Mayor Randy Bateman visited Oswego State on Feb. 17 to discuss his career and background, as well as answer questions from a small group of students.
Bateman took office in 2006 as the acting mayor of Oswego when his predecessor, John Gosek, resigned. He was re-elected to a four-year term in 2007. He is also a chief radiation protection technician at the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, NY.
Bateman addressed some of the major facets in his role as mayor. He said the toughest part of his job as mayor was managing personnel at city hall.
"The hiring part’s easy, the firing part is not," Bateman said.
Bateman then discussed the state of the city’s budget and how it has been constricted since he took office.
"[The budget was] not too bad in [2006], but they’ve been getting tougher," he said. "Especially with the economic downturn at the end of [2008]."
When asked what major issues Oswego’s residents have brought up, Bateman said the biggest one was restoring the city’s political reputation after the previous mayor, Gosek, left office due to a scandal involving text messages to underage girls.
"When the mayor of the city gets caught with something like that, it reflects on the whole city," Bateman said.
However, Bateman added that he will not seek re-election this year, saying he was "burnt out" and that his other job was more than enough.
"I put in 40 hours plus at my other job, and then the mayor’s job is anywhere from 35 to 40 [hours]," he said. "Like they say, be careful what you wish for."
