By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
Amy Sherburne’s business experience told her it was time for a change before she challenged and beat incumbent Olean Mayor Bill Aiello in the Republican primary for mayor in June.
With the endorsement of the Democratic Party, Sherburne, a longtime Olean businesswoman, has both major party lines to the independent Lincoln Party line for Aiello.
After 12 years with Aiello, a retired police officer and former Cattaraugus County legislator, Sherburne felt it was “time for a change. It’s time to see Olean move along, instead of being stalled.”
Sherburne said her business and life experiences coupled with her ability to communicate and to listen will help her if she is elected mayor. She has spoken to residents across the city, “discovered new streets, met new people who have lived here longer than me.”
While it’s hard to single out one problem the city is facing, Sherburne says concerns range from infrastructure to homelessness.
“Different things happen that you have to address,” Sherburne said in an interview at her campaign office with the Olean Star. “I’m fully prepared, I think, with whatever it is, that’s most pressing when I get there.”
She said, “As a person running for this office, you have an idea of what it is that you would like to accomplish for the city and get it to the point where we are starting to thrive. We have things that we need to address once and for all to get us on a path to stability so that we become and remain really the place where people want to live.”
On the homelessness issue, Sherburne there haven’t been regular updates from the Homelessness Task Force that there should have been. “This is an issue a mayor should really spearhead, have a vision of what they think can be done about the issue.”
On city finances, Sherburne said last year’s mid-year spending and hiring freeze due to over estimating sales tax revenues was another case of a lack of transparency. The city “is at the mercy of others” when it comes to business cycles and spending, she said. “We have to have more definitive revenues coming in that we can count on that will help avoid this situation where we have to have an austere budget.”
In her door-to-door campaigning, Sherburne said if she’s “in a neighborhood that’s plagued with an issue like a nuisance home, we talk about that. We talk about the steps they have taken over not just months, but years, to try to, you know, take care of the problem within their neighborhood without much luck.”
If elected, Sheerburne said she would hold community meetings to get residents’ input. She said public comments at the end of common council meetings are “highly valuable,” but is afraid that some people are intimidated by expressing their concerns. She said if elected, she would offer an open forum in the first six with “a more open format rather than just listening.”
She feels the complaint form on the city’s website is underutilized. Not only is the website user friendly, but everyone will be able to see what the complaint is, Sherburne said.
Sherburne said Walkable Olean improvements on North Union, South Union and East State streets were upgrades that were needed. “I know everyone disagrees with the finished product, but growing up on Union and having a business on Union Street, I see that we absolutely needed to upgrade.”
She also thinks we need to look at overall traffic flow through the city, especially with the upcoming $25 million renovation of West State Street to St. Bonaventure University. “I will advocate for our businesses on West State. I will advocate for the fact it is a major road that trucks need to get through, and we also have a designated bike path.”
Sherburne said e-bikes are becoming a serious issue and one of the solutions seems to be more enforcement of traffic laws. There are many injuries involving collisions between e-bikes and other vehicles. Often the riders are not wearing helmets.
Sherburne said her background as a businesswoman in Olean tells her you need smart management of money and a vision of what will generate new money, “always having an eye on what our finances are and be very transparent.”
Sherburne said she wants every city employee to know they are part of the team. It’s like someone “who steps into a business that’s been running for quite a while when you have a culture of employees that enjoy their job, feel respected, you get so much more back in return. Those are the kind of things that I am aware of that I need to bring with me as mayor to move our city along.”
Regarding Olean Center Mall, Sherburne said she doesn’t have a full picture of what’s been done at the mall site. “I think that there was an expectation with this property, again, from my perspective, seems to be taking way too long. She added: “I think our county needs to be involved in such a large property such as this, because I’m quite sure they’re asking for tax abatement.”
Sherburne added: “We all have to get to the point where the property owner aligns with what we hope is the vision for Olean, and that’s progress. So where’s the progress and what’s the promise that we were given a date we can count on action taking place at the property?”
Sherburne said, “I’d like to say that our city is amazing. It really is. With every concern also comes a feeling of hope, an attachment to our history.”
She said “People want change, and change is not, in this case, a negative. It is something to look forward to. I feel I have the pulse on what I think matters to the people that live here and the businesses that are trying to thrive here and the families that want to grow here. I feel I’m ready at this point in my life to see Olean for what it can be. I will work hard and be a leader who loves the community.”
