ELLENVILLE – For the first time in two years, the NAACP Meet the Candidates Night was packed so tight with people that newcomers had trouble finding seats — of course, the majority of the people in attendance were themselves running for office.

Indeed, 21 county, town, and village office candidates (and one who had a representative attend in her stead) and their family members filled the small room at the Trudy Resnick Farber Building at 50 Center Street on Tuesday night. All told, roughly 15 people attending weren't currently running for office, but a good portion of that number already held office in the town or village, or were helping with a candidate's campaign.

Worse still, the event's organizers couldn't keep things running smoothly, with confusion about who should talk when abounding. In fact, when the 8 p.m. end-time was near at hand, NAACP President Maude Bruce asked if there were any other upcoming candidate nights to allow for the four town council candidates to speak; the four were left giving 30-second pitches, and had no time to take questions. And the questions that were asked of the candidates that evening came from either Bruce herself or the Wawarsing Conservative Party's Victor Palumbo, perhaps making the question-asking aspect of the evening a moot point.

Ulster County Justice candidates Deborah Schneer and Don Williams, came by to tell those assembled why they were each best suited for the top judicial spot in the county's court. Both had extensive backgrounds practicing law; Schneer in private practice for 25 years, Williams working in the district attorney's office for about 30 years. Schneer had served as Rochester Town Justice for four years, until she was tapped by the governor and appointed to the Ulster County position this past summer. Williams was elected as the county DA and served from 2000 until 2007.

All five county legislature candidates for the four seats in District 1 were on hand as well: T.J. Briggs, Joe Stoekeler, Mary Sheeley, Terry Bernardo, and Manuela Mihailescu talked about their experience and qualifications for the job. While Mihailescu discussed the emphasis on tourism she would like to see in the county, and the expertise she could bring, Sheeley said that she didn't think tourism was the legislature's responsibility, pointing out that the Ulster County Development Corporation and Ulster County Tourism were in charge of those fields

. The candidates competing in the Wawarsing races (with the exception of the aforementioned council spots) were up next, with Supervisor Ed Jennings and challenger Lenny Distel offering their plans for the future. Jennings said that the town needed jobs, citing the near 20 percent unemployment rate, but said that it was difficult to attract companies to the empty plants left by Schrade and Hydro. Distel discussed providing tax incentives to attract businesses, and also mentioned that tire recycling could be a potential use for the empty factories.

Town clerk candidates Sue Cummings and Roxanne Shamro spoke next — Cummings said that she wanted to put as many forms as possible on the town's new website to offer more convenience to customers who come into the office, allowing them to fill out forms at home. Shamro said that not all forms could go online because of requirements of filling them out in triplicate due to state law, such as dog license forms that need up-to-date rabies certificates. She did say that if customers need help filling out a form, she takes the time to assist, saying, "I'm user-friendly right there at the desk."

The candidates for Highway Superintendent both contested each others' numbers: challenger Tony Paes again accused incumbent Gil Davis of going over budget this year and last year, and presented the town's budget documents to prove it. Davis, on the other hand, countered Paes's accusations with documents of his own, which he said were both looked over by Town Comptroller Pat Althouse and highway department liaison Theresa Hyatt, a member of the town council. Davis said that he wasn't over budget because he kept adding revenue to the department's fund above and beyond what was approved at the town's budget meetings — the source of Paes's budget documents. Things became unruly at one point, when members of the audience — former town supervisor James Dolaway and Wawarsing Republican Party Chariman John Constable — traded shouts about the documents and making them available to the public. Order was restored eventually, and each candidate finished his presentation.

The candidates for town collector of taxes, Robin Andersen and Tom Stack, were relatively sedate. As were the three candidates for two seats on the village board of trustees, as incumbent Efrain Lopez, challenger Sue Nibe, and Maxine Chapin (appearing for absent incumbent Patty Steinhoff) talked qualifications and hopes for the future. At this point in the evening, 8 o'clock was looming, and the trustees were asked no questions.

The four town council candidates — challengers Richard "Doc" Craft, Dan Johnson, Steve Bradley, and incumbent John Gavaris — sped through their own presentations, and with that, the crowd of politicians dispersed into the night.

Election day is on November 3.