The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
City of Oneida Wards 4-6 supervisor candidates
The following are answers from the City of Oneida Ward 4-6supervisor candidates to community questions. Each candidate has 700words.
How do you anticipate building a working relationship with the Oneida Indian Nation?
Tom Boylan: The Oneida Indian Nation is one of the largest employers in Madison County. They employ thousands of people throughout Central New York, many from the City of Oneida. Currently, the Oneida Indian Nation’s website indicates that they have over 200job openings. Some of these jobs are entry level; some of these jobs are skilled and professional. As a Madison County Supervisor, I would develop a working relationship with the leadership of the Oneida Indian Nation, and the City, County, and State Officials to develop a back to work program. This program would be available for Madison County Residence but would specifically target the City of Oneida. There are individuals and families receiving welfare and unemployment assistance who are physically able to meet the demands of the jobs which the Oneida Indian Nation is providing. Let’s work with the Oneida Indian Nation, the State, and the County to help provide the training, transportation, and support that these individuals need to fill the positions which are readily available. This will help our City. It will bring money in to our city, and help to relieve the overburdened welfare system. This program will act as a helping hand to those individuals who are currently unemployable as a result of the lack of specified training for the job market, the lack of transportation, and other issues which prevent them from getting and keeping their jobs. Lewis Carinci: During my time as Supervisor I have worked to build a relationship with the Oneida Indian Nation. I would like to continue to find ways to share resources and services with them. I think it is pertinent that Madison County and the City of Oneida work together with the Nation to find ways to reduce the tax rate for our city and develop ways to make Oneida thrive. Joe Magliocca: There already exists a very close working relationship between our Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Oneida Police Department, and the Nation Police Department. Outside of the public safety partnership, in my opinion there exists a less than totally cooperative relationship between all three parties. While the landmark 2014settlement agreement between Madison and Oneida counties, the Nation, and New York state settled decades of legal issues between the parties, in my opinion, there still exists lingering bad feelings. The Nation is the largest employer in the region. The political and marketing clout it possesses is undeniable. I look forward to the day when that clout will become mutually beneficial for all of our community. I look forward to the day when the Nation actively partners with our community, the county, and the city to foster growth through economic development and quality of life projects. Our community is home to a significant number of Nation employees; any community improvements would positively impact those residents too. I have had multiple conversations with county and city officials regarding the current relationship, and am encouraged by progress been made in the last two years regarding two crucial projects. I look forward to continuing those conversations in the future.
What would you do to support police and advocacy groups in the fight against the drug epidemic?
Tom Boylan: This drug epidemic has many battlefronts. For starters, we need to support the police and district attorney’s in working with state and federal law enforcement officials in cutting off the source. I am in agreement with the Oneida City Chief of Police, who spoke at the Heroin Awareness Gathering in Higinbotham Park, locking up the users and abusers is not working. We need to stop the drugs from coming in to our city. These are the people who we need to make sure get locked up and put away for a long time. We need to support programs that educate the pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and individuals on the dangers of addiction to opiate pain killers. These programs also need to hold doctors and pharmaceutical companies accountable for education and responsible prescription writing. Additionally, we need more programs for our youth, we need to educate them from a very young age, provide them with programs that are positive and point them in the opposite direction of the street life and drugs. Lewis Carinci: In my 10 years of service, I have continually fought against drugs. I helped the New York State Health Department create a law to stop the sale and use of bath salts. I continue to receive tips on drug dealers and turn them into the police department and the sheriff’s department. I firmly believe both organizations are doing a great job in making these arrests. I have been assisting and educating the recent groups trying to create drug awareness in our city. I plan to continue to work side-by-side with local organizations and law enforcement agencies to find ways to fight against these rising epidemics. When re-elected, it will be a priority of mine to make sure the county is allocating the appropriate funding to these local organizations that are assisting with these issues. Joe Magliocca: Government alone cannot solve the problem. As a member of the County Criminal Justice Committee, I supported the addition of another full time drug enforcement officer in the Sheriffs Department. Working with Oneida Police, the DEA, both the Oneida and Onondaga County Sheriffs and District Attorney’s offices, and other local drug task forces, many governmental public safety pieces are in place. The Madison County Public Health Department is at the heart of this public health issue also. The department partnered with Bridges, Madison County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and has been involved in many projects since late 2016. By actively interfacing with local private agencies, organizations, and medical practitioners, progress is being made. The Mary Rose and PROS Clinic, and the recentlyformed Oneida Strong group, help to offer solutions and community education.
How do you plan on addressing the exodus of young people from the region?
Tom Boylan: The exodus of young people from our region is a result of the lack of jobs. I would like to see higher paying jobs in our region. How do we jump on board and support, for example, Amazon moving to Syracuse? How do we support the Nano Park in Utica, and Griffiss in Rome? As a Region, we need to support each other. Oneida offers a wonderful place to live and raise a family. We need the creation of jobs in our region to stay here. Lewis Carinci: Most young people leave the city of Oneida because of their desire to further their education, obtain careers, and serve in our armed forces. It is our responsibility to pursue good public and business policies that will allow for business development in our city and county alike. We must continue to educate people in the trades so manufacturing has a base to hire from. With my recent transition into an education career at BOCES, I have discovered that there is 96% hiring rate for those attending programs such as the welding project I teach. Manufacturers have a strong desire to hire those educated in the trades. Keeping local business alive, will allow for those to stay in our city. Joe Magliocca: Both the City of Oneida, and Madison County as a whole, have an incredible number of reasons to retain and attract younger residents. As a member of the County Planning and Economic Development Committee, monthly reports from and discussions with the office of Madison County tourism are truly eye opening. Our strength lies in our affordability, our central location to the NYS Thruway, and the quality of life. Affordable housing, professional police and fire departments, a truly remarkable park system and Recreation Center, a multitude of local civic organizations, the Kallet Civic Center, our proximity to Turning Stone, and reasonable local property taxes are just a few of our advantages. I plan to continue my nearly two decade long volunteer efforts with the Oneida Recreation Department. As city councilman, I was involved in the creation of the Recreation Center in the former NYS Armory on Cedar Street, and both the Duross Conservancy and the Mt. Hope Reservoir becoming city parks. As a member of the Oneida Rail Trail Committee, I assisted the Madison County Planning Department and Oneida in the submission of a $1.3million federal grant application. Construction will begin this spring on not only trail development, but renovations of important historical rail structures and beautiful downtown streetscape improvements.
Do you favor or oppose a state constitutional convention and why?
Tom Boylan: I have many friends and family members who are reliant upon the caveats of the constitutional convention. I would not want to see anyone lose their pension. Lewis Carinci: Voting ‘no’ for the State Convention is a must. Being endorsed by the “Working Family Party” and being in the Teacher’s Union I strongly would urge you to vote ‘no’ on your ballot this election season. If the Constitutional Convention is passed, this will hurt all the hard-working people of New York; the police, firemen, teachers, nurses, manufacturers, and the list goes on. It will take rights away from you if injured on a job. I refuse to give special interest groups an open checkbook to line their pockets with while we, the working class, suffer. Joe Magliocca: I intend to, and encourage others to vote No on the Constitutional Convention. Another ballot initiative this election year is for removing state pensions from elected officials found guilty of committing certain crimes. Amendments to the State Constitution are possible without opening up the entire document to special interest groups, the political elite, and large campaign donors.
What experience do you have with multi-million-dollar budgets?
Tom Boylan: As a business owner, and a member of both profit and non-profit boards, I have extensive experience working with multi-million dollar budgets. Budgets in business are critical, if you don’t stay on budget, you are out of business. I have a firm understanding of how to create a budget, and keep it in line with the projections because I am a businessman of 25years. Vote Boylan! Lewis Carinci: Before I got involved as a Supervisor for the City of Oneida, I assisted in running a company for 23years in which our average sales were 1.9 million dollars per month. I worked with sales, advertising, insurance and benefits. Over the last 10years I have represented the City of Oneida on your Madison County Board of Supervisors. One large role in this position is to work together with other representatives from surrounding towns and villages to control over a one hundred million dollar budget, while keeping the services our county and city deserve and keeping the tax rate as low as possible. Joe Magliocca: In my 30 year career as a commercial/industrial electrician, I have been a project foreman, or general foreman for many of those years. From early projects like the Onondaga County Trash to Energy Plant, to the recent SUNY IT Quad C Nano technology site, I have managed jobs with labor and material costs in excess of $10million. Municipal budgets are a complicated thing; balancing the cost of operation with both mandated and desired taxpayer services is a difficult task. Ensuring quality of product, all the while improving employee efficiency, and reducing overall costs, is very similar in regard to public vs. private budgeting.