William F. Aylward, Jr.,  active for more than 40 years in his Town of Guilderland community as a teacher and public official, was re-elected in 2007 to his third term in the Albany County Legislature. He represents the 31st Legislative District encompassing western Guilderland, including the entire Village of Altamont.

Bill is Deputy Chair of the Legislature's Committee on Public Works and is a member of the Social Services and Conservation and Improvement Committees. He also is the legislative representative on the Altamont Fair Board and the Hudson-Mohawk Resource Conservation and Development Council.

During his tenure in the County Legislature, Bill has sponsored legislation to allocate $1 million for expansion of services to the senior population, aid volunteer firefighters and ambulance squads in recruitment and retention efforts and provide libraries with funds to expand public access to computer and Internet services. He also led efforts to restore budget cuts to continue Project STRIVE at the Westmere Elementary School for at-risk families and rehabilitate French’s Mill Road Bridge for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

Retired since 1991 as a social studies teacher and supervisor for the Guilderland School District, Aylward has served variously over the years as Altamont Village Mayor and Town of Guilderland Councilman and Supervisor. During those years, he concentrated his attention on the town water supply, safety issues at Tawasentha Park and establishment of the Fire Training Center for volunteers. He currently is serving his second term as Altamont Village Trustee.

A veteran of the U.S. Army with the rank of lieutenant, Bill was an instructor in the guided missile program at Fort Bliss, Texas, from 1956-58.

Bill and his wife, Sylvia, have five children and four grandchildren.