New Oneonta board member ready to learn
By KEVIN LIMITI • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Elected November 4 to his first term as a member of the Town of Oneonta Board at only age 24, Skylar Thompson says he’s looking forward to working on the “day-to-day issues” having an impact on the place he’s lived his entire life.
“That’s what local politics affects the most,” the young Republican said. He cited rural broadband and enhancement of Town parks and recreational facilities as two general areas of interest, but said, too, that he’s eager to learn the priorities that come before the Town government.
“I think the biggest issue at the moment is just making sure that the people have the options to do the things they want to do,” he said. “Making sure that our parks are places where parents can take their kids and feel safe with their kids going there on their own.”
He said he wants to encourage people to move to the area through better housing and a friendly tax environment.
“I’m not talking about building apartment complexes or those kinds of things,” he said. “I’m just talking about making sure property taxes are not at a level where people feel like they don’t want to move to the Town of Oneonta.”
“I’m eager to get started,” he said. “I want to listen to other peoples’ ideas and work with them on issues that affect the Town as a whole. I know I have a lot to learn but I know I have a lot to add.”
“I’m one of five members of the Town board,” Mr. Thompson said. “I just want to hear ideas from everyone and, just like my campaign slogan said, follow the idea that ‘working together works.’ I may have my ideas and they have theirs and we all work, come to the table, and say, ‘Okay, this one makes the most sense now, maybe the next one makes more sense down the line.”
Born in Oneonta, Mr. Thompson is a commissioner of the West Oneonta Fire Department’s Board of Finance. He said his colleagues at the Department encouraged him to run for the Town Board. In addition to the board duties that begin in January 2022, he coaches varsity basketball in Franklin and works at the Community Bank in Walton. A graduate of Hartwick College with a degree in political science, he enjoys reading biographies of his heroes such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.
“Politics has always been an interest of mine,” he said. “It’s not just whatever the news portrays. There’s a science behind it.”