MONTICELLO — Residents in the Village of Monticello will head to the polls on March 18 to vote for two trustee seats and the office of mayor.

In a village long plagued by vacant storefronts, a vanishing tax base and a crisis of spirit, candidates in the upcoming election see opportunity.

Those running for trustee include Republican Michael Banks, Democrat David Komatz and Incumbent Trustee Carmen Rue, who is running on the Democratic and Independence Party lines.

The race for mayor comes down to two village business owners. Democrat George Nikolados, who owns the Miss Monticello Diner on Broadway and has been a trustee since 2016, as well as Deputy Mayor for the past two years, is challenging Republican Incumbent Mayor Gary Sommers, who owns J.J. Sommers Inc. just a few blocks down on Broadway.

Before the general election in March, however, a Republican primary will be held on January 28.

Before the new year began, The Town of Thompson Republican Committee surprised many by endorsing Nikolados over Sommers.

“I don't care if someone has a ‘D' or an ‘R' next to their name,” said Republican Committee Vice Chair Jay Rubin. “We thought [Nikolados] was the best candidate and we voted almost unanimously to endorse him. We currently have an absentee mayor who works in New York City several days a week.”

Rubin was referring to Sommers' work on the major network television series ‘FBI: Most Wanted.'

Sommers argues that he doesn't take benefits from the village and, even with his other business, he still puts in 25-30 hours per week exercising his duties as mayor and village manager.

Sommers has said that if elected to a four-year term, he would retire from his employment in the city.

Furthermore, Sommers said he would not have forced a primary if the committee went with another Republican, but felt he had no choice after they endorsed Nikolados.

“Philosophically, they're stepping away from what the Republican Party is supposed to stand for,” Sommers said. “If you don't want to endorse me, that's fine, but then why endorse someone who is diametrically opposed to your philosophy?”

Sommers is currently running on the Conservative and Independence Party lines and feels confident he can be re-elected even without the Republican endorsement.

“It's a matter of experience and I think I have it,” Sommers said, referring to his first stint as mayor 20 years ago, four years as trustee and an additional two years on the board before being reappointed mayor when Doug Solomon stepped down to become Chief of Police in Newburgh in 2018.

“We've begun to bring the Village out of where it was,” Sommers said. He described his time over the past two years as mayor being consumed with “putting out fires” created by previous boards.

He was critical of Nikolados and other board members for passing minimal tax increases in recent years that did not cover village expenses.

“I'm very passionate about what we've done for the village and what can still be done,” Sommers said.

While his endorsement by the Democratic Committee was expected, Nikolados said even he was surprised to receive the nod from the Republican Committee.

He explained how party affiliations shouldn't matter at the village level.

“The ideology of the party doesn't have anything to do with what's happening locally. We're not voting on guns or abortion,” Nikolados said.

While stopping short of saying the local party system is all bad, Nikolados said it sometimes allows “people who are unqualified to stay in power … I think the person's characteristics and who they are as a person is more important.”

Nikolados, who narrowly lost an election for county legislature against incumbent Alan Sorensen, said he ran that race because he wanted to help change the village from the outside in. Now he believes he can help the village as mayor by encouraging partnerships with outside groups.

“It's going to be really hard to bring us out of the hole we're in without outside help and without considerations from our legislators, the town and the state.”

Nikolados currently serves as treasurer for the Sullivan County Land Bank, which has been working to rehabilitate blighted properties in the village with the goal of increasing homeownership.

Nikolados believes the Land Bank will benefit the village in the long-term, but admits it causes a short-term hit to their tax base.

“A lot of my board was against giving up these houses to the Land Bank and I had to lobby very hard to get this going. Without these properties that we gave them, it would probably be a failure in the village.”

Nikolados said the Land Bank has helped to take down nine buildings so far and recently made their first home sale on Washington Street. He said more are expected to sell soon.

Sommers has said that he supports the ideals of the Land Bank, yet he's concerned about taking so many properties off the tax rolls. Sommers also said he'd like to see the Land Bank present the board with more information up front about costs to the village.

Both Nikolados and Sommers have been critical of the County Legislature for not “making the village whole,” for unpaid taxes.

“We have community partners here who are willing to help us,” Nikolados said. “We need someone willing to work with them or at least answer their phone calls and emails ... Right now there's a vacuum in terms of leadership.”