EXPLORE MORE:

Former Mayor Adele Starrs Returning to Knowlton Committee

November 7, 2025

Knowlton Township Mayor Adele Starrs — Adele Starrs will be returning to the Knowlton Township Committee. Photo by Joe Phalon.

Former long-time mayor Adele Starrs will be returning to the Knowlton Township Committee after a three-year break.

Starrs had served on the committee for nine years, all but the first year as mayor, and did not run for re-election in 2022. She said she had not planned to run again for a committee seat, too, but some voters in the June Republican primary apparently had other ideas.

“I really didn’t plan to run again. It was a lovely surprise. I received enough write-in votes to be on the ballot in November, and I wasn’t expecting that,” Starrs said. “I wasn’t involved in organizing anybody to do that. It is something that just happened.”

Before the primary, longtime Committeeman Frank Van Horn announced he was not running for re-election, and the other incumbent committee member, Mike Bates had already filed his petition as an independent candidate putting him on the November ballot. Newcomer Vince Gaeta also filed as an independent, joining Bates.

But in an unusual twist, no petitions were filed by the deadline for the Republican spots on the ballot. This left the field wide open for write-in candidates for the GOP nomination, and, according to Warren County Clerk Holly Mackey, any two people who received the most of those votes would qualify to be on the November ballot as a Republican.

Apparently enough took that opportunity, with Starrs receiving 10 votes, and Ryan Lemback racking up four. Enough for both of them to qualify for November, and both accepted the nominations.

Starrs said she had not planned to run again, but things happen.

After giving it some thought, Starrs said she decided to accept the nomination for the November election.

“There are some things that I’d like to get accomplished and the more I started thinking about it, the more I thought, ‘Yeah, I think I want to do it again.’”

Getting the power back on—and keeping it on—will be one of her first priorities, Starrs said. Knowlton’s electric grid is notoriously unreliable, frequently leaving residents without power even when the weather is uneventful. And when the wind does kick up, the outages get even worse.

“The power goes out, and it’s extremely expensive and extremely unreliable,” Starrs said. “It continues to be an especially big issue with the ash trees coming down.”

One of the issues, she said, is that, being a small town spread over a large area, getting Knowlton on the electric utility’s radar can be a challenge but one she’s ready to take on.

“If you are a small town, it’s hard to make JCP&L make you a priority, but I’m very good at making sure they hear me.”

Starrs also wanted to give a shout-out to Mike Bates for his service on the committee.

“Mike will be stepping off the committee, and gave it three years, which is, you know, a very long time for a difficult position,” she said.

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer

Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.