EARLVILLE – Democracy in motion can be witnessed in the Village of Earlville as citizens gear up to elect one of three candidates vying for the post of mayor. All three hopefuls, including incumbent William Excell, resident Jason Fowlston, and village board of trustee member Sara Chapman DuVal, will be present at a meet the candidates event from 5 to 7 p.m. Frida, at the Corner Sandwich Shoppe on 1 N Main St. The election to determine who will be the future mayor of Earlville will be held March 19.
For the past two years, incumbent Excell has served Earlville as mayor after the previous mayor resigned. Running under the For the People party line, Excell points to his tenure as mayor for both an example of his credentials and for a taste of what voters can expect should they choose to reelect him.
“I think we have been on a very good course and we have seen a lot of positive things,” said Excell, referring to his term in office. Excell was born in Earlville and has spent most of his adult life as a resident of the village. For the past 11 years, he has worked for the state Department of Transportation in Oxford and is experienced working with the highway department as well as state officials, he said. Married with two daughters and one granddaughter, Excell is the son of 22-year Sherburne Police Chief, William Excell.
“I am good friends with (Sherburne) village mayor Bill Acee and have an excellent working relationship with the village of Hamilton,” said Excell. “We have a lot of shared services with Hamilton, which has been saving us a lot of money and I am afraid that if I am not reelected, that will be thrown to the side. I would really like to be reelected; I have a lot of good ideas which I would like to have an opportunity to carry through on.”
Candidate Fowlston was also born and raised in Earlville and has recently moved back to the village after residing in Norwich for a spell. Fowlston is running as an independent under the Our Town party.
“I want to represent the community and I feel that I would be a good representative,” he said. “I feel some people in Earlville have been overlooked and that many children and seniors here do not have anything to look forward to. I have a lot of energy and I feel if we all pull together, we can change that.”
When he was growing up in Earlville, Fowlston said he felt it was a very tight knit community, but is afraid a lot of that has been lost. Working as a bus driver for Sherburne-Earlville as well as being the father of two young children, Fowlston feels he is well equipped to address to needs of the community’s youth and improve upon their welfare if elected.
