Joseph Chilelli
Herkimer County business owner and State Assembly candidate Joseph Chilelli will host a meet-and-greet event at the Old Forge Library on Wednesday, October 17 from noon to 1 p.m.
Chilelli will be on the ballot challenging incumbent Republican Assemblyman Marc Butler of Newport in the Tuesday, November 6 general election for New York State Assembly District 118.
Chilelli, who is running on the Democratic ticket, but classifies himself as non-partisan, moved to Herkimer from Long Island in 1999 at which point he invested and started “La Galleria” on Route 28, a retail import business specializing in antiques and Italian giftware.
Once settled, he and his wife Ninfa and their two children became actively involved with the community, inspiring Chilelli to start St. Anthony’s Festival in Herkimer.
In 2007, he was elected to the Herkimer County Legislature and at the same time helped to found the Concerned Citizens for a Better Herkimer County group.
“The main reason [I am running] is that I think I can do a better job,” Chilelli said, “I think I have a lot of new ideas, and I believe this area could be so much more.”
The question this election, he believes, is going to be whether or not people are happy with the status quo.“I believe that this area has so much potential. I’ve said it from the first day I came here-that people don’t realize how lucky they are to be living in this area. But it can be so much better—and that is why I am running,” he said.
As a business owner, Chilelli believes that Old Forge and the Town of Webb are ahead of the curve as far as attracting year-round tourism to the area.
However, he also feels that if the community wishes to grow, the community must come together to find solutions that satisfy all parties involved.
If elected, he said he would put high priority on hosting Town Hall meetings in the communities within his district to hear what the needs of citizens and leaders are, and discuss solutions to any issues that may arise.
Chilelli said he would also address the issues of job creation, economic development, and ensuring that each community in his district has access to all basic services.
One of his goals would be to work with the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to loosen its regulations that hinder growth, namely on lumber production.
Chilelli feels that by increasing lumber production in the Adirondacks by two to four percent through selective cutting, we would not only be helping to sustain the forests by creating new growth, but that we would also be creating a self-sustaining industry that could create hundreds, perhaps thousands, of jobs throughout the park.
Additionally, he feels it is imperative to work with the APA to give citizens access to all forms of communication.
“To think that you don’t have cell towers and cell service up there, is detrimental to the area. If somebody gets hurt, what are you going to do because you can’t communicate? That is unacceptable to me. There is no question in my mind that if the public wants it, then it should be done,” he said.
“In my opinion, these are simple problems with doable solutions. But you have to have the people with the vision and the drive to push them and see them through—that’s what it comes down to,” he added.
