William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman reports that in Pine Plains, someone needs to be town assessor, even if no one is on the ballot Nov. 8. No political party nominated a candidate, but current Assessor Robert Cordella hopes people in the north Dutchess County town can spell his name as a write-in. Cordella, a Republican and a retired Consolidated Edison supervisor, was appointed to the post last year. “The office is listed on the ballot with no names beneath it,” said town Assessment Board Chairman Jim Mara. “... When I called the [Dutchess County] Board of Elections on Friday, they told me that neither party held a caucus and no name came to them for the office.” Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.