Town Council:
KRISTIN J. ANTIN
When asked why she’s running for Meredith town council, Kristin Antin points to the strong, dynamic Delaware County women who’ve run for office. She holds up Jesse Raber, Maya Boukai, Janet Tweed, Michele Frazier, and Amy Randall as the inspiration for her decision to run and her role models.
“If these women with busy and challenging lives can run, why not me? I’m worried about the political divisiveness and feel it is the right time to do something positive for the community. In my professional life, I’ve been a community builder for 15 years. In addition, I work in technology. I believe I have skills that would benefit Meredith.”
Kristin has lived in Meredith for 12 years, moving here when her husband got a job at SUNY Oneonta. She received her BA from University of Colorado and received her Masters Degree in human rights from the University of Essex in the UK. She’s worked for non profit human rights organizations and has traveled throughout the world. Currently, she’s the Community Engagement Manager for NGO-Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an organization that assists US based non profits in strengthening cyber security. In her spare time, Kristin runs a PTA sponsored after school club, Girls Who Code.
Training has been a core thread in Kristin’s work. In her career, she’s learned to explain complicated information in a way that is understandable to her audience. In addition, in the leadership roles Kristin has held, she’s managed budgets, hired and fired staff, written grant proposals and program reports. If elected, Kristin would use these skills to improve communication between town government and residents, and contribute to the overall management of town business.
According to Kristin, one of the complaints from Meredith residents is that they don’t know what is going on in the town. Kristin observes that Meredith is a decentralized town, with lots of very rural residences. “It can be difficult for people to get to town meetings, especially working people with families or older folk on dark, cold winter nights.” Kristin suggests that town meetings could be recorded and posted on YouTube as is done with Delhi town council meetings. She views this as a simple way to use technology to keep the public informed.
In addition, her expertise in using technology would allow the town to better organize information for the board’s use and for the community’s understanding of the town government’s work.
She’d like to get more people involved in the town’s civic life. “People need to feel some ownership in their town government and town life, which could lead to more collaboration and creative problem solving.”
Kristin points to the property donated to Meredith from the Meridale Farms subdivision as fertile ground for enriching life for Meredith residents. She sees real potential for the property’s uses. “As the mother of a young kid, I’d love to have a place where he could ride his bike safely and where I could meet other families with children. I’d like to rekindle the community brainstorming about using the property’s potential.”