Letter from Ellen Tillapaugh

Vote Tillapaugh for Village Mayor

The 2026 Village of Cooperstown elections will be Wednesday, March 18, with polls open from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Fire Hall. I am running for re-election to continue my service as mayor of the village. When asked why I want to run for another term, my response is “to continue serving my hometown community.”

That service includes working with my board to secure and oversee funding for important infrastructure. Over the next two years, with NY Forward funding, improvements to Pioneer Alley, Hoffman Lane and Fowler Way will begin. New signage will be installed on upper Main Street and an ADA-compliant sidewalk constructed on Grove Street.

A grant for $671,274.00 is supporting a working partnership with environmental groups and the townships of Otsego, Middlefield and Springfield to develop a 9-Element Plan for the Otsego Lake Watershed. The plan will be based on four years of grant funded lake water analysis and modeling to ensure a scientific basis for actions and policies to protect Lake Otsego in the coming years.

A priority for me is increasing housing stock in our village. Our Cooperstown Comprehensive Plan stressed the need for increased housing, particularly apartment-style housing. When the 13-unit apartment building at 10 Chestnut Street was completed in 2023, it was the first apartment building constructed in the village in more than 50 years, and the project had to overcome often contentious public meetings. We applied for and became certified as a Pro Housing Community, opening doors to additional NYS funding opportunities. Our awarded NYF funding is enabling five applicants to upgrade their downtown businesses and upper floor apartments, and $1.3 million of NYF funds is supporting the construction of four townhouses and the apartment building on Grove and Glen.

In May of 2025, the village learned that a grant application which I submitted for Restore New York funding was successful. Restore NY will provide $1 million to support a future 50-unit apartment building in our village, providing not only affordable housing, but also supportive housing for Springbrook residents in our community.

All of these actions contribute to what I believe is fundamental for our village, and that is sustaining and developing the feeling of community and being welcoming to all. When I first became mayor, we approved this signage to be placed at village entrances: “A community committed to dignity, freedom, equality and safety for all.” In support of that, the initiative of which I am most proud is Welcome Home Cooperstown, our first Tuesday of the month gatherings at Village Hall in coordination with the Friends of the Library. The Village of Cooperstown does have room at the table for all, and with your support I look forward to continuing my elected service.

Ellen Tillapaugh
Mayor, Village of Cooperstown