LETTER from KEVIN SCHULTZ

Common Council Hopeful

Is Experienced, Committed

To the Editor:

On June 25 voters in the city of Oneonta’s Ward 2 will have the opportunity to choose between two candidates running for Common Council on the Democratic ticket.

While I live in the adjoining Ward 3, I encourage those in the second to choose Mark Davies. It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside Mark both as a faculty colleague at Hartwick College and on the city Environmental Board.

Mark has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the health of our community. For instance, he has been instrumental in the countywide composting project that secured a grant to purchase the necessary equipment and has been working to get the logistical side off the ground.

He is the co-chair of the Environment Sub-Committee of the Otsego County Energy Task Force. He has been a part of the city’s Comprehensive Planning Committee. He is board member for the Center of Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship, and a former board member of the Otsego County Conservation Association and the Oneonta Community Alliance for Youth.

Finally, he has been a member of the city’s Environmental Board for six years, chairing it for the past four years.

At Hartwick and on the Environmental Board, he is a wonderful leader who works hard to get as many diverse voices to the table; and once he gets them there, he listens carefully to what they have to say.

His ability to facilitate discussion and broker agreements between parties that may have originally thought they were at odds with one another is just the sort of ability the City of Oneonta needs in a council member.

His commitment to this community, not just to the neighborhood he lives in, but to the greater city itself, is evident in all the positions he has held. Mark is committed and has demonstrated his commitment to the economic growth of Oneonta, while at the same time preserving the environment that makes Oneonta such a lovely place to live.

So while I can’t vote for him in the primary nor in the general election, I encourage the voters of Ward 2 to vote Mark, because I know he will do everything he can to make Oneonta the vibrant, healthy community we want it to be.

KEVIN SCHULTZ

Oneonta