The Overlook is conducting a series of interviews with candidates running in the Nov. 3 election, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to shape their communities. In this installment, editor Noah Eckstein interviewed Peter Friedel, the Republican nominee for Ulster County Legislature District 22, which includes Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive, and Shandaken.

Friedel, 62, lives in West Shokan and has lived in Olive his entire life. He works as a sales manager for maintenance supplies company Kimball Midwest and previously served three terms on the Olive Town Council.

A first responder since age 16, Friedel began volunteering with the Olive Fire Department and later became an emergency medical technician. He said his decision to become an EMT followed his father’s death from a heart attack, when communication problems delayed an ambulance’s arrival. He continues to volunteer with the fire department.

Friedel is married and has two sons and grandchildren. Outside work, he enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with his family, including helping one of his sons open a restaurant.

Friedel will appear on the Republican ballot line. He faces Robert Drake, who will appear on the Democratic and Working Families lines.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

What is the most pressing issue facing District 22, and what would you do to address it?

Friedel: One is a housing crisis in the towns and taxes, and they kind of go hand in hand. On the county level, they’re just getting a little obscene with the taxes and just keep throwing money at problems, which really aren’t fixing it. One of them is the big one right now is housing. And people who live here who want to work here can’t afford to live here.

That’s why my son is back and forth, and he lives at home during the winter. He’s a bartender, he makes decent money, but can’t really find a good paying job here. So he goes back and forth, but he would like to be here.

That’s why I want to get involved is because I don’t think that we should be just creating more government jobs and taxing people. I think we got to start throwing some solutions at having some housing that people can afford.

The proposed Ulster County for Fair Taxes Act would apply a surcharge only to state income tax paid on taxable income above $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for joint filers. Does that change your view of the proposal?

Friedel: Yeah, that’s their window to get in. But you know as well as I do that once they get that in, then, you know, tax the rich, tax the rich. And then what are the rich? And it constantly after a year it changes.

What specifically would you do to help younger workers, including people who have similar situations to your sons, afford to live here?

Friedel: If you can, for instance, make smaller parcels of land with smaller houses, I won’t say tiny houses, but smaller houses that are affordable, then our workers can afford to live here.

And my feeling is that the people that are moving up from, let’s say, New York City or whatever, or the money, people aren’t looking for starter houses. They’re looking for bigger land because they want bigger land, bigger views and so on.

We need something between 100 and 200,000 that people can afford. I mean, I’d like to see a lot less, but I don’t think we’re going to find that.

Boiceville residents served by the Hudson Valley Water Company have reported recurring water problems. What could you do as a county legislator to help?

Friedel: When that development went in, they had technically the water company and that’s the way they bought it. So that area was a private thing.

I hate to say it, there’s either got to be a solution of the private owners take over the water company or, you know, I don’t think that’s a government thing. I mean, it could be if they voted to do like the sewer systems where they have a private company running it.

A water district. That they would pool their money to have someone else run it. That’s the only way I can see it happening, or private wells.

How would you help residents learn about government decisions and have a say before those decisions are made?

Friedel: A lot of electronic communications. And then for the people that don’t have it, there should be a site or someplace where they know to go to get the news, so to speak.

People that don’t have internet, don’t have television, don’t have whatever. They can go to a community area to go look and see what it is. And it’s got to be multiple areas.

The other thing is they need to put the agendas out well ahead of time instead of having it change.

You also raised communication problems affecting emergency services. What needs to improve?

Friedel: We need better cell coverage and radio coverage for that matter. There’s dead zones in Shandaken. I know that for a fact. You can’t communicate with the county via cell phone or radio. So you have to communicate to have someone else communicate to the county.

Especially like with Verizon wanting to cut out their landline. If that’s the case, then we need 100% coverage of cell service and radio service.

One of the problems is the county is having trouble locating places that will allow towers and especially up in Shandaken. And I’m saying to myself, we have Shandaken forest preserve that’s forever wild. And they don’t want cell towers on it because it’s supposed to be forever wild. Well, I think we got to start lobbying as a county and saying these are essentials, so we need to do it.

It’s just like the reservoir where New York City water supply found it essential and they took the property. But if that’s the case, we take the property.

Could loosening protections to allow towers harm the Catskills’ views and natural beauty?

Friedel: I don’t disagree with that. But on the other hand, there’s places where we can locate towers that is minimal to the site view because I’m sorry, but telephone poles are also an issue and we have to have telephone poles.

Could satellite service offer another way to address those gaps?

Friedel: I think that’s probably down the road. Yeah. But I don’t think it’s feasible at this point.

I mean you can also look at putting mini towers on every telephone pole throughout the town and broadcast it that way. But I think it’s a money issue more than anything.

Why do you identify with the Republican Party, and how would that affiliation inform your approach to county government?

Friedel: When I was growing up, the people around me that I associated with was Republican and that’s why I registered as a Republican. But I don’t really look at it as a party. I’m more than willing to cross party lines. I don’t look at it as Republican, Democrat and so on, because to get something done, you have to listen to both sides.

And that’s something that really bothers me about politics. People say they can’t vote for you because you’re a certain party, or nowadays it’s like they don’t want to come to Thanksgiving because you’re a certain party.

If you disagree with me, please come talk with me and let’s talk it out and tell me why I’m wrong. And I’ll tell you why I think you’re wrong. And then if we still disagree, we choose to disagree. But I want to still be friends and help.

I have friends that are very, very, very left leaning and I disagree with them and they know it and they know I disagree with them, but we’re still friends.

Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.