At the young age of 21, Geneseo senior Jason Miller, of West Bloomfield, N.Y. - about thirty minutes from Geneseo - secured the position of town councilman in his hometown's local election this past November.
Miller, a Democrat, said that he was contacted by a current Republican Town Board member and asked to consider the position. After deciding that he wanted to run, both the Democrat and Republican parties endorsed him, which resulted in him running unopposed. He received 498 of the approximately 550 votes cast.
Miller, an active mathematics and adolescent education major, feels that his experiences at Geneseo have prepared him for his new role of leadership within West Bloomfield.
"Although I am young by councilman standards, I feel prepared and confident in my ability to succeed as a councilman from the personal growth and development I gained when I joined Alpha Chi Rho and the leadership experience I gained during my term as president of the fraternity," he said.
Miller has also worked with faculty in the School of Education through the work study program and has experience as a student teacher at Canandaigua Academy. Miller stated that he has no further political aspirations but plans on going to graduate school for special education and a teaching career.
He hopes to bring new ideas and insights to the board during his two-year term.
He explained that his duties include performing, "the day-to -day operations of any organization. [We have to] plan for the future of the town. Among other things, this includes paying bills, making the budget, deciding on zoning and planning issues, listening to concerns of town members and acting in their best interests."
Miller intends to focus his tenure as board member onto more specific, constructive areas of town planning. His ideas for improvement include, "attracting more small businesses to the town, insuring that any development is carefully planned so that West Bloomfield does not lose its small town atmosphere and charm, and preserving green space."