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‘OUR CITIZEN’

ELEVATED TO

VICE CHAIRMAN

REELECTED BOARD CHAIR, BLISS

NAMES 3 NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRS

County Judge Brian Burns this morning administers the oath of office to the 2020-21 Otsego County Board of Representatives. From left are Andrew Marietta, Fly Creek; Dan Wilber, Burlington; Michele Farwell, Gilbertsville; Rick Brockway, Laurens; Dave Bliss, Middlefield; Meg Kennedy, Hartwick; Danny Lapin, Clark Oliver, Jill Basile and Adrienne Martini, all of Oneonta; Ed Frazier, Unadilla; Andrew Stammel, Town of Oneonta, and Keith McCarty, East Springfield. Click image to view full size.  (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)

By LIBBY CUDMORE & JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.COM

Meg Kennedy presides as temporary chairman at this morning’s organizational meeting.

COOPERSTOWN – The Otsego County Board of Representatives, 9-4, with one absence, today elected Meg Kennedy, C-Hartwick/Milford/New Lisbon, as vice chairman.

David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/ Middlefield/Cherry Valley, was elected chairman for a second two-year term.

Dan Wilber, R-Burlington, nominated “our Citizen of the Year” for the post, a reference to Kennedy receiving that designation last week from Hometown Oneonta, The Freeman’s Journal  and wwwAll.OTSEGO.com.

Voting nay were Democrats Andrew Marietta, Cooperstown/Fly Creek, and three Oneonta reps, Danny Lapin and two freshmen, Jill Basile and Clark Oliver.

As vice chairman, Kennedy succeeds a Democrat, Gary Koutnik of Oneonta, who retired, and those who voted nay said they wanted to see bi-partisanship sharing of the leadership continue.

But Democrats Michele Farwell of Gilbertsville, Kennedy’s vice chair on the count Energy Task Force, voted aye, as did Adrienne Martini,  the fourth Oneonta rep.

Peter Oberacker, R-Maryland, was the absence.

The stresses of the organizational meeting over, a smiling chairman David Bliss, elected to a second term as chairman, and Meg Kennedy, his new vice president, pose for a photo.

Republican County Chairman Vince Casale demurred, saying Kennedy “is the brightest person in the room when it comes to solving the county’s problems.  She deserves it.”

In naming committee chairmen, Bliss largely kept the same people in place:  Kennedy at Administration and Intergovermental Affairs; Oberacker at Public Works; Andrew Stammel, D-Town of Oneonta, at Health & Education; Keith McCarty, R-East Springfield, at Solid Waste & Environmental Concerns; Ed Frazier, R-Unadilla, at Negotiations, and Andrew Marietta, at Technology & Strategic Planning.

Three new chairs were Wilber at Public Safety & Legal Affairs, Martini at Human Services, and Farwell at Performance Review & Goal Setting.

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