Affordable housing, improving downtown Oswego among issues discussed at Oswego Village Board candidate forum

How to bring more people to downtown Oswego and affordable housing were two issues discussed during a Oswego Village Board candidate forum on March 21.

The League of Women Voters Aurora Area hosted the virtual forum. Six candidates are running for three four-year terms and two candidates are running for a two-year term in the April 1 consolidated election.

Oswego Village Trustee Jennifer Jones Sinnott, a Republican who was first elected in 2021, is running along with fellow Republicans and former Oswego Village Board trustees Jim Marter II and Terry Olson.

Incumbent trustee Karen Novy, a Democrat who was appointed to the Oswego Village Board in July 2023, is also on the ballot along with Democrats Rachelle Koenig and James Cooper.

Oswego Public Works Director Emerita Jennifer Hughes, a Democrat, is running for the two-year term on the Village Board along with Lori West, a Republican.

Sinnott, Marter II, Olson and West did not participate in the forum. Sinnott, who had planned to be part of the forum, wasn’t able to attend because of a family emergency, according to an official from the League of Women Voters.

Candidates were asked about their vision for downtown Oswego for the next five to 10 years. Novy said she would like to make the downtown a “vibrant place where people want to come to shop and eat.”

“But I also would like to develop our riverwalk so we have more reasons for people to come to our downtown area,” she said. “I think if we can grow the restaurants that we have and our shopping and maybe be able to hold more events to bring the community together in our downtown, I think that all would be what I would like to see happen in the next five to 10 years.”

Hughes said much has been done to improve the infrastructure in downtown Oswego in recent years, including the installation of traffic signals on Route 34 (Washington Street) at the busy intersections of Main and Harrison streets to help pedestrians safely cross the street.

“But we still have work to do,” she said. “One of the projects is to add a ramp on the east side of Main Street mid-block between Washington so that people can get up onto the elevated walkway. We also need to improve the lighting to create a more conducive area for pedestrians to come in at night.”

On the issue of affordable housing, Koenig said she believes Oswego needs housing that fit everybody’s needs.

“Not everybody wants to own a single-family home,” she said. “Some people don’t want to maintain a lawn. They don’t want to have all of the expenses that go along with a single-family home and they want to be able to rent. They want to live in a townhouse or they want to live in an apartment or condominium. I also think it’s important to look at seniors. Not every senior citizen has a very large nest egg to rely on for expenses.”

Cooper said the village needs to provide housing diversity.

“I do like the idea of just having a diverse option for people because again, we have to appreciate what part of their life they’re in, what makes sense for them and how we can best support that and bring them in at any phase of their life,” he said.

The forum can be watched on the League of Women Voters Aurora Area’s Facebook page.