“Here I am,” Stanley said last week from behind the desk of the town of Jay supervisor’s office.

He was voted into the supervisor position last November by the majority of voters after running on a platform of transparency, accessibility and growth for the town. Almost two months into the job, he said nothing has deterred him from believing he made the right decision by running.

Stanley grew up on a family farm in Jay, and he got his first cow at 8 years old. He was part of the local 4-H club, where he learned how to take care of farm animals, woodwork, cook and even sew. He said his family traveled to the Essex County Fair every year for a week-long “vacation.” They’d set up a camper and bring Stanley’s cattle out to the 4-H barn. He started out with one cow at the fair, but by his senior year of high school, he had a herd of about 15 that took up half the barn. Stanley said keeping cattle was a “labor of love” that fostered the work ethic and sense of responsibility he carries with him to this day.

“I really wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything,” he said.

Stanley traveled to political chambers in Albany, Washington, D.C. and New York City with the 4-H club, too, but he said that’s not what drove him to office in Jay. He was motivated to become supervisor in part by his love for the town and by his desire to seek security for his family.

When he was a teenager, he met his future wife, Shannon, while they worked summers at Santa’s Workshop in Wilmington. She was a southern girl from Tampa, Florida who came north to visit family, and he was living country life in Jay. But when Stanley graduated from Ausable Valley High School in 1995, he traded his herd of cattle to his parents for his first computer, and he traded small-town life in Jay to transfer to the University of South Florida at Tampa after spending two years at SUNY Plattsburgh. He did it to get close to Shannon, he said, but after he graduated from college in 2000 and worked in Massachusetts for a brief time, Stanley brought Shannon back home to Jay, where they’ve lived since 2001. They married in 2002.

When Stanley returned, he began working at Santa’s Workshop, which he calls the best job he ever had. He’s still a general manager there, although he hopes to have a more hands-off approach while he’s town supervisor. With a wife and two daughters, Stanley realized that he needed a retirement plan, so he “reluctantly” became a corrections officer for stability. While he was working at Clinton Correctional Facility in 2020, however, the annex was slated for closure. It dawned on him that his job might not be as stable as he thought.

Around that time, Stanley said running for office entered his mind. It checked all the boxes for him: taking office would give him an opportunity to help out in the town he loved and make a job move within the state that afforded his family some security. He talked to multiple town officials in Jay and surrounding areas, and he started to see that taking office would be a good fit for him as someone who was involved with small businesses. Now Stanley is looking forward to giving back to the community that gave him so much during his youth.

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First days

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The supervisor position, so far, isn’t what Stanley expected. He’s used to hands-on work, but he said that as supervisor he’s spent a lot of time in meetings, making decisions and delegating — things that would have driven him “nuts” 10 or 15 years ago but he sees as a benefit now. He said having people around him who are educated and qualified in their work helps him get the job done.

He’s still getting up to speed on projects and issues he inherited when he took office in November, and he’s already got a few new ones on his plate. The town of Jay was recently awarded $1.5 million from the state to improve its water treatment facility and perform more restoration work in the East Branch of the AuSable River, which was badly damaged by logging and mining activities in the 1800s and 1900s.

On top of old and new projects, Stanley said Jay is breaking in a newly-staffed board. The town has a new board member, town clerk, highway superintendent and tax collector. Before he started as supervisor, Stanley said the town was running on two board members and an interim supervisor.

Stanley was sworn in as the temporary supervisor shortly after the November election, months after former town Supervisor Archie Depo retired last August. Deputy town Supervisor Tom McDonald filled the position during the interim, and Stanley said McDonald will continue to serve as the deputy supervisor. Former town councilor Spencer Reynolds resigned from his position in October. Stanley was officially sworn in for his four-year term as supervisor on Dec. 20.

Stanley alluded to some internal problems with town employees prior to the election, but he’s already noticed a change in that energy since the election shift.

“Already the environment around here is definitely one where, I think, we’re all going to work together,” he said. “… Now we’re back to full strength and really looking forward to the future.”

Stanley said he now understands why some efforts by the past board to achieve transparency were difficult. With a lack of broadband and employees, it’s hard to nail down livestreaming capabilities and keep up to date with meeting agendas and minutes. That’s why he’s currently looking for a clerk to the supervisor, staying active with weekly supervisor reports and the new Town of Jay, NY Facebook page, and working on getting more internet capabilities for the town.

“All of that stuff is going to happen as we get more manpower to be able to do those things,” he said.

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County work

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As town supervisor, Stanley also holds a seat on the Essex County Board of Supervisors. He was sworn in with the county on Jan. 3 while his wife Shannon held the Bible.

Supervisors also serve on county committees. Stanley said he hasn’t been assigned to his committees yet, but he has a “wish list” of where he wants to serve. He’s interested in working with the county’s department of public works, and he wants to get more involved with personnel and finance committees, too. But one committee he’s really passionate about takes him back to his 4-H roots: the county’s fair committee. He said he wants to help “make the biggest little fair great once again.”

Stanley said the county fair could be an entry point for the town of Jay to showcase its many agricultural and artistic flairs. He hopes more local farms and businesses take that opportunity to grow their efforts.

“As the fourth largest town in Essex County, I really want the town of Jay to be something people are looking up to and looking at as a shining beacon, if you will, in Essex County,” he said.

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Strengthening Jay

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Stanley is looking to strengthen his town by broadening the tax base, which he said could help lower property taxes. He encourages a variety of housing opportunities, like the proposed 355-acre development in the town currently being reviewed by the state Adirondack Park Agency, along with more affordable housing in places like Ausable Acres. He also wants to take advantage of the tourism opportunities afforded by the AuSable River. He believes that attracting more residents and tourists could bring in more dollars to afford the services necessary to keep the town strong.

Stanley said part of creating that strength, for him, is gathering a team of town employees and a community that’s ready for anything — namely, more future climate disasters like the rainfalls from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. He expects another major weather event to occur in the town over the next 10 or 15 years, and he believes the town has all the pieces necessary to make it through.

“I want to be able to have the employees who want to work together, and I want to make relationships with my counterparts in the county, with my neighboring towns, that we all can just come together to weather any storm that hits this town,” he said.