The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Face-to-face with Salka
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> Assemblyman John Salka invited the public to an open house Thursday at his District Office in Oneida to talk one-on-one.
“I want people to see where they can come at any time to sit down, relax and talk to their assemblyman,” Salka, R-121, said. “And if there’s issues that they have on their minds, problems or how we can do things better, my door is always open.”
Between 30 to 40 people packed in the District Office on 214 Farrier Ave. in Oneida to discuss politics or just congratulate the assemblyman.
Maria Altimonte and Dave Brewster of Canastota said they had known Salka for a couple years following his local career and wanted to congratulate him.
Altimonte and Brewster said the thing that made them vote for Salka was when they were invited to a telephone conference.
“They put us on the list of people to talk to and they called right before voting,” Brewster said.
“They called and specifically asked for me,” Altimonte said.
On the phone, Altimonte said she got a chance to talk with Salka and while she had issues she wanted to present, she wanted to organize them first and present them to him later.
“I’d like to talk to him about the problems we see in business and as a tax payer,” Altimonte said. “The number of companies that do come into this county, inundate it and take away from local businesses.”
Altimonte owns Maria’s On-TimeMediCar Service, a private andMedicaid transportation service that services Madison and Oneida counties and has operated for the last 10 years. But she has concerns about the industry.
“It’s a concern that regula- tions don’t get followed,” Altimonte said. “And I’ma person that follows regulation.”
Among other attendees was Oneida resident Samia Marji, who had been helped a number of times by Salka’s office, including Social Security Insurance paperwork.
Members of Salka’s Office offer assistance when it comes to any agency concerns, questions or forms, even mailing or faxing in forms if need be.
“He’s a great man, I voted for him,” Marji said. “I’m happy for him to have this job. Anything I need, they do it.”
It was the first timeMarji met Salka in person and was happy to meet him.
“This is just the beginning,” Marji said.
To contact Salka’s office, call 315-361-4125