If' you've read the City Manager post (or the card I distribute when going door-to-door) you'll know how I feel about a professional manager vs. amateur legislators. The term 'amateur,' by the way, means, in my lexicon, anything you do that you don't earn your living by. I'm a professional School Psychologist and school administrator; the County Reps and the Oneonta City Aldermen are all professionals as well, but, for the most part, not in the area of running a municipal government. It's a part-time job in public service, and most do an exceptionally good job: they work hard, learn what they can, and do what they think is right. If I'm elected, I hope the same can be said of me.
But we're not professional municipal managers. We're elected by the people, I believe, to guide the County through the longer-term, not to spend time on the shorter-term operational details.
A school district elects a Board of Education to lead and plan. And in every district, no matter what size, the Board hires a Superintendent, a certified professional whose job it is to operate the school district on a day to day basis. That way, everyone does what they do best.
Doesn't that make sense for the County, and the City as well?
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