Courtesy Seeber Facebook page (2021).
Rachel Seeber
A statement from Queensbury Supervisor Rachel Seeber: As 2022 draws to a close and we reflect on a time of gratitude and Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a moment to express my personal and professional gratitude and immense appreciation to the residents of Queensbury for their support for nearly a decade now. When I ran for office in 2013, I was full of energy, hope and optimism. I still bring these attributes with me each and every day I serve, but as we all know - life changes. Our children grow up and move on, our careers evolve and our goals change.
I have always said that serving our community has been one of the greatest privileges in my life and I hope our community feels that they have been well represented, that I have fought the good fight and advocated for you, Queensbury - each and every day I have served.
I am proud to call Queensbury my home, our home. However, it’s not a coincidence that on the eve of Thanksgiving I first share with you, our Queensbury friends and family, that it’s time - it’s time for me to say thank you for such an incredible experience and for placing your faith and trust in me to serve you.
It’s time for me to re-focus on my family and my professional career full-time.
Politics is not my career, and you will never hear me say that it is. I believe our government should be by the people and for the people — with this in mind and having proudly earned my doctorate just a few short months ago — it is now time to focus on teaching college full-time as the Spring semester for 2023 approaches.
As excited and grateful as I am for these new opportunities in my professional life, it is with mixed emotions I am announcing that in several weeks I will be submitting my written resignation pursuant to statute which will have an effective date on or before 1/23/23 when the Spring semester begins.
Queensbury residents deserve a representative that can dedicate the time, energy and commitment required to serve our community. Without a doubt, I have, and I will continue to work hard, giving this position and privilege of public service, this part-time job as a County Supervisor, full time hours and attention.
During this time, I have sponsored successful legislation committed to transparency and accountability- where because of these efforts anyone can watch all committee and board meetings on YouTube and YouTube live. You can see and hear what your elected officials are doing or not doing on your behalf, as it should be.
I have had the honor of serving as the first woman to be Chair of our Board of Supervisors in 2021 and to have led the first bipartisanship leadership team in Warren County. I have created internship and volunteer programs and strengthened existing laws such as occupancy tax, ethics reform and the rules of the board.
In 2021 as your Supervisor and Chairwoman I led our community as we together chartered through turbulent waters of local government during the pandemic. I have had the privilege to serve on numerous state and national boards advocating not only for Queensbury but for all New Yorkers.
I absolutely love serving our community, but I love my family more. They have been patient and supportive and it’s time for me to put my family first and my doctorate to work. I have been so fortunate to put the residents of Queensbury front and center in my life for so many years and perhaps once again I will pursue public service in an elected capacity, but for now I am just so thankful to Queensbury for the seven years I have served you as your Queensbury at Large Supervisor.
While I firmly believe in term limits, none exist for County at Large positions. I announced early in 2022 that this term would be my fourth and final term with the hopes that there are Queensbury residents excited to be and interested in being the voice of the people, and would step forward to run to serve our amazing community.
I am hopeful that in our next election cycle we witness more candidates than ever seeking office. I am making this informal announcement now in order to provide sufficient time to fulfill my responsibilities and wrap up any projects & initiatives on the board and of course also with the hope that during these next two months, residents consider serving in such a capacity.
This affords anyone interested an ability to inquire with not only the Town, but the County and of course any political committees they wish to seek support from - but most importantly to reach out to their neighbors and family members over the holidays to talk about changing and improving local government. I also hope that interested residents consider attending committee meetings and board meetings - watch our debates and dialogue on you tube and always feel free to reach out to me or any member for that matter (we work for you) and learn more about an opportunity for public service that truly changes your perspective.
From the bottom of my heart Queensbury - thank you. I am committed to working as hard for you over the next two months as I have worked each and every day I have served in office. I’m excited for the direction of our community we call home, especially as new leaders emerge and run for office to advocate on our behalf and ensure our voices are in fact heard.
With that said - we have so much to be grateful for. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.