Brighton Town Board member Nate Salzman announced Monday he will challenge longtime town Supervisor Bill Moehle’s expected bid for re-election.
The last time Brighton had a Democratic primary for town supervisor was 2011, the year Moehle was first elected.
"We just have different visions,” Salzman said in an interview. “I mean, he's a good man, and I respect him, and this is not a personal grudge match.”
Moehle, 70, is the second longest-serving town supervisor in Monroe County, behind Chili’s David Dunning (first elected in 2007). He was just sworn in for his eighth term less than two weeks ago. But a change in state law, shifting town and county elections to even years, puts the supervisor’s seat back on the ballot for 2026.
He did not immediately return a message seeking comment but is expected to seek re-election, having notified Monroe County Democratic party leadership that he will be attending the upcoming designating meetings for candidates.
Salzman, 33, won election to the town board in 2023.
"Some people have said, 'Well, Nate, you know, you're doing this, you have two kids under 2. Are you crazy?" he said. "And I've said, 'I'm doing this because I have two kids under 2.' You know? .... My grandparents first moved to Brighton, and a lot of Brighton looks the same as when they came here. And I'm running to try to make some positive changes."
Specifically, he said, he is running to fulfill the goals of the Envision Brighton 2028 comprehensive plan. He speaks of the need for housing development, and that he wants to open up town government for business and residents alike.
“I can't get the work done,” he said of trying to help businesses expand hours or do other things in a way that doesn’t involve lawyers and months of negotiation. “And I'll tell you this, it's not because there's not a will there. It's because the process is stuck in the mud.”
Salzman has extensive experience working on and managing political campaigns, including that of Assembly member Demond Meeks. He was a co-founder of Tuesday Digital, a successful campaign consultancy that also launched the career of current Monroe County Democratic chairman Stephen DeVay.
But Salzman faces an uphill battle in a strongly Democratic town with an incumbent who has been in public office – as town supervisor and, before that, town attorney – since the 1990s. Congressman Joe Morelle, County Executive Adam Bello and Mayor Malik Evans did not immediately respond to messages asking if they will be endorsing Moehle.
The election process begins soon, with the Brighton town Democratic designating committee — led by Moehle’s wife Barbara Moehle — scheduled to meet later this month.
“I've called, you know, 150 members, every member of the committee,” Salzman said, “and I've said, ‘Look, I'd like to talk to you, not just on the phone, but let me buy you lunch. Let me buy you a cup of coffee. Can we sit and talk?’ And a lot of people have taken me up on that offer, which is fantastic. But win or lose that party endorsement ... we will go full-steam ahead into petitioning.”
Salzman said he has enlisted 40 volunteers to collect petition signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. He has a video campaign announcement ready to go. And he said his next campaign filing will show he has $55,000 on hand, reflecting a significant influx of donations since reporting $4,700 in his last filing back in July.
“The fact that we can get to $55,000 before an announcement, I mean, I think we're going to break fundraising records here in Brighton,” Salzman said. “This is just me talking to residents and neighbors and friends and saying, ‘Hey, look, I think we need a change, and here's my platform. What do you think?’”
Moehle reported having $21,300 on hand after last year’s campaign ended.
