the stronger candidate for the position.
Kinderhook has proven to be an exceptional place to plant roots, raise a family, and become involved and invested in community. Since arriving in Kinderhook in 2002, I have had the pleasure of serving and interacting with local residents in numerous ways. I worked at the Kinderhook Memorial Library for 7 years where I assisted library patrons and developed programs for both children and adults. In 2011, I went to work for the Columbia County Board of Elections. I have been an election inspector working at poll sites all over Columbia County assisting voters on election day since 2009. In 2014, I started working in the special education department of Questar III BOCES where I provide assistance and support to our local school districts, students, and families. I also served for a short time as the Deputy Town Clerk for the Town of Kinderhook and have been the secretary to the planning and zoning boards as well as the Board of Assessment Review since 2010. Seeking the office of Town Clerk/Tax Collector is a natural progression.
I have years of customer service experience, strong interpersonal, supervisory, and organizational skills. I am dedicated to teamwork, innovation and problem solving.
My computer skills have been well honed through my work experience. I am proficient in multiple platforms including Microsoft and Google, maintain multiple databases, websites, and email distribution lists.
I am a native New Yorker; raised in New York City and northern Dutchess County. I have two incredible sons who never cease to amaze me and make me proud every day. They grew up in the Village of Kinderhook and are both graduates of Ichabod Crane. We delivered Meals On Wheels for five years and it was a rewarding experience for all of us. I also volunteered at the Kinderhook Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings for five years. I look forward to having more time in the future to become even more invested in community volunteer activities.
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE
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3 years Columbia County Board of Elections
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7 years Kinderhook Memorial Library
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8 years Questar III BOCES
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14 years poll site election inspector
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13 years Town of Kinderhook planning and zoning board secretary
Innovation
Transparency
Responsive
Communication
Sally Bottiggi Naramore
Candidate for Town Council
​Sally Bottiggi Naramore is committed to:
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Increasing social media presence and public relations campaigns
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Creating a plan for a public/private partnership for a year round community center
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Reviewing and updating the Town’s zoning laws
Forty years ago I came to the Town of Kinderhook to begin my first job as the Executive Director of the Columbia County Historical Society. I was excited to start my career and to discover the history and heritage of the area. Later my parents decided to retire here and built a house in Niverville. It is Kinderhook’s natural beauty, recreational resources and community spirit while being a short distance from the major cities of the Northeast that attracted my parents and still entices people to relocate here today.
After my husband Bruce Naramore and I had our oldest daughter we bought a home in Kinderhook. We wanted to raise our family in this community so much so that my husband commuted almost an hour one way to his job at Clermont State Historic Site. For the next 15 years, after moving back I ran my own business - North River Promotions. Working for myself improved my organizational skills, public speaking, grant writing and knowledge of the town. Working part time allowed me to volunteer at the Ichabod Crane Schools and the Valatie Community Theater. Eventually, after substitute teaching at Ichabod Crane I worked as a Social Studies teacher at Hudson High School.
Since retiring from teaching in 2022, I have tried to become more involved in the Town of Kinderhook. I believe that the town will face many challenges in the future as it has in the past. A proactive approach can help us benefit from the changes that the town will experience in the future. As a Town Council we can look out for the interests of all the residents of this town whether they live in the villages of Valatie or Kinderhook, the hamlet of Niverville , along Kinderhook Lake, McCagg Road, on the border with North Chatham, or the agricultural areas to the southern end of the town. Whether a person is living in a larger estate, a farmer still living on the family farm of multiple generations, a small business owner, or an immigrant who now calls Kinderhook home we can all work together to create a more viable and sustainable community for our children and grandchildren.