The Shepard Family, Delaware County Government, and the Canceled Town of Hamden (NY) Candidates’ Debates: Questions That Deserve Answers

 

Reportedly, the Town of Hamden (NY) candidates’ forum scheduled for October 20, 2026, has been canceled - and the Shepard siblings are at the center of the controversy.

Also, interesting information about the criminal background surfaced regarding the Shepard's sister 

- the new Town of  Hamden Town Clerk at the center of the debate-canceling controversy - which obviously benefits the Wayne brother.

Given that the Town of Hamden also deliberately hired a convicted felon as Tax Assessor, see here, the tendency to hire politically coddled and favored people with violent criminal background into key positions, those directly affecting who takes the leadership of the town and how much the town property owners have to pay in taxes - and the sheer concentration of such people in the small-town small government is disturbing.

Yet, the controversy surrounding that cancellation raises questions extending beyond the availability of Town Hall for a single evening.

Those questions concern three siblings: Wayne Shepard, a candidate for Hamden Town Supervisor and longtime Delaware County employee; Cathy Roloson, Hamden Town Clerk; and Randy Shepard, publisher of The Reporter and co-owner of Decker Advertising Inc., a company that has conducted business with Delaware County.

The available public statements and federal litigation records establish several important facts. They also leave questions about official discretion, family relationships, municipal contracting, and public accountability.

I. The Canceled Candidates’ Forum

According to organizer Gabrielle Aruta Pierce, she reserved Hamden Town Hall by telephone on August 28, 2026, for a public question-and-answer forum between the two candidates for Town Supervisor.

Pierce states that the reservation was subsequently canceled and the facility rebooked, without direct official notification to her.

The Town Clerk responsible for the facility is Cathy Roloson, Wayne Shepard’s sister.

A public defense of the clerk’s actions disputes Pierce’s account, questions whether a valid reservation existed, and refers to the absence of advance payment.

Yet, what directly pops out of Savannah Wake's public position, see also here:

is double standards.

While accusing opponents of unsubstantiated positions - without any attempts to verify whether they are actually substantiated - Wake refuses to face the reality, the available records, the established familial connections, the INFERENCES that voters may reasonably draw from such connections and actions of the Shepard/Roloson siblings for one-another's benefits using their government positions, and proceeds on sheer emotion.

For example, Wake claims that Pierce did not PAY for the Town Hall.

She does not pay attention to the fact that Pierce said she BOOKED the Town Hall and was told that she will have to tender the payment when getting the key - and then the event was cancelled on her through third parties.

There is no point blaming Pierce for lack of PAYMENT under the circumstances, and doing so is an underhanded attempt to shift the debate from where it belongs: the Shepard/Roloson conflict of interest influencing elections.

II. Wayne Shepard’s Reported Refusal to Participate

Pierce has stated publicly that Wayne Shepard declined to participate in the forum regardless of the proposed date.

His opponent, Jonathan Kilday, has publicly confirmed that the October 20 event was canceled, stated that he accepted the original invitation, and offered to participate on another date before the November 3 election.

Kilday specifically invited Shepard to identify a mutually convenient date.

This creates a separate question from the Town Hall reservation dispute: Why did Wayne Shepard reportedly decline to participate in the proposed public discussion?  At the same time as his sister conveniently forced cancellation of the very public debates that her brother candidate did not want to attend?  And where the prominently gaping hole of his absence would be noted by voters?

So, Shepard did not summon the courage to face the voters in a public debate, but summoned his sister (or so it looks) to make them disappear.

That is a good preview of what his future "leadership", if elected, will look like - the same underhanded tactics that the Town and its residents and taxpayers suffered for 30 years under Marshfield.

III. Wayne Shepard’s Delaware County Employment Since 1991

Wayne Shepard’s history with Delaware County government extends back to 1991.

Wayne Shepard also testified in the Decker Advertising lawsuit, twice, on May 14, 2025, and on October 8, 2025.  You can read all depositions in that case that I purchased from Pacer.gov and published for public benefit, here - including Marshfield's, Merklen's and some other interesting personages.

While you may download for free - or read those depositions without downloading, following the links provided - here are some snippets from Wayne Shepard's first deposition that may interest voters as to the above nepotism debate:

So, brothers have a cordial, fine relationship - and obviously because of that cordial relationship, brother Randy Shepard was constantly getting County business while brother Wayne Shepard was employed there in prominent positions.  Because, OF COURSE, brother Randy's business was the best for the county - not because of the familial connections, nononono.

IV. Randy Shepard, The Reporter, and Decker Advertising

In a sworn declaration filed in Decker Advertising Inc. v. Delaware County, No. 3:23-cv-01531 (N.D.N.Y.), Randy Shepard stated that he had served as publisher of The Reporter since January 2010.

He also identified himself and his wife, Kim Shepard, as owners of Decker Advertising Inc.

The Reporter had served as an official Delaware County newspaper for many decades. According to the federal litigation record, the County designated it again on January 5, 2022, before ending that designation in March 2022.

The newspaper’s official designation generated revenue from the publication of county legal notices.

Another business relationship concerned The Dispatch, a periodical distributed to Delaware County seniors.

Randy Shepard stated under oath that Decker Advertising had handled the layout, printing, and distribution of The Dispatch for more than two decades, generating roughly $30,000 annually.

He further stated that Wayne Shepard informed him and Kim Shepard that the contract would be put out for competitive bidding.

The first bidding process occurred in late 2024. A second request for proposals was issued on April 8, 2025, and bids were publicly opened on April 28, 2025.

These statements are especially significant because they come from Randy Shepard’s own sworn declaration.

V. Family Relationships and Public Contracting

New York General Municipal Law Article 18 governs conflicts of interest involving municipal officers and employees.

GML § 800 expressly includes the designation of an official newspaper within its definition of municipal contracts.

Sections 800 and 801 address direct and indirect interests in municipal contracts, including circumstances involving official authority over contract preparation, approval, and payment.

New York law also recognizes family relationships as grounds for mandatory disqualification in judicial proceedings - of judges and jurors.   Such statutes absolutely disqualify from proceedings judges and jurors who are within 6th degree of consanguinity or affinity to parties, for example.   

It matters very much whether the County - being VERY secretive in answers to FOIL requests and that DOES NOT have an anti-nepotism policy (same as the Town of Hamden, NY), I checked as on both for decades - conducted bidding fairly, if at all, and whether the conflict of interest of Brother-to-Brother Shepards was ever reflected in any County records.

In this case, the LACK of such records is the EVIDENCE of impropriety.

VI. The Missing Records and the Inferences They Raise

Public access to records is essential to evaluating government conduct.

Requests under New York’s Freedom of Information Law provide a means of obtaining contracts, vouchers, correspondence, meeting minutes, payment records, and applicable municipal policies.

Where requested records are withheld, the legal basis for withholding them matters. Where records do not exist, that fact may be significant as well.

The same principle applies to the canceled pre-election candidates debates.

The absence of a public discussion leaves questions unanswered, but raises questions instead as to WHO BENEFITED from the canceled debates - and that is obviously not the candidate who wanted them to happen.

So - dear Town of Hamden, NY voters who - as soon as PROPER questions of public concern surface - are being shamed for making "unsubstantiated allegations" while pertinent records are being hidden and while the conflicted candidate takes cover provided by sister clerk - DO YOU WANT THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS 30 YEARS GOING FORWARD???

Your call at the voting booths.