SE Highway Chief Faces Challenge from Within Dept.
It might be awkward within the Town of Southeast highway department for much of 2019 as a worker of the department has announced his intention to run against his boss, Superintendent Michael Bruen.
Michael Burdick, a Republican who has been with the department for 22 years, said he’s always had his eye on running for highway superintendent, but family obligations always kept him back. Now with both of his sons out of the house and with the blessing from his wife, Burdick said he figured this is the time to try his hand at it.
But in order to earn the seat, at least one person he will have to beat is his current boss, Bruen, a Republican who is seeking his second full term.
“It’s kind of strange,” Burdick said of facing the man he reports to each day, but he added. “It’s always been a goal of mine to try my ideas to make the highway department better.”
And Burdick certainly believes he can do a better job than Bruen with insight into how the department runs. He wants to improve snow removal, take on more of the paving obligations, and be more transparent with other town officials.
Bruen, in an email, said he is seeking reelection because he is the “most qualified, experienced” candidate after serving the past five years. The highway department has implemented practices that maintain safety, efficiency, and cost effectiveness, Bruen said. He is a longtime Brewster resident who served as highway chief for five years after being appointed to fill out the remainder of a term and then won reelection.
When asked what is was like to have someone who currently works under him gunning for his job, Bruen said he questioned if Burdick, who is a union employee, would have the town’s best financial interest in mind and the possible difficulties of Burdick supervising men he once worked side- by-side with. Burdick said he only has the best interests of the town at heart.
“I think it is great that the American dream is still alive, I believe the transition from co-worker to Supervisor can be extremely hard, if not impossible for most people,” Bruen said.
He vowed to not let politics be brought into the department even though it appears the two men have disagreements how the department should be run.
Burdick argued too much paving is done by outside contractors rather than the highway department personnel under Bruen. He believes more work should be done by the department, which could save the town money. The department has the manpower and equipment to complete more paving, Burdick said.
When addressing snow removal, he said the response time to cleaning up streets could be faster with the department waiting too long to put salt down and plow.
Burdick said he would be more willing to provide information to the town, which he believes Bruen seems to withhold too often. Burdick vowed to be involved with every facet of the town.
“The highway department seems like the biggest entity of the town,” Burdick said.
When addressing putting in new blacktop, Bruen said it is far more cost effective to use outside contractors for large paving projects and have highway workers handle other necessary repairs.
Bruen said current snow removal practices are efficient and streamlined that still provide “unparalleled safety” to motorists during storms. He doesn’t believe large amounts of salt need to be wasted that could hurt the environment and result in an egregious amount of overtime to keep roads safe.
As for being forthcoming with the board, Bruen stated, “I believe the Town Board recognizes that I maintain an open door policy toward transparency.”
While it’s out in the open that Burdick is running, he and Bruen have yet to have what presumably could be an uncomfortable talk about facing each other in a GOP primary. The two men have seen each other daily, but no mention of the race has come up.
Burdick grew up in Brewster, then moved away to nearby Holmes before moving back to the town recently. Before becoming part of the highway department, he had his own excavating and contracting business.
“If I didn’t think I could do a better job, I wouldn’t be running for the position,” Burdick said. “There are changes that can be made that’ll make things better.”
