It has been said that both politicians and diapers need to be changed more often than they might think, for exactly the same reasons. Here in the village of Owego, everything is overseen by the Village Trustees. For each ward of the village, there are two elected trustees, one running each year.
I have noticed in the last few elections that the trustees have run unopposed. Somehow this seems quite wrong. Does this mean that everything in the village is perfect? Not quite. Does it mean that no one in the village is willing to step up? Perhaps.
However it may simply mean that the current trustees have become complacent and feel like they have a lock on their positions. For me, this seems wrong on several levels.
In January, the month that winter truly hit our area, I began soliciting signatures to allow my name to be included on the Village of Owego ballot. Unfortunately, due to the extreme cold weather and other issues, I was unable to secure the number of required signatures.
However, this is just a minor setback, as I am announcing that I will run as a write-in candidate for Ward 1 of the Village of Owego. True this is a long shot, and I may not be successful, but nonetheless, I feel that it is time for some changes in our Village. I think it is also time for us all to take some time to become more involved in local politics.
With that, please allow me to tell you a bit about my background.
I moved to this area in the mid-1980’s to run the Fred L. Waterman Conservation Education Center in Apalachin. As the Director, I oversaw the development of the programs, marketed the programs to the public and schools, developed funding proposals for various granting agencies, and sought out in-kind donations from individuals and local businesses.
I served the community in this role until 2000 when I left to take on a special project for a local school system, assisting them in improving their science curriculum. Once that project was completed, I presented programs at local schools and museums throughout the Finger Lakes region.
I also worked with a couple of Small Ship Cruise lines presenting programs of local interest to the passengers.
I worked with individuals who were interested in starting a business. I developed their multi-year budgets, set up their initial personnel needs, and developed their overall business plans before seeking out interested investors.
I am well aware that the Village of Owego has been able to accomplish a great deal over the years. I am also aware that things are changing at a rather alarming rate. Several municipal buildings are in various stages of disrepair. Deferred maintenance has led to major problems that all too often go unnoticed.
The village we all love so much has both physical and governance issues that should be addressed.
I have begun working, as a volunteer, to help repair one specific historic and much-loved structure in the village. Working with others, we have developed a schedule of repairs needed and are seeking to identify the costs of each. We will then craft funding proposals to help repair this structure. My goal is to then create an ongoing maintenance fund for this structure so that regular maintenance need not be deferred ever again.
Over the years, I have noted that we have an interesting diversity in the village. Like many other areas, there are a few families with significant incomes and some with almost no income. Most of the village lives paycheck to paycheck, making them very vulnerable to economic shifts.
I will not say that we can fix this on a national level; however, I do feel that we can do more for those who are the most in need throughout our community. The local food banks and other service agencies in our area are doing what they can, but the current needs are growing much faster than ever before, and they are having trouble keeping up.
While the village is not able to, nor should they, take on the added responsibilities to fill the gap, there are changes that could be made to make things easier for those in need within our community. If elected, I will do what I can to help push these changes through. I will also continue to assist with food drives and other efforts to help food banks continue their good work.
As my background is in natural resources and history, I am well aware of the richness of our community in both areas. We are well aware that visitors come to our village in part to view the beautiful homes throughout the area.
Many of these beautiful historic buildings could use some help. After the flood, several homes were damaged to the extent that they had to be removed by FEMA. These properties were then given to the village to manage for the future; the only stipulation was that they could never again have a structure on them.
These vacant lots, located in mostly residential areas, can be made useful in some manner. I am aware that on several of these lots, the village trustees have decided to plant trees. While I think that the planting of trees is a good thing and it will certainly make these lots useful as small parks, etc., there may well be other uses for these vacant properties.
I will look to see what we might be able to do with some of these lots to help reduce maintenance costs for the village and assist the local residents.
I understand that my write in campaign is a long shot. But at the same time I am willing to do what I can to help improve the Village of Owego for both residents, shop owners and visitors alike.
If you, as I do, feel that we need to change the way things have been going in our village, I would appreciate your write-in vote on March 17 so that I can serve as one of the trustees for Ward 1.
Thank you for taking the time to read over my platform,, and I look forward to discussing my ideas in more depth with you as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Douglas Weeks
Owego, New York
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