Published: October 30, 2009 12:00 am      

Three vie for two Oneonta Town Board seats

ONEONTA _ A three-way race to fill two town seats on the Oneonta Town Board is on tap for Tuesday.

Town Councilman William Mirabito is seeking re-election, while John Frisch and Scott Gravelin are seeking their first four-year terms on the board.

The top two vote-getters will win the two seats up for election.

Councilwoman Anna Marie Lusins-McLachlan is not seeking reelection. She has served on the board since 1989, when she was elected as a Democrat. She became a Republican in 2001.

Mirabito, a 49-year-old Republican, was appointed to a vacant seat by the town board in January 2008. Mirabito's seat had been held by Democrat Rich Murphy, who successfully ran for the county board.

Last fall, Mirabito won election to that seat to finish Murphy's term. Mirabito lost the 2001 town board election to Murphy by five votes.

Mirabito, an insurance broker, said his major priorities are to reduce expenses with the goal of not raising taxes; keep up with infrastructure maintenance during the tough economic times; and increase police protection.

Mirabito, who lives in West Oneonta, said he would also like to look at ways young adults who grew up in Oneonta can be encouraged to stay here, rather than move out of state.

This can happen if the community looks at ways to improve itself economically and socially to make Oneonta more attractive for young adults, he said.

The town of Oneonta has a lot to offer, especially the regional shopping corridor on Southside, Mirabito said.

John Frisch, who has professional background in communications, marketing and sales, said the town board and supervisors in recent years have demonstrated strong leadership. And Frisch, a Democrat, said he wants to continue that tradition.

"I have always been interested in politics and this opportunity came by at the right time," Frisch, 51, said.

Frisch, who lives in West Oneonta, said one of his major goals is to improve communication between the town and its residents.

He said this could be accomplished through an updated town website or through social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as through text messages.

The primary issue he has heard from residents is they want the town board to keep taxes low, Frisch said.

Frisch said he would also like to look at ways to improve cell phone service in the town.

Scott Gravelin, 52, is the owner of Scott's Towing and West Side Storage. Like Mirabito, he is a former Oneonta City School District Board of Education member.

"I just wanted to step up and do my civic duty," Gravelin said when asked why he was running for the town board.

A Republican, Gravelin said the town of Oneonta is in good financial shape, and he wants to keep it that way.

"It's the rest of the country and state I am worried about," Gravelin said.

Gravelin said the town needs to be careful with its $1.5 million fund balance.

"I think you are going to see that fund balance slowly disappear," Gravelin said.

Gravelin said he would like to improve the town's purchasing and bidding strategies to reduce costs.

He also said the town should encourage more growth, especially on Southside, but do so with a free-market approach.

All three candidates said they were against raising taxes and a merger between the city and town.