To the Editor:
Canastota has an exciting opportunity in the coming days. On Sept. 15, 2020, the village elections will be held and, for the first time in four years, we have the chance to see a new face for our village government; along with the mayoral race, two of our four trustee positions are up for election, and that means that we have the chance for a fresh start.
I would ask that you consider voting for me, Mark Nowakowski, to be one of our next village trustees.
Our community, like our country, is facing unprecedented challenges with the pandemic, conomic distress, and civil unrest. More than ever before, there is one quality that we need in our elected officials: integrity. Our government has a lot of hard decisions on the horizon, and we need to elect people who won’t make those decisions in secrecy.
Above all else, I value transparency, accessibility and accountability, and that’s how I will act if elected.
In the spirit of transparency, I would like to take a minute to introduce myself to those in the community who do not know me or recognize my name. I have been a resident of Canastota for more than 20 years with my wife Kim and three children. I have been active in the community, involved in AYSO, Little League and serving on the policy-making board at Madison County Head Start .
While I worked for the VA, I worked with Congress to run programs dealing with large grants and budgets nearing $1 million. I coordinated with the community to serve our homeless veterans and to improve their lives. In fact, my entire career has been helping people as a clinical social worker. I’m in the business of building and maintaining open and honest relationships with my clients, and that’s what I’ll do as your village trustee.
I believe in being straight-forward and serving our public. I want to create programs for our kids to participate in, grow our town and support our community. Especially in these troubling times, I believe we need someone who won’t shy away from making tough decisions and who can be honest with our community about the facts. I believe our government needs to be more forward-thinking to make changes that will better our community, support the public and bring opportunities to Canastota. We need to explore all available opportunities to create a better place for our community and our families; to do that, we need to embrace fresh perspectives and stay open-minded.
First and foremost, I care for people every day as a priority, and I would have that same philosophy as your trustee: caring. Key to being an effective trustee is just what the word says: trust. Honesty. Integrity. That’s what I plan on bringing to your village board if elected.
I would like to thank you in advance for your consideration as you vote to support your village from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at village hall.
Thank you for voting and, I hope, thank you for supporting me, Mark Nowakowski, for village trustee.
Mark Nowakowski, Canastota