Cecelia Walsh-Russo will be sworn in as a new member of the Oneonta Common Council on New Year’s Day.
Walsh-Russo has an extensive academic background including a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, and a master’s and Ph.D. from Columbia University.
She has taught at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, Colgate University and Hartwick College in upstate New York, and Queens College and Barnard College in New York City.
Currently, she’s an adjunct instructor at SUNY Oneonta in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department.
Last November, Walsh-Russo ran unopposed in the Second Ward, receiving 158 votes.
During an interview, I asked her why she ran for the Common Council. “My research has always been on politics,” Walsh-Russo said. “I’ve been interested in the study of politics and how people engage politically. So, when I was asked to run, it felt like a natural fit.”
She said she expects it will take three months to learn the inner workings of the council. Housing will be an early priority. “In talking to my constituents, housing is a huge concern for lots of people,” Walsh-Russo said. “It means figuring out how to create more housing variety.”
She said she is opposed to converting additional units into student rentals. “I want to maintain the beauty and vitality of many of the homes throughout Center City as single family homes,” she said. “It means figuring out about affordable housing, it means having housing options for families who are arriving here.”
A key goal, she said, is to create incentives for student landlords to diversify their portfolios into other types of accommodations. “I want to work with council members and the mayor to figure out pathways to economic incentives for property owners,” she said.
One of the most important powers the Common Council has is setting property tax rates and crafting a city budget. “The city has found itself post-pandemic in an economic challenge,” she said. “I would follow what the council has done in terms of their support of the current budget and the tax increase.”
Her focus will be on providing economic incentives to businesses and finding new sources of funding. “We need revenue streams that can increase the amount of money that is available so that we don’t have to raise taxes,” Walsh-Russo said. “The current plan isn’t sustainable. But it also presents opportunities.”
Currently, about half of the property owners in the city pay the full property tax assessment. Colleges, churches and not-for-profits don’t pay property taxes. And some other owners have tax breaks.
When asked if this is an inequity she plans to address, Walsh-Russo said, “I believe SUNY Oneonta has recently started paying taxes on a couple of utilities that they just started contributing to. They have stepped up their contributions.”
She added, “I think it is a huge problem when you have close to 50% of your property owners paying 100% of the taxes. That’s a huge challenge.”
Walsh-Russo said the village of Fairport, in Monroe County, may provide a model for Oneonta. “One of the things I would like to do as a new council member is to look around to local communities that are similar to Oneonta in terms of population size and location,” she said. “Fairport has been very active in seeking New York state grants to incentivize local businesses.”
Pointing to the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Walsh-Russo acknowledges grants have produced mixed results for Oneonta. “The changes were spotty in terms of their visibility. I think the grant-based model has its challenges,” she said. “Moving forward, one of the strategies has to be incentivizing people to create their own businesses downtown.”
Walsh-Russo also said college students are an untapped resource that should be utilized.