They will be asked to choose from a field of three candidates _ Republican Tim Feury, Democrat Lynne Mebust and Independent Eric Hage, who has been endorsed by both parties. All three have the potential to make good members of the board, but with only two openings, a choice must be made.

And that choice, we believe, should be Hage and Mebust.

Feury leans heavily on his lifelong connection to Cooperstown as one of the attributes which set him apart from the others.

While we acknowledge the importance of institutional knowledge and an understanding of how things have been done in the past, that’s not what is needed now.

The village needs fresh ideas and a willingness to try new solutions to meet today’s challenges _ ideas unfettered by the constraints of the past.

Local elections should not boil down to who’s a native and who’s an outsider.

Hage and Mebust scored more points during Monday’s Candidates’ Night with their demonstration of significant research into the issues facing village government. It’s likely they may be only people who have looked at the Generic Environmental Impact Statement of the Cooperstown Area in a long time.

They also stress the importance of building relationships and consensus among people with diverse interests and agendas _ skills which will be needed as residents and leaders alike search for answers to increasing complex issues.

The only way those solutions will work is if everyone willingly buys into them because there is an understanding we are all in it together. [an error occurred while processing this directive]