Courtenay, Klein face off in Chester Ward 1 Republican primary

Chester’s Ward 1 Republicans are choosing between two sharply different answers to the same household question: keep the board’s recent course, or put a new premium on budget discipline before the next tax bill arrives. Incumbent Robert Courtenay and challenger Robert Klein will face off in the June 23 Republican primary, with voters in Ward 1 casting ballots at the Chester Senior Center, 81 Laroe Road, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The contest is part of Chester’s new ward system, which the town says is still being implemented for the 2026 Town Board election cycle. Orange County has finalized the Ward Districts and Election Districts map for use beginning with the 2026 election of Town Board council members, and early voting for the primary runs June 13 through June 21. Only Republican voters in Ward 1 will decide the race.

Courtenay is running on results already on the books. He points to securing 24/7 ambulance service, passing tax exemptions for seniors and first responders, bringing in more than $1 million in grants, restoring Friday Night Lights for children, cutting wasteful spending and helping get the open-space preservation funding mechanism over the finish line. The town says its dedicated Empress EMS contract provides 24/7 ALS ambulance service effective at midnight Feb. 1, 2025. Chester’s ambulance district was formally established by town resolution on Sept. 27, 2024, after a public hearing on Sept. 25, 2024, and the town says it provides 24-hour police protection and ambulance service to residents.

Klein is making a different argument, one centered on the balance sheet. He says Chester needs stronger financial expertise on the board because he believes town leaders have not reviewed and modified the budget carefully enough, a failure he says has pushed higher tax bills onto families and seniors. Klein points to his experience as Chester town budget officer, along with his work as a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner. He says he would press for zero-based budgeting and better vendor contracts, a message aimed squarely at how the town handles spending before property owners see the next round of bills.

The race is landing at the same time Chester is weighing land preservation and tax policy. The town has scheduled a June 10 public hearing on Introductory Local Law 3 of 2026 to create a Community Preservation Fund under Town Law §64-l. The town says that fund could be used to acquire development rights for open space, parklands, farmlands, trail rights-of-way, conservation easements and historic sites, financed primarily through a real-estate transfer tax.

That makes the Ward 1 primary more than a routine party contest. For Chester homeowners, the choice between Courtenay and Klein will help shape how the town spends, borrows, preserves land and delivers services over the next budget cycle.