Incumbent Patricia Fitzgerald is the Democratic and Independent Party candidate for Vestal Council. She is one of three candidates running for two open seats.

Why are you running for your position? What experiences and perspectives do you bring to the table that will help make Vestal a better town?

“I feel my experiences for the past 12 years on the Vestal Town Board has been successful due to the fact we have had our tax cup under the 2-percent cap for the past eight years, which the board has work[ed] very hard at. Vestal is a great place to live. I have lived here all my life, 66 years. We have a great police department, recreation department, parks department, highway department and many more. Working with all the department heads [is] very important.”

In your opinion, what is the most pressing issue in Vestal and why?

“We have many new pressing issues coming up. The town is looking to move the Vestal Ambulance building out of the flood plane. Also, [it’s] looking to build a new fire station. In order to do both, the people in the Town of Vestal have to vote on them.”

How do you envision engaging with the community and addressing the concerns they may have? More specifically, what would you do to engage Binghamton University students in these community issues?

“When someone from our community calls me with a concern, it’s my job to look into it. I try to get them the correct answer or send them to the correct department head. I know we are not going to make everyone happy. I would love to see Binghamton University have a little fire station on campus. I feel that we can get some students to man it. Also, give them credit. One last thing — what a great job the Binghamton Ambulance does for our community.”