The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Q&As with several Oneida city candidates
Candidates for mayor, Ward 3, Ward 6and Wards 4-6 supervisor answer community questions.
The following are answers from the City of Oneida mayoral candidates to community questions. Each candidate has 700words.
How do you anticipate building a working relationship with the Oneida Indian Nation?
Leo Matzke: The City already has a great working relationship with the Nation. 10% of our City is employed by the Nation and they are a large part of our community. We should more often seek their help, as they have great resources and have been excellent partners in all the projects we’ve worked on together. Gary Reisman Jr.: I believe the Oneida Indian Nation can learn a lot from the City of Oneida and the City of Oneida can learn a lot from the Oneida Indian Nation. I would look to establish a commission consisting of Oneida Nation members and members of the City’s Common Council. The goal of this commission would be to establish a working relationship that has been non-existent. I believe there are advantages for both of us but we need to maintain a positive relationship and effective communication. It is essential that we conduct effective government to government relations.
What would you do to support police and advocacy groups in the fight against the drug epidemic?
Leo Matzke: I plan to continue to support the different advocacy groups and agencies in our community. We helped them put on an awareness rally last month. We will include their input in our policy decisions. They are planning a community dinner next month to bring awareness to the problem in our community, which I fully support. Our police department has a full roster of officers right now and they are working hard to keep our community safe. Gary Reisman Jr.: I believe the first step in this battle is admitting that there is a drug crisis in the City of Oneida. It looks like we are finally admit-
ting this, but this should have been done years ago. We need to work collectively to develop a comprehensive plan to battle the drug epidemic. We need to work with our police department, local advocacy groups, and healthcare professionals and establish a plan and then execute this plan. However, it is important that we do not turn a blind eye to those who manufacture and distribute drugs in our city. There will be zero tolerance for this type of illicit activity that endangers our citizens. I will work hand in hand with our first responders to make