Current Middlefield supervisor David Bliss will face Ed Olsen in a Republican primary.

Bliss is finishing up his 16th year as town supervisor. In that time, he said, there has been only one overall tax rate increase in budgets he formulated.

His tenure as supervisor has been one of fiscal conservatism. The town has added on to the town hall, made improvements to the highway garage and has good equipment, Bliss said.

``We’re always looking for ways to save money and continue to provide good services to town residents,’’ the supervisor commented.

He said the town also completed a reval and although there were problems the first year, it was worked out as best it could be over time. Recently, he has been promoting the idea of county-wide assessing, which would do away with the equalization rate in most situations. It would make assessing more uniform, easier and perhaps cheaper than each municipality having its own assessor.

There would be no loss of local control because each town would still have its own board of assessment review.

The supervisor said he believes his 20 years of experience in Middlefield government has enabled him to develop a level of institutional knowledge that is valuable to town residents.

But Olsen says that’s the reason its time for a change in Middlefield.

``The town is stagnant. There are higher and higher taxes, the economy stinks and I think it’s time for someone to get in there and break a few eggs,’’ he said. ``It time for a change. We need some fresh blood.’’

Olsen is a former town codes, zoning and health official in Otsego and Middlefield. He currently serves on the Otsego Lake watershed committee, representing the town of Middlefield and is the watershed inspector. Olsen is also a contractor and vintner.

He said he has no particular agenda other than change in leadership.

``I’d like to see the town of Middlefield move forward. We’re stuck in 1940. We don’t move forward and we don’t go backward,’’ he said.

Olsen said he would like to hold some town meetings and see the town set a direction or goal and work toward it.

``This used to be a farming community. Now it’s a weekend resort,’’ he said.

Hartwick town supervisor Mary Balcom also has a long history of public service. Balcom has been involved in town government for 25 years, including stints as clerk, town councilwoman and twice as supervisor.

Right now, she said, the town is in the process of drawing up a comprehensive plan and is working with a recently completed survey of residents.

``We need to continue that work and I would like to see it through to the end,’’ she said.

She said the town also has a wonderful opportunity in Kallan Field, where they would like to establish a recreational area with walking trails and a community garden. They also a plan to upgrade the building there and add a restroom.

``There is potential for a lot of good things there,’’ she said.

It is a busy time for Hartwick as they are also in the midst of a reval. It addresses some of the inequities which exist by equalizing the discrepancies between past and current property values, Balcom said.

The town has entered into a water study of the Route 28 corridor with the Otsego County Conservation Association. That study, the supervisor said, should provide the planning board with some very useful information.

And in the hamlet of Hartwick, the town is getting closer to completing its water system upgrade.

``It was a difficult pill to swallow, but something had to be done,’’ she said, adding that with the new mains, the district has cut its water usage from 100,000 gallons a day to 43,000 gallons daily.

Like Ed Olsen in Middlefield, Pat Ryan wants to see a change in the old guard in Hartwick.

``I want to give voters a chance to have a voice in government,’’ she said. ``We need to find a way to protect and preserve the beauty in the township and still allow for growth.’’

Ryan was careful to explain she is not against growth and development, but is against the way it has occurred so far.

She said what is needed now is more control over the development that is happening.

She said she faults the current supervisor and board for not updating the town’s site plan review law in a more timely fashion.

If elected, she wants to accelerate the process of updating the town’s comprehensive plan.

She would also take advantage of the skills and knowledge of local people who have tried to offer their services to the town, but have been turned away by the board.

Ryan, a real estate broker, served on the town of Middlefield planning board and was a member of the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education for eight years.

She believes more issues should go to referendum to allow voters a chance to decide for themselves.

``I want to give people a chance to be heard. Tax dollars should be spent according to taxpayer’s desires,’’ she said. ``It is my feeling people need to have a choice in the polls we have not had in the past. I am giving them that choice.’’

The town of Hartwick will also have a three-way race for the two Democratic slots for town council in the November election.

Caren Kelsey, Martha Clarvoe and Lynn A. Green are running for a two-year term on the town board.

The primary election will take place next Tuesday, Sept. 18, from 12 noon to 9 p.m.