Auburn Mayor Timothy C. Lattimore and Cayuga County Legislative Chairman George Fearon on Thursday will give their State of the City and County speeches, respectively. This is an opportunity for each to educate the membership of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce, who will be in the audience at the Holiday Inn, and the general public, who will read news accounts of their speeches, about their agendas.

There is a great deal of pressure on Lattimore when it comes to this speech and his presentation, but that analysis will be left to Wednesday's column. Today, some thoughts on the speech that will be given by an individual whom most Cayuga County residents don't know, but who is and will have an enormous impact on how they are governed and what their local government will cost them.

Sure, for Fearon, who is making his first state of the county speech, this is an opportunity to not only talk about what direction he thinks the county should go in, but also - and more importantly - it is an opportunity to introduce himself to the business and general communities. Unlike two of his immediate predecessors, Herb Marshall and Ralph W. Standbrook, he is a relative unknown to most people.

But Fearon has a diverse and lengthy background in government service that has solidified his vision of not only the role of government, but also his views on numerous issues affecting Cayuga County, from its government structure to the myriad of issues related to Native American claims. On these two issues alone, the chairman has the ability to spend all of his allotted time, so he should devote considerable attention to them.

Thursday is a chance for the chairman to explain the county manager position that the county Legislature is now discussing. He could explain why it is needed and what the post will do. It is also an opportunity to shore up support for what he wants to do, especially since two legislators changing their views on the current course the county is taking could stop his effort.

The chairman might also discuss not only what his views are on the Indian land claims, but what role, he sees for Native American gaming in Cayuga County. This is also an opportunity for him to enlist the help of the business community in efforts to retain and re-vitalize a major community asset, Auburn Memorial Hospital.

It is a chance for him to not only lay out what the county is doing to help the hospital, but get the business community involved in the vital task of physician recruitment. All this, as well as his views on low costs to the county and consolidation, can make for a speech that shows his breadth of knowledge and goals.

Next: The Mayor's third try.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com