BALDWINSVILLE — Jennifer Sullivan was appointed to the Van Buren Town Board in July 2022. She is running unopposed to fill the remainder of the term (until Dec. 31, 2023).

Sullivan, a commercial property manager, is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. To learn more about Sullivan and her campaign, visit facebook.com/SullivanForVBTownCouncilor.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Early voting began Saturday, Oct. 29. Visit ongov.net/elections/early-voting.html for more information or contact the Onondaga County Board of Elections at 315-435-8683.

How will your experience serve you in government?

I have been in both the commercial real estate and commercial property management field for over 25 years. I have worked with stakeholders such as municipalities, commercial developers, contractors and offices as well as concerned community members throughout my time in this field. My intent is to apply my experiences from my career to work seamlessly with the town board members enabling us to reach the town’s fullest potential.

What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?

Inflation, inflation, inflation. We are in our second year of record high inflation increases. It has impacted everyone’s life. Prices for food, gasoline, and most products are significantly higher with no signs to return to normalcy anytime soon. Consumers, homeowners, businesses and of course local governments, like the town of Van Buren, have been hard-pressed to cover expenses with normal income. Our town is further challenged to hold the line by making every effort to stay under the 2% cap while maintaining our level of services and amenities that makes our town desirable to live in.

Communication with our residents is important. We need to continue our efforts to support it. I have learned firsthand by attending board meetings, even before I was a town councilor, that we often learn new information from listening to constituents and on occasion, become aware of problems needing our attention.

What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?

To be diligent on promoting good fiscal spending; continue to seek new means to reduce expenses such as applying for grants, contract bidding, utilizing shared services between municipalities, being efficient and limiting spending where reasonably possible; and seeking new avenues for creating increased revenue could also contribute to maintaining our taxes but ensuring our level of services and amenities are not impacted.

I’m a firm believer that communication and working together is key to success in our town’s fullest potential. To promote good decision making in the best interest of the community, I intend to continue to work alongside my fellow board members to provide a welcoming atmosphere in hopes that this will encourage residents to participate more in town meetings and to comfortably speak on behalf of their concerns.

It has been an honor to serve the residents of Van Buren and I ask for your vote on Nov. 8.