‘Reform Caucus’ Proving Its Worth, But Will It Survive 2019 Elections?

Leading up to the 2017 election of the Otsego County Board of Representatives, the terms “Reform Caucus” and “Sensible Center” were used in this space, and they were controversial. Some of the candidates identified with that label won election or reelection. (Whether that was because of or despite of the designation is certainly fodder for debate.) Foremost among them, as it turns out, was David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, who was then elected board chair, and who’s proved: Simple politeness has made all the difference. Two others in the Sensible Center, Andrew Marietta, D-Cooperstown/Town of Otsego, and Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, have emerged as leaders. Through hard work and diplomacy evident since, Meg Kennedy, C-Mount Vision, would certainly have been included in the “Reform Caucus” – defined in this space as “not a formal caucus, but a coalescence of forward-thinking minds” – if editorial writers could only predict the future. (Bulletin: They can’t.)