Community Corner
Cuddington Would Apply 'Hands On' Knowledge on Utica Council
This is the second in a series about the five candidates running for three seats on the Utica City Council.
Chuck Cuddington is a hands-on kind of guy.
He has a professional background in construction, landscaping, pattern making and woodworking. Before retiring in 2009, he worked for 12 years maintain city streets, water mains and parks with the Utica Department of Public Works.
Now running for city council, Cuddington, a 22-year city resident, said if elected to the council, he can apply this knowledge of city infrastructure and building projects to the job. He believes in following through and listening to concerns, he said.
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“What I could bring to the council is my attitude about helping people, my … experiences,” said Cuddington, 64. “Knowing the city and being around it, I see what needs to be fixed and what doesn’t need to be fixed.”
Besides Cuddington, , Bernard Hurchalla, Barbara Montag and Faith Terenzi also are running on the Nov. 8 ballot for three city council seats. The council consists of six nonpartisan council members serving four-year terms, and a mayor serving two-year terms.
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However, aside from one block of Summers Street needing to be paved and Union Court needing to be resurfaced, most of the city’s infrastructure is fine as is, he said during a recent televised forum.
Cuddington also spent three years in the Army, one of which in the Vietnam War. More recently, he is a member of the city’s committee dealing with “historic” homes (he restored his own historic home). He also is restoring a 1947 Ford truck in the garage he built by hand.
He has been married to his wife, Susan, for 22 years. The couple has three children and five grandchildren.
Cuddington said he likes Utica’s small town atmosphere, but would like to see more growth to utilize currently empty residential and commercial properties, which would expand the tax base.
“Then we can continue to do the things we do extra that other cities don’t do,” like every street getting snowplowed, not just major ones, he said. “If the place doesn’t look good, people don’t come.”
He doesn’t believe in raising taxes at the current time, given economic conditions.
Cuddington also opposes consolidating fire, police and DPW services with neighboring communities.
“I’m happy with the way things are,” he said. “I moved to the city of Utica because of (it) being a small town.”
