Bob Dingman, head of the Marcellus Democratic Committee, challenges incumbent Supervisor Dan Ross this year at the polls.
Election Day is Tuesday Nov. 3.
The Challenger
Robert Dingman
2693 Otisco Valley Road, Marietta
Background USDA President, Local 521
Occupation USDA Food Inspector
Endorsed by Democrats, Conservatives
Given the current economy and budget crises at the state and county levels, which areas of the budget do you feel the town could cut back to alleviate the pressure on taxpayers?
Until the 2010 town budget is set up by the town board there is no way of knowing where cuts can be made.
In what ways do you think the town could consolidate services with villages, neighboring towns or the county to increase efficiency and keep costs down?
The village is now trying to find ways to cut village costs. There may be ways that the village and town can consolidate efforts and cut costs.
What recent projects do you feel you would have approached differently than the incumbent and why?
The voters need to be kept informed on what projects the town board has in mind. The buying of the Yuhas property at $160,000 without informing the voters was a big mistake.
The planning of a new town hall without input was a mistake.
We have a newspaper, the Eagle Observer, that is willing to work with us to keep voters informed. We should use that resource.
In what area is the town most in need of improvement and how would you work to fix that?
I have looked at some new local town halls in Pompey and Otisco. They are well laid-out and at a cost much less than the $3.2 million that was proposed to the voters of Marcellus.
