Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:
Congratulations Republican Party! Joe Booan is a great candidate and will bring common sense back to the Village of Cooperstown.   Joe is a highly educated business manager. He not only understands what it takes to run a limited budget and make it work but he also understands what it takes to manage people.
In Joe’s position as one of the leaders of our BOCES program in Milford, he recognizes it takes a commitment to working with other members of the management team and also dealing with the problems of the village residents.
With only one year of public office under his belt, Joe Booan recognized immediately that our village was headed for disaster.  Being run by an absentee mayor, allowing monies to be wasted, our village has been run by the appointed deputy mayor, and this has lead to much controversy.
It is time we put an experienced manager in charge of our village. Joe Booan is the man for this job.
Please vote for Joe Booan for mayor in our up-coming election. He can manage our money and our 100 employee staff.
TED HARGROVE
Cooperstown
2-5-10

To the Editor:
Jeff Katz is my choice to provide the team leadership for the Village of Cooperstown as we continue to creatively confront the challenges faced by communities across the country.
The special flavor of the village, so deeply treasured by its residents, provides its own unique agenda to maintain it both aesthetically, recreationally and financially.
We read, hear and witness a great deal about our eroding infrastructure ... the melding of our residential life among thousands of visitors ... the relatively small tax base ... our architectural charm and how to preserve its integrity in a manner that’s fair ... and the list goes on and on.
We also know the mayor cannot, and for that matter should not, single-handedly and personally tackle all these issues. Rather, I believe, the role of the mayor is to identify and recruit the talent needed (and talent is probably our number one asset in this Village) to strategically and sensitively offer solutions.
There are many individual agendas among our small, yet diverse community; this is great ... for starters.  But it’s the unified and collective approach, teamed with a shared action plan that makes the positive difference. This is where the role of the Mayor facilitating such a process is crucial.
I’ve known Jeff almost since the first day he and his family moved to Cooperstown. He subscribes to life-long learning, researches and acutely knows the issues, solicits opinions, rallies the workforce, builds the network, is punctual and deeply cares about Cooperstown.
Jeff excels in balancing his Village government commitments, personal community involvement, and family well being.
He is particularly fortunate, as deputy mayor, to be working in a bipartisanism relationship with Mayor Carol Waller where the agenda is what’s most beneficial for the Village of Cooperstown.
He garners first hand knowledge of the myriad of day-to-day issues that need to be addressed, including the tough decisions that do not always result in winning points for a popularity contest.
I’m voting for Jeff – a dependable friend, caring resident, devoted husband and father, community volunteer, quiet, yet effective leader, resilient demeanor, global thinker and oh yeah, knows he cannot – and should not – do the job alone.
RICH McCAFFERY
Cooperstown

To the Editor:
I just signed up to support the Earth Hour 2010 campaign and I’d like to invite you to join me. Visit https://www.myearthhour.org for details.
Earth Hour was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund, and represents the global call to action on climate change. The more people that pledge to turn off their lights for Earth Hour, the more influence we will have.
Nearly one billion people around the world turned off their lights for Earth Hour 2009 and we can help make the next one even bigger.
Through the flick of a light switch at 8:30 p.m.Saturday, March 27, we’ll be casting our vote for action on one of the most pressing issues facing our planet, sending a message to our local, national, and global leaders that the time to act is now.
Join the movement that the world and Otsego County Conservation Association have joined!
TIER FRENCH
Cooperstown