The Overlook is conducting a series of interviews with candidates running for office in the Nov. 4 election, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to shape their communities. In this installment, Senior Reporter Jim Rich sits down with Jim Sofranko,the incumbent and Democratic nominee for Olive Supervisor, who is running against Republican nominee Bob Fehring. Fehring declined several requests to be interviewed. [The following has been lightly edited for clarity and concision]:

What do you see as the single most important issue facing Olive right now, and how would you address it? 

Jim Sofranko: I think it’s hard to define a single most important issue. I think there are several, but I can say two that go hand in hand, and one is to maintain the rural quality of the town under the current real estate development pressure. And the other is to find ways to attain affordable housing. 

Many residents often feel disconnected from local government decisions until an issue directly affects them. How would you improve transparency and communication between the town and its residents? 

Jim Sofranko: I think towns can always communicate better and they have to be persistent in trying to do that. We have our website, which could be better. We have social media presence, which could be expanded. And we have the potential to put our meetings online so that people can see what’s happening. But very often that’s after the fact. So trying to get the information out on our website and social media helps people get to the meetings and understand the issues. Can we do better? I think everyone can do better. I also conduct an annual “State of the Town” to let people know what the town has accomplished and what the town hopes to accomplish during the next year. But I also think there’s a certain responsibility for people to participate in democracy and take it upon themselves to learn about what’s going on as well. I think it’s a twofold thing. 

Throughout the region, but specifically in Olive, there’s this subtle but ongoing tension, across many issues, that involves the perception of the difference between “locals” and “transplants” or “weekenders”. How do you bridge the divide between the two, when it comes to addressing issues facing the town? 

Jim Sofranko: I would say that people tend to get siloed in their beliefs about what other people are like. What we do in the Town of Olive is try to provide opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds, diverse demographics to get together and experience things in a community way. And I think that breaks down a lot of the preconceptions people have about each other when they start to really engage with them, with each other, with their children, in sports, in cultural events. We try to do that through our summer day camp program, where parents get to meet each other, where we have a community pool where people can meet each other. We have a summer music concert where people can get to know and meet each other. I think that really helps break down the barriers of these preconceptions of who each other are and it helps us live together as a community. In a previous political engagement many, many years ago, I had a heated argument with someone at a board meeting before I was an elected official, and it got heated and words were exchanged. The next day I saw that person in front of me in line at the supermarket, and I never felt so embarrassed about my behavior the night before. And, I never wanted to feel that way again. I learned that being respectful of another person’s opinion is something I have to strive for and try to keep in mind that people come from different backgrounds and have different perceptions, and that we need to listen to each other a little bit more than we do today.

Given budget constraints, uh, what’s one area you think the town could operate more efficiently? And where would you like to see taxpayer money better spent? 

Jim Sofranko: In our budget for next year, we will employ a full time code enforcement officer and we are making the zoning and building department much more efficient to try to catch up on a backlog of permits and to try to get our inspections, permitting and inspections done more quickly and efficiently. 

What specific skills or experience do you bring that make you the best candidate for the job? 

Jim Sofranko: I’ve been involved as an elected official in the Town of Olive for over 12 years. I have attended approximately 288 Town Board meetings and I also serve on the Catskill Watershed Corporation. That is probably almost 100 meetings over eight years. So my experience stands out getting to know, not only the issues and the legalities of the issues, but the programs available to help our community and the people involved that I can work with at all of these different levels to try to do what’s best for the Town of Olive.

Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.