Hunter resident Phoebe Potter declared herself a write-in candidate in the Greene County Legislature District 7 race, November 1, with only six days to go until the general election. Potter is challenging incumbent Democrat Larry Gardner, who is seeking his 14th term representing the residents of Hunter, Lexington and Halcott. Gardner, a Democrat, voted with the Republican majority in September to approve a $39 million bond resolution, clearing the way for the construction of a new jail facility in Coxsackie. In Potter’s announcement, emailed to an undisclosed list, she cited the Legislature’s decision as the motivation for her run. “I am particularly motivated by the…vote…to build an overpriced and unnecessary jail at a time when crime is low, pretrial detention is finally being recognized as overused and unconstitutional and our county faces major fiscal distress that will put retirement benefits and social programs at risk,” she said in a statement. Potter also acknowledged some “trepidation about what it would mean to win,” given what she understands about "the entrenched good old boy nature of our county government [sic] body.” For his part, Gardner defines the jail controversy as the biggest issue countywide at the moment. He told Columbia-Greene Media he wants to build the smallest and least expensive jail possible.