Jim Seward Lauded,

Given Key To Oneonta

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – Comparing retiring state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford to “Ghostbusters,” Mayor Gary Herzig lauded the Senator and presented him with a key to the city for his “timeless support” to the City of Oneonta.

“It was never quite ‘Who you gonna call,’ because usually, he called me first,” Herzig said. “And he always asked, ‘What do you need me to do?'”

Herzig praised Seward’s contributions to the City, including the “reinvention” of the Albert S. Nader Municipal Airport, the grandstand project at Damaschke Field and the Downtown Revitalization Fund

“You helped us replace a fire truck that we bought before you were elected,” he joked. “It was time.”

Seward, who is retiring from the state senate seat he has held since 1986, claimed he had “no idea” he would be receiving the city’s highest honor when he was invited to the meeting.

“Now that I will no longer be facing voters throughout the district, I can publically say that there is really something special about my home area,” he said. “I was born at Fox Hospital, I went to Oneonta public schools, I graduated from Hartwick College. Oneonta is very special to me. This is not expected, but it is greatly appreciated.”