ANDREW MARIETTA

COUNTY BOARD OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 8

COMMUNITY OF RESIDENCE: Fly Creek 

EDUCATION: Andrew has a bachelor’s degree in history and certificate in business administration from Creighton University.  He has a master’s in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.  He also has a NYS insurance broker’s license.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Andrew is a VP of Regional Development for the New York Council of Nonprofits, and for the past 14 years, has assisted over a hundred Otsego County community organizations in the areas of governance, strategic planning, marketing, human resources, revenue generation and risk management. He has worked with organizations like the Cooperstown Food Pantry, Family Service Association, Family Resource Network, Opportunities for Otsego, Girls on the Run Central New York, Cooperstown Art Association and The Smithy, Cooperstown Concert Series, Otsego County Conservation Association, Otsego Land Trust, Susquehanna Animal Shelter, Habitat for Humanity Otsego County, and many other organizations serving our community. In addition, he is a licensed broker, providing insurance assistance and guidance to local businesses. He served for six years on the Cooperstown Chamber Board, with two years as the Board President, and he rejoined the Board two years ago and now serves as the Treasurer. He understands the value of the Chamber to businesses and the community. A strong Chamber means success for everyone. He has worked in marketing and tourism, and continues to assist cultural organizations like museums and arts councils locally and all across NYS. Andrew also has his own apartment business, which includes 15 rentals offering 12 month leases and providing homes to over 20 community members. He is often working on these buildings and takes pride in providing quality housing for local and new Cooperstown residents. Andrew has invested in Cooperstown, and he understands that rebuilding our population is crucial to our area’s future success. Because of that, he only rents to year-round renters, forgoing short term profit from tourist rentals for year-round residents who add to, and become part of, our community. He understands the needs and challenges of the community and region and the importance of vision and action to bring success to Cooperstown and the Town of Otsego.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Andrew has been involved and dedicated to community service for decades and continues this important work in helping our community. Andrew served 4 years on the Cooperstown Central School Board. Andrew is a past Chair of the Cooperstown Winter Carnival Committee. Andrew served for 6 years on the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Board and rejoined two years ago and serves as the Treasurer. He presently serves on the Board of Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network, a service organization helping families in Otsego and surrounding counties, where he is the Vice President and serves on the Marketing and Governance Committees. He is on the Board of Cornell Cooperative Extension Otsego and Schoharie Counties. He and his wife Melissa founded and installed Cooperstown’s first Little Free Library at their Chestnut rental property. The Cooperstown Little Free Library is focused on increasing access to free books for readers of all ages and offering the opportunity to exchange books. 

FAMILY: Andrew and Melissa have two children, Caroline (11) and Charlotte (7).

PHILOSOPHY OF GOVERNMENT:  Andrew’s philosophy regarding Otsego County government is focused on transparency, clear communication and partnership. He has made a significant impact and brought about positive change by working with his Republican colleagues and also by promoting and sharing Otsego County government information and documents through www.facebook.com/iloveotsego. Furthermore, he strongly advocated for videotaping the County Board meetings and worked with www.allotsego.com to make this possible. And yet, there is still a lack of communication coming from our County leadership, which is problematic and creates a transparency issue, miscommunication, misinformation and mistrust. Andrew is committed to strengthening the County’s management and governance operations and building on the current bi-partisan partnership between Representatives. He understands that the operating committees need to be improved and open dialogue encouraged with County department heads. Restoring trust and confidence is dependent on communication and accessibility of information. Otsego County government can better leverage information and develop policies and procedures that will bring success to Otsego County departments, partners, local businesses and municipalities.

 MAJOR ISSUES FACING OTSEGO COUNTY:

Key Reasons for Re-election of Andrew Marietta as County Representative for District 8:

• Continue the bi-partisan work with my Republican colleagues on the County Board to develop and hire a County Manager/Administrator, bringing a central point of contact and management to strengthen Otsego County operations. This position will bring continuity to a County Board that changes every two years (2016 had 7 new Reps out of 14- a 50% turnover), as well as the County committee system drastically changing every year (County Chair Clark changed the majority of the committees, putting new chairs in place who were not even on their committee the previous year). 
• Institute term limits for County Representatives. This is key to keeping Representatives engaged and for them to maintain a high level of commitment to their public service role. 
• Elect a new County leader, which will open the lines of communication amongst the County Representatives and County personnel. A new County Chair is essential to the future of Otsego County.  The current Chair has never outlined a vision for Otsego County or delivered a state of the County laying out aspirations and goals to address. The current County leadership has undermined the strategic planning process and given little support the finalized strategic plan. Otsego County needs a Chair that will work with all parties and department heads and fully support the implementation of Otsego County’s strategic plan.    
• Implement County management meetings that include County Representatives and County department heads meeting and working together as a group (no such meetings have ever happened in the history of the County).
• Implement an orientation process for all new County Representatives elected, including developing a governance and operations manual outlining how the County operates and defining policies and procedures key for County Representatives. No such orientation or infrastructure exists.
• Restructuring Otsego County Representatives operating committees to become more efficient and eliminate duplication and micromanagement. The County’s Administration Committee should be populated by chairs from all operating committees. This approach will strengthen committee decision making and eliminate duplication.  
• Reestablish OtsegoNow as an active, economic development agency for Otsego County. An actual working partnership must be created with OtsegoNow and Otsego County that involves information sharing and shared goals. This effort will also include appointing new County Representative leadership to the OtsegoNow Board that better represents Otsego County. More importantly, new County Representative leadership will proactively communicate and share information about OtsegoNow with the Otsego County Board of Representatives.
• Strengthen and expand the partnership with Destination Marketing to better leverage Otsego County’s investment in tourism, including growing bed tax revenues.

MY QUALITIES:

Andrew first moved to Otsego County, coming to Cooperstown to attend the Cooperstown Graduate Program and then joining the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum to work in tourism and revenue development. Andrew came to learn how Cooperstown and the Town of Otsego, including our many museums and other tourist attractions and small businesses, are economic drivers for Otsego County. Andrew transitioned to the New York Council of Nonprofits, and has assisted numerous community organizations that support our social safety net and cultural activities. He came to understand the infrastructure needs of our community and how we come together to support each other. He started his own business and invested in offering quality 12 month rental housing. He came to see the importance of small business to Cooperstown and the Town of Otsego and the impact of investing in the community. He joined the Cooperstown School Board and worked in partnership with his fellow board members and the administration to achieve significant health insurance savings and better leverage Cooperstown Central School as an asset for the County. He learned the importance of education to our community and providing the tools and resources to make our students more successful and attract more residents. Andrew has the community knowledge, business experience, entrepreneurial skills, governance understanding and public service record that is required to serve successfully and effectively as Otsego County Representative for District 8.

STATEMENT: As a collaborator, I have and will continue to work behind the scenes to strengthen Otsego County government, leveraging the assets we have to achieve the best return on investment. I am dedicated to improving the quality of life and economic impact of Cooperstown and Town of Otsego by building upon Otsego County’s opportunities. I understand the planning process and have worked with organizations throughout our community to map out a vision and plan for the future. There are no silver bullet solutions for Otsego County. In all my interactions and community involvement, I have learned our success is interconnected. As a business owner, father, community volunteer, and public servant, I ask for your vote to re-elect me as the Otsego County Representative for District 8, and together, we will usher in a new era of collaboration and bi-partisanship in Otsego County government.