LAPIN ISN’T RUNNING AGAIN
11 COUNTY BOARD
RACES EMERGE IN
NOV. 2 ELECTIONS
New Names: Jastremski, Ross, Catan;
2 Democrats Vying To Face Brockway
By JIM KEVLIN & LARISSA RYAN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
COOPERSTOWN – The 2021 battle for the Otsego County Board of Representatives has been joined, with more candidates fielded than any time in recent memory, with contests in 11 districts.
In the 14 districts, 11 Republican candidates, one Conservative (allied with the Republicans) and 13 Democrats filed petitions to run by 5 p.m. Thursday, the deadline for the filings in the Nov. 2 local elections, which include county and town boards.
Independent candidates can still enter races. The first day to circulate independent petitions is April 13, and they must be submitted to the county Board of Elections between May 18 and 25. Contact the board or county chairman for details.
As it stand, if the Republicans lose one district, they would lose their majority (which rests on an alliance with board Vice Chairman Meg Kennedy, a Conservative). If the Democrats lose even one district, the Republican hold on the county board would be cemented for another two years.
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New names include, on the Democratic side, Connie Jastremski, retired vice president/nursing at Bassett Hospital, and Emily Popek, the former Daily Star managing editor.
On the Republican side, Sheila Ross, the former county Elections Commissioner, and Michelle Catan, Sears co-owner and business adviser in Oneonta for the state Small Business Development Center.
Also, Danny Lapin, two-term county rep from the City of Oneonta’s District 13 (Ward 5-6), is not seeking another term.
On the Republican side, only Dan Wilber, representing the Town of Burlington, is unopposed. On the Democratic side, only two City of Oneonta reps, Adrienne Martini and Jill Basile, are unopposed.
And in District 3 (Laurens, Otego), two Democrats will be facing off in the June primary to face one-term incumbent Republican Rick Brockway in the fall: Fox Hospital fundraiser Caitlin Ogden, who lost to Brockway in 2019, and Jared Nepa a SUNY Oneonta financial aid assistant.
Here’s the lineup (incumbents are listed first):
DISTRICT ONE (Unadilla):
Edwin Frazier Jr., R
Matt Glynn, D
DISTRICT 2 (Butternuts, Morris, Pittsfield):
Michele Farwell, D
Jerry Madsen, R
DISTRICT 3 (Laurens, Otego):
Rick Brockway, R
Caitlin Ogden, D
Jared Nepa, D
DISTRICT 4 (Town of Oneonta):
Andrew Stammel, D
Michelle Catan, R
DISTRICT 5 (Hartwick, Milford, New Lisbon):
Margaret M. Kennedy, C
Emily Popek, D
DISTRICT 6 (Decatur, Maryland, Westford, Worcester):
Jennifer Mickle, R
Chad McEvoy, D
DISTRICT 7 (Cooperstown/Middlefield, Cherry Valley, Roseboom):
David Bliss, R
Charles Varney, D
DISTRICT 8 (Cooperstown/Otsego):
Andrew Marietta, D
Sheila Ross, R
DISTRICT 9 (Richfield, Springfield):
Keith McCarty, R
Connie A. Jastremski, D
DISTRICT 10 (Burlington, Edmeston, Exeter, Plainfield):
Daniel Wilber, R
DISTRICT 11 (City of Oneonta, Wards 1,2):
Clark Oliver, D
Paul Ahearn, R
DISTRICT 12 (City of Oneonta, Wards 3,4):
Adrienne Martini, D
DISTRICT 13 (City of Oneonta, Wards 5,6):
Mark Pawkett, D
Donald Scanlon, R
DISTRICT 14 (City of Oneonta, Wards 7,8):
Jill Basile, D