Chester Town Board Appoints Stephen Diffley to Fill Vacant Council Seat

Stephen Diffley was sworn in as a Chester Town Board councilman on March 11, filling the seat left empty by the death of Councilman Larry Dysinger, who passed away at his Chester home on December 8, 2025, after a long battle with a rare cancer.

Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said Diffley was the consensus choice for the seat because he was in the top three of all four board members. The board interviewed 10 candidates for the position before settling on Diffley. In introducing him at the March 11 meeting at Town Hall, 1786 Kings Highway, Holdridge described Diffley as a long-time community member and expressed confidence that he would be a productive member and dedicated public servant.

The appointment motion, made by Holdridge and seconded by Council Member Robert Courtenay, carried 3-0 with one abstention. Voting in favor were Holdridge, Council Member Tom Becker, and Courtenay. Council Member Giuseppe Cassara abstained. Following the vote, Town Clerk Linda Zappala administered the Oath of Office, and Diffley took his seat on the dais.

Diffley is chairman of the Chester Democratic Committee, an electrician and union member, tapped to serve out the remainder of Dysinger's term. Upon being sworn in, Diffley said: "Thank you to the board for putting its trust in me. I will help the town to the best of my ability."

The town board is now three to two Democratic, although Republican Councilman Robert Courtenay ran and won endorsed by the Democrats in the 2025 election and is planning to do so again in 2026. The lone Republican-endorsed councilman, Giuseppe Cassara, abstained on the vote to appoint Diffley. No reason for the abstention was stated in the official meeting minutes.

Diffley will have to run for the seat in November when the new ward system is instated in the town, with all four council seats up for election.

The March 11 meeting also addressed two other significant items. Town officials received a state Department of Transportation update on proposed changes to Route 17, the future Route 86. The DOT is recommending upgrading Exit 126, closing Exit 127, and installing a traffic circle at the intersection of Lehigh, Route 17M, and Kings Highway. The agency plans to hold a public hearing in November followed by a 45-day comment period.

Additionally, the board adopted a bond resolution authorizing issuance of bonds in a principal amount not to exceed $600,000 to finance replacement of the culvert on Surrey Road. The project carries an estimated useful life of 30 years and the resolution is subject to permissive referendum with required publication and posting.

Dysinger had served on both the Planning Board and the Town Board, and in the days after his passing, the board meeting started with remembrances and a moment of silence, with Holdridge describing him as "a force on this town board." Diffley now steps into a seat that carried considerable institutional weight.