The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Joe Ostrander answers questions before election
Joe Ostrander is a candidate for Oneida Wards 4,5,6
Madison County Supervisor candidate answers questions.
The following are answers fromMadison County Supervisor OneidaWards 4,5,6 candidate Joe Ostrander to community questions. Each candidate was given 700 words. The Oneida Dispatch had a deadline of Saturday, Oct. 5 for candidates to submit questions. What do you feel is the most important issue facing the city of Oneida right now and how would you tackle it?
Joe Ostrander: I believe that a
few of the most important issues facing Oneida, and Madison County is the infrastructure and tax base. We need to encouragemore businesses and services to our area. We could spend our dollars better with investigating what services and technologies that could be shared throughout all of Madison County. Building and fixing our infrastructure would make our area more enticing and a better investment for new businesses.
How do you anticipate building a working relationship with the Oneida Indian Nation?
Joe Ostrander: Building a better working relationship with the Oneida Indian Nation would begin with basic respect. The Nation is as passionate and absolute as our city and county government. When you approach each other with common sense and respect, it sets the table for more discussion. Many of our neighbors are employed by the Nation; they are a part of the fabric of our community.
What would you do to support police and advocacy groups in the fight against the drug epidemic?
Joe Ostrander: I would use every asset and source available to fight against the drug epidemic. I would like to build a coalition between NY State Police, City of Oneida, Madison County Sheriff Department, Canastota Police, Vernon Police, and Sherrill Police Department. I wholeheartedly support our law enforcement abilities. They are the men and women facing this every day.
How do you plan on addressing the exodus of young people from the region?
Joe Ostrander: If we can change and improve upon the image of the city and the county, we might be able to encourage our younger citizens to work and grow their families in the area. We need to do that by marketing all the attractions. We have a huge medical center, a new cancer and dialysis center. We have parks; we have a great school system. We have sports for children. We have organizations like The Elk’s Club, The Kallet, Rotary, Masonic Lodges, and many fine Churches. We also need to try to bring jobs and opportunities into the area.
What experience do you have with multi-million-dollar budgets?
Joe Ostrander: I worked for a distribution center for 11 years. My responsibilities there were to purchase, inventory, audit, and do research and development for everything needed to operate the complex. This taught me how to spend wisely, and how to make the most out of every dollar available. It also taught me how to be responsible for someone else’s money and to answer for how I was allocating it. I believe that any elected official is a steward of the citizen’s tax dollars and should answer to those citizens.