Write a commentCurrent 5th Ward City Councilor and local small business owner William "Billy" Barlow announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Oswego today.
Barlow opened saying, "it's time for fresh energy, ambitious ideas and strong leadership to propel our community into the future. Now is our chance to do something different, something drastic and finally allow our city to reach its true potential, capitalizing on the positives and aggressively addressing the negatives."
Born and raised in Oswego, Barlow is the fifth generation of his family to live in the 5th ward, which he currently represents. He is an Arizona State University graduate and is also a local small business owner, co-owning Barlow's Concessions, a family business spanning three generations. Barlow also works as the Central New York Regional Director for the minority of the New York State Assembly and Leader Brian Kolb.
Barlow, who turns 25 in September, says his age, business experience, and time on the council has him prepared to lead in city government. "You see the Mayor of Ithaca elected at age 24, a Congresswomen elected at 30 and plenty of other examples nationwide and its becoming a trend for younger folks to take initiative and get involved in government and the public is reacting favorably. " Barlow explained how his age would be an asset for Oswego by pointing out that Oswego needs to hold on to our local high school and college graduates and in the mean time, retain its retirees and seniors. "Like business, this is a competition. We are competing against other nearby municipalities and we need to set ourselves apart and make ourselves unique and attractive to young professionals and families all while keeping it affordable for our seniors on fixed incomes to stay here. "
His campaign will cover several different topics including taxes, market rate housing, code enforcement, and most of all what he calls, "customer service." "Before I ever took office, our residents had their taxes raised by 43% in one year," he said. " And they haven't seen the return on that money. Our residents deserve to have paved streets. They deserve to have neighboring properties, rental or otherwise, held to proper standards. They deserve to have clear streets in the winter. These are issues that involve management and leadership in the executive branch of city government."
He continued on highlighting some other platforms like a "quality of life hotline," making it easier for people to address problems within their neighborhood, beautification projects, lobbying for new business and outside investment and appropriately marketing and branding Oswego.
"I grew my business into Western New York and Arizona at a time when the economy was retracting," he explained. "Its takes ambition and a special perspective to market the City, lobby for business, encourage people to invest and attract the working class family who will buy a house and contribute to the local economy." "It'll require a blend of our small businesses, superb leaders in organized labor, SUNY Oswego, and capitalizing on our tourism assets to spur real economic development and create well paying jobs."
Barlow concluded by saying he looks forward to campaigning and meeting residents of the city to listen to their concerns and hear their ideas. "I have a deep passion for this city and enjoy contributing to my hometown as best I can. "
YouTube video below.
