Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified a former Republican candidate for Bethlehem Town Supervisor. His name is Jim Foster.

Bethlehem

Debate and confusion over a town plan to collect data on all residential properties is likely a preview for what will be a contentious campaign for supervisor and town board seats come November.

After a story ran in the local Spotlight newspaper on March 29 that said there was a discussion at a Town Board meeting about appraisers entering people's homes and taking photographs, a former GOP candidate for town supervisor and the administrators of a conservative Bethlehem Facebook page ripped into the town's plan, calling it a veiled reassessment of people's property.

The Spotlight then printed another story in which Bethlehem Assessor Laurie Lambertsen said she gave the wrong impression at the March 22 Town Board meeting, and that appraisers will knock on doors to speak to residents — but will not request to go inside their homes.

Town officials have said a more accurate inventory of residences is needed because one hasn't been done in 25 years and it will be necessary when revaluation is mandated by the state in the coming years.

A Facebook page called Bethlehem Resident News, a site that has supported town GOP candidates in the past, put up a March 30 post titled "Hold on To Your Wallets!," and said the town wants to document residents' new furnishings, carpeting and other home improvements to raise assessments.

Former GOP Supervisor candidate Jim Foster, who lost the election in 2015 by only a handful of votes to incumbent Democrat John Clarkson, posted the same day expressing similar sentiments. Foster said on Facebook that appraisers will seek "entry into your bedrooms, basements, studies, and other private spaces for the purpose of taking photographs and recording other information."

This unleashed a social media response from Town Board member Democrat David VanLuven, who is one of the presumed Democratic successors to Clarkson, who announced this past week he is not seeking re-election after serving the last six years.

"Fear mongering is one of the things that I most hate in politics. It makes people afraid, it leads to bad decisions, and it can tear apart communities," wrote VanLuven on the page called "Friends for David VanLuven." He said the data collection is an inventory, not a reassessment and that "... mistakes are being used to sow fear and dissent." VanLuven couldn't be reached Sunday for further comment.

The Bethlehem Resident News page, which has more than 1,200 followers, has existed for at least the last four years. The page has served as a critical soapbox against town Democrats and provided support for a campaign led by the Bethlehem police union to unseat Clarkson in 2015.

As of late the page has been called out by readers as being purposely incendiary. For example, the new paved rail trail in Bethlehem was called the "Ho Chi Min Trail" and the town's move to declare itself a sanctuary community was described as a step toward letting a criminal element into Bethlehem.

"For those who think that this blog is one that broadcasts negative news about our town, you don't have to look at it, you don't have to read it," the page administrators said last Thursday. The administrators of the page keep themselves anonymous.

Foster would not say Sunday if he is running again for supervisor, only that he wants to remain engaged in the community. He did, however, say he is not affiliated with the Bethlehem Resident News page and "I would agree that it goes a bit too far at times."

"The biggest thing for me, I want to make sure we're informing the public," Foster said.

The Town Board is scheduled to discuss the property inventory matter further at a meeting Wednesday.

lstanforth@timesunion.com • 518-454-5697