She is on a leave of absence from her eight-year position as executive director of Chenango United Way Inc., and worked as a journalist for 25 years. Crouch, who has been in office since 1995, serves on the agriculture, economic development and local government committees in the Assembly. According to the New York State Board of Elections, O'Dea and Crouch are the only candidates who will appear on the ballot in November. The 122nd Assembly District covers all of Delaware County and parts of Otsego and Chenango counties. Among the ideas O'Dea suggested to bring about economic development are creating an incubator where small business could start without investing a lot of money, low-interest loans and tax incentives.
Small businesses are the wave of the future.
She added promoting tourism in the region would also boost the economy. O'Dea also said more could be done to encourage recent high school and college graduates to stay in the area. We need to bring them back. She added certain incentives such as free or reduced college tuition could be offered if kids returned to the family farm after graduation. Several area residents said although they do not follow politics, they would like to see their representatives work to bring better-paying jobs to the area and relieve some of the burdens on farmers.