FULTON – Ernesto Garcia and Douglas Chapman are challenging Incumbent David Ritchie for the Second Ward seat on the Fulton Common Council.
Oswego County Today asked Garcia and Ritchie where they stand on some topics that have come up in the Common Council meetings before. This article details their opinions on them. Chapman did not respond by the time of this article.
How do you plan on giving comprehensive transparency to your constituents?
Garcia:
Garcia said while it is nice to have an open-door policy, not everyone actually seeks out their elected officials.
“I think what we need to do is reach back out to our local media to let them know what’s going on; that way they can preach it out to the masses,” Garcia said. “We need to let the city know what’s going on before things go to vote.”
Ritchie:
He said his number and email are both available on the Fulton city website. Ritchie said he invites his constituents to give him a call anytime and if he does not answer, leave a message and he will call back.
What can be done about stray animals throughout Fulton during the next administration?
Garcia:
“I actually live in an area where the cats treat my backyard as 481,” Garcia said.
He said he has neighbors who feed stray cats in the area so they keep coming back. He said a way to help with the issue is to get residents to stop leaving food out for strays. Garcia said leaving food out and leaving garbage out in plastic bags creates a problem with raccoons as well.
Ritchie:
“It’s kind of a tough situation,” Ritchie said. “It is a problem that we’ve got to look at, but it’s going to take more time and a little more investigating on it; what we can do and what we can’t do.”
Do you think Fulton should aim at being more environmentally friendly, and how would you work on that?
Garcia:
He said the recent installation of LED street lights has helped quite a bit and seeing about putting city building lights on a timer could also help step toward making Fulton greener.
He said while they can look at buying more fuel efficient city vehicles, he would have to also consider response time for emergency responder vehicles and the costs.
Another option he discussed was turning some empty lots into green spaces, but he also considered the possibility of someone else buying that lot from the city. He said more Fulton-native trees could be planted.
“I think those are the small things we can do as a city,” Garcia said. “Those are things I’ve done to my personal house.”
Ritchie:
He said Dan O’Brien, the city clerk/chamberlain, worked to get Fulton a clean energy status and the council is working to make the municipal building more energy efficient.
“It depends on if there are any grants, more money to do that with,” Ritchie said. “It’s an ongoing project.”
What can you do to help with the drug epidemic?
Garcia:
He said the drug epidemic was created by big pharmaceuticals and overprescribing of opioids by doctors. Garcia said he has seen other states and municipalities begin suing these companies.
“We definitely need a rehab facility; if it’s not in the city of Fulton, then we definitely need to be able to connect locally within the county at least where we can at least send addicts to,” Garcia said. “We definitely need to work within our court system to insure that these individuals that are mass-producing these illegal drugs are going to be held in jail and pay the consequences for it.”
Garcia said there also has to be responsibility placed on people addicted to drugs.
Ritchie:
Ritchie said the Fulton Police Department recently appointed a representative on the Oswego County Drug Task Force and he hopes that can help.
“That’s one step in the right direction,” Ritchie said. “It’s pretty big all over the county, not just here. It’s a situation where you have to work with Farnham and other agencies.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Garcia:
He said he wants the people of Fulton, especially those in the Second Ward, to know that Fulton is going in a good place.
“We definitely need to try and erase that bad image, that bad name, that unfortunately a lot of people give our city,” Garcia said.
He said if he wins, he will work for the city and his constituents the best he can, and if he loses, he will support the elected councilor of his ward.
“We need to support each other, regardless of what party we’re in,” Garcia said. “It’s a team effort.”
Ritchie:
“I don’t like to do a lot of bragging,” Ritchie said. “It’s just our job to do what we’re supposed to be doing, that’s it. We all have to work together.”
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First off…seeing how Chapman cant comment..he shouldn’t be considered…second..i lived in the 2nd ward…maybe you need to look at the sidewalks to start..and my biggest issue is …the cross walks…going to save a lot…you can never cross it…why dont patrol sit and watch how many tickets can be issued…and why and hell does ALL THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES GO OUT ON A SICK PERSON CALL…at the cost of how much money for all the equipment and man power for what reason does a ladder truck or even the little emergency truck…that would save a ton of money..but you keep tripping over dollar bills to pick up a half penny …wake up people they are playing all of us..