Write a commentJennifer Mays, an Oswego business owner, is running to represent the city’s Fourth Ward on the Common Council.
Mays, the owner of outdoor recreation company Oswego Expeditions, is committed to promoting both physical and economic health for the Fourth Ward and the city as a whole. Calling the Oswego River and Lake Ontario “our city’s greatest assets,” she envisions improved pedestrian and bicycle access to the city’s waterfront parks and increased police foot patrols to help draw residents and tourists out of their houses and hotels and into Oswego’s downtown business district.
“As councilor, I will make changes that encourage our community to get outdoors, enjoy the natural beauty of our city, and support our local businesses more than ever before,” she said.
An Oswego native, Mays studied and worked around the country, gaining experience in law enforcement as well as health and wellness, before returning to her hometown in 2005. She graduated from the Pasco Hernando Police Academy and served as a Deputy Sheriff in Hernando County, Florida, where she was the first female member of the SWAT team.
Since returning to Oswego, Mays has raised three sons in a house easily recognized by the trailer of kayaks she rents out through Oswego Expeditions, the small business she founded in 2015. Her challenges and achievements as a young mother, a law enforcement officer, and an entrepreneur, she says, have helped prepare her to represent the Fourth Ward as councilor.
Already an engaged member of the community through her involvement with the Oswego County Historical Society, the Oswego County Tourism Advisory Council, and her active local business, Mays is a graduate of Leadership Oswego County, a SUNY Oswego program which prepares select county residents to better serve their community.
Mays says she is ready to put her training, her experience, and her energy to work for the Fourth Ward and the entire city.
“I know the challenges people face in Oswego, but I also know how much our community does to improve people’s lives, and how much more it can do,” said Mays. “The best way to make local government a force for positive change is to be that change. I am not afraid to speak up, and if elected I will be an assertive voice for change for the people of Oswego. That’s why I’m running for Common Council.”
Mays will be seeking the Democratic line on the ballot in a primary election on September 12. She is hosting a community event this Thursday, August 3rd from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at her place of business, Oswego Expeditions, 11 Lake Street, near the H. Lee White Maritime Museum. There, community members can meet Mays face-to-face and learn more about her vision for Oswego. For more information, call (315) 561-0223.
