Editorial of August 27, 2026

Inquiring Minds

Since February, we have been running a weekly poll question on the home page of our website, AllOtsego.com, to gauge our readers’ thoughts on the issues of the day both here in Otsego County and nationwide. While the sample size is often small, we thought it would be interesting to see what those who did respond were in favor of and where their objections lie.
To kick things off, in February we asked, “Are you in favor of voter ID?” The results were ultimately in support of voter ID, as 54 percent of the respondents answered “yes” and 46 percent said “no.” The next week, in response to “Do you support building data centers in Otsego County?” 80 percent were opposed. The opinion on solar farms a few weeks later was also a resounding “no,” with 78 percent against.

Questions receiving the most affirmative responses included “Are you in favor of Hometown Heroes banners?” at 68 percent and “Should cursive writing be taught in schools?” at 93 percent. Folks were also 93 percent in favor of holding the paychecks of members of Congress during a government shutdown.

Respondents were firmly opposed to banning fire pits in the Village of Cooperstown (68 percent), the proposed Manocherian housing project (64 percent), sending ground troops to Iran (73 percent) and the Constitution Pipeline (60 percent).

The tightest margin was the split on whether or not we should stay on Daylight Saving Time permanently, with 51 percent in favor and 49 percent against.

The poll question sparking the most robust response was “Who will you vote for in the primary: sitting Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. or challenger Mike Stalter?” with 593 people weighing in. Seventy-six percent said they would vote for Stalter, and the Republican primary results bore that out, with Stalter defeating Devlin by 190 votes. The two will face each other again in the general election, with Devlin running on the Otsego County Conservative Party line.

Perhaps the most troubling results of our poll questions is how few people responded at all to questions regarding their civic responsibilities.

Asked whether they attended town and/or village board meetings on a regular basis, 80 percent said “no.” Ninety-one percent of respondents said they do not regularly attend school board meetings. The response to “Do you regularly attend candidate debates and forums prior to local elections?” was higher, but 72 percent said they do not.

Each week, we tout the poll question on the AllOtsego Facebook page, where participation is much higher and often accompanied by lively dialogue. But to have your voice heard and counted, you must vote on the website. It is interesting to note, though, that generally the responses on Facebook do echo the online voting results.

So here’s what we have learned thus far. Our readers are largely skeptical of things such as AI data centers, pipelines, housing proposals and other actions that may have negative impacts on the environment. They are in favor of Hometown Heroes banners honoring our veterans, and believe there are benefits to the return of the teaching of cursive writing in our schools. They are overwhelmingly opposed to banning fire pits in the Village of Cooperstown. And they do not regularly attend municipal meetings, school board meetings or local election debates and forums.

We will continue our weekly polling, and update our readers from time to time on the results. If you have a question you would like asked, please send it to darlay@allotsego.com. In the meantime, we may want to ask ourselves this question: If the majority of us do not stay abreast of what is happening in our communities and in our schools, and pay little attention to election campaign events, how are we making informed decisions about our present and our future? Local coverage by AllOtsego helps fill in the gaps for those who subscribe to our hard-copy newspapers and website.

Something to think about.