Otsego County Democrats

08/23/2026

08/23/2026

Thank you and for a great canvass training in Cooperstown on Saturday.

New this year: OCDC and Indivisible are partnering to put on small training canvasses around the county designed to give those who want to try a canvass - short lists to friendly doors- before jumping into the deep end with a campaign after Labor Day. So far it’s been a great success. We’ve got a couple more between now and Sept 19th. Want to know when? Sign up for our email list At OtsegoDemocrats.com!

08/21/2026

08/16/2026

Fundraiser for Congressman Josh Riley and Blake Gendebien in Cooperstown 8/20.
RSVP: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/8.20riley-gendebien

08/16/2026

08/14/2026

The Otsego County Democratic Committee nominated one of its leaders, retired psychologist Valerie Cole, to run in the November election for the Oneonta Common Council's vacant Fifth Ward seat.

08/14/2026

The Otsego County Democratic Committee is committed to a transparent process to select the next Democratic Candidate for Oneonta’s Common Council 5th Ward seat. We offer our sincere condolences to the Carson family and thank him for his long and dedicated service to the community.

New York State election law gave county party committees until the 13th of this month to convene and select a candidate to stand for election on their party line in November. This election will be the unexpired term, which is one year. We wish that the timeline allowed for greater community participation in the process, but we were only made aware of the time constraints on Wednesday the 5th. Our committee interviewed three compelling candidates on Sunday the 9th and voted to select Valerie Cole to appear on the ballot in accordance with election law. Full minutes of the meeting will be available to the public after our regular August meeting on the 27th.

We recognize that there might be some confusion about the process, as Mayor Buttermann has communicated his own timeline for vetting and appointing a 5th ward resident to the Common Counsel seat to fulfil the remainder of the 2026 year. We have communicated our plans with the Mayor, as I am sure the Republican Party is as well. We fully support the Mayor’s authority and autonomy to make his selection on his own timeline. The Mayor may select the same candidate or another to fill the seat until the end of the year. Ms. Cole will independently submit their letter of interest to the Mayor's office. Mayor Buttermann has expressed his commitment to meeting with all candidates before making a decision.