OSWEGO Of the 7 current common council members, only 1 council member will be returning next year. Chance Kennedy is the newest councilor for the 1st ward and believes people are hungry for change. Kennedy works in healthcare, referring to asylum seekers and refugees. The last 10 months have proven to be emotionally taxing, with the ongoing mass deportation being committed by ICE. “People are not showing up to their appointments,” said Kennedy, “it’s been a hard hit for everyone who works with them, and the patients themselves.” Trump’s victory and incoming immigration policies inspired Kennedy run a 2nd time after initially losing his first attempt. Although he expressed that he would prefer not to run, he felt drawn to try to help where he could. “I’m not doing this because I want to go into politics,” said Kennedy, “I’m doing this because it means something to people, to have a voice where they feel like they haven’t been heard.” Viewing himself as a marginalized person due to being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, he hopes to come from a place of understanding for other marginalized people. “I use my, for a lack of a better term, ‘white privilege’ to do good in the world, especially with immigrants and migrant workers, who do not look like me.” Believing that checks and balances are essential in government, Kennedy finds a slight issue with a perceived lack of pushback. “We need people in the office to say ‘yeah, that sounds great, but why?’,” said Kennedy, “it seems like there was a lack of people who weren’t yes-men or yes-women, we need that again. I think with the new incoming people, things will be better.” The people Kennedy was referring to were Democrats Jonathan Ashline (2nd ward) and John Fitzgibbons (4th ward), and Republican Bill Myers (5th ward). “I know John Johnathan, and I will ask all the questions. I’ve known Bill Myers for just a short amount of time, but he was one of the big opponents of the assessment that happened,” said Kennedy, “he was great, he had facts, and he had figures. And he’s a republican. Having people like Bill on the council will be great. We need to have a reason. No blank checks.” Kennedy hopes that a more divided common council and county legislature will lead to greater progress. “Democrats don’t have all the answers. “Both sides have things to learn about everything,” said Kennedy. “There needs to be a change.” Kennedy was born in Oswego. While his early childhood was spent in Oswego, his family inherited property in Mexico, where he graduated from high school. “I’ve been an Oswego County resident my entire life. Mexico was too country for me, so I had to come back to Oswego,” laughed Kennedy. Kennedy wants to thank everyone for believing in him with their votes and hopes that voters and community members attend common council meetings and make their voices heard. “We work for you, and so you should hold your representatives accountable, from city government up,” said Kennedy, “I’m here to represent everyone, not just the people who voted for me. We’re all from this community, and we all want to make it better.”.
https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/new-1st-ward-councilman-chance-kennedy-plans-to-promote-inclusivity-and-transparency-in-city-government/
New 1st Ward Councilman Chance Kennedy plans to promote inclusivity and transparency in City Government
