From left to right: Nicole Asencio, Dan Gibbons, Judy Alderman, Greg Kelahan and Joe Mancuso (Rebecca Shabad)
“What are people saying about healthcare, health insurance for small companies or self-employed businesspeople? What are they going to do to try and uplift the education system…things like that would help me decide who I would vote for…if I paid attention that much.”
(Nicole Asencio, 29, of Syracuse, judicial counselor at Syracuse University, Democrat)
“The economy and jobs—those are my biggest concerns right now. The stimulus package that we put together for a trillion dollars or about what it was didn’t do anything to create job. It created more government jobs, no jobs for the communites or anything like that. It hasn’t worked. We need changes, big changes.”
(Dan Gibbons, 52, of Chittenango, business manager for Bill Rapp auto dealership, Republican)
“All people should have healthcare. I don’t have the answers. At the same time, I wish there were some innovative, creative people to come up with ways to make sure people have healthcare where you don’t have this big bureaucracy, this big government…impersonal deciding who can have what when, where and how.”
(Judy Alderman, 64, of Syracuse, minister, Independence Party)
“I’m very concerned about this whole notion of Race to the Top, of what appears to be federal involvement in local decision-making about schools and education. That’s first and foremost. Second would be the economic issues that have been affecting not only New York state but also my local community. My school survives based on the economic conditions of my community and we’re struggling right now. Probably third would be international involvement—some of our dallying into Middle Eastern affairs that would be my third consideration.”
(Greg Kelahan, 45, of New Woodstock, superintendent of schools in the village of Oriskany in Oneida County, Democrat)
“I guess I’d be in favor or newcomers. People who aren’t so entrenched in the way things are now because it’s tiresome. I’m actually very turned off from politics because of the inactivity of politics. They’re so hung up with their parties, what they think they should be doing for their party. I think they forget about the big picture of what’s right, what’s wrong and what needs to be done.”
(Joe Mancuso, 44, city of Syracuse, attorney, unaffiliated with a political party)
(Rebecca Shabad is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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