By Rosanne Salvatore
It's hard to find a soul in the Village of Fabius who isn't a friend of, or somehow connected to, Republican Dale Sweetland. Sweetland ran and lost last night against Dan Maffei for the 25th District Congressional Seat.
In Fabius, residents say that they are disappointed that Sweetland was not victorious because he is a true representation of his hometown. 
Sweetland owned and operated a dairy farm in Fabius for most of his life, only giving up his family business to pursue politics.
“Dale is a farmer, Dale's father was a farmer, and they're good people,” says Victor Luche, a good friend of Sweetland's and Fabius native.
Nicole Wilbur, a childhood friend of Sweetland's, could not say enough about how good of a guy he is. “We like what he stands for, he listens to you. Not many many people sit there and listen to you.”
Sweetland represents the local farmer and these old friends will never forget that. “When someone from this area doesn't win, we feel it- we don't get the funding,” says Wilbur.
In Fabius, there is an air of concern that Maffei does not truly understand the needs of people who live on the outskirts of the Syracuse City. “I guess I don't know enough about Maffei, but I'll be finding out,” says Luche. He is unsure just how much of an effect Maffei's win will have on his daily life.
Despite personal relationships with this candidate, one real concern trumped the rest - money. The overall picture presented by Fabius residents is that Sweetland was not a politician his whole life, which is why he did not have the amount of money for his campaign that Maffei did. “He's basically a poor rural guy who competed against someone with a lot of money, so they got out a little further,” says Kevin Way, a local dairy farmer.
No matter how long residents talked about their adoration of Sweetland's character, the conversation always turned back to campaign money. “Maffei had run and lost before, so he had a little treasure chest. Sweetland couldn't start fundraising until after he was nominated by the Republican Party,” says Ann DeMord. Luche also felt that money was one of Maffei's biggest assets, driving his campaign. “I know the man came up with an enormous amount of money to take this seat. I'm not sure that's a good thing.”
In Fabius, people were not as concerned about where Sweetland will go from here. “This was a tough blow for Dale, as it'd be for anyone,” Luche continued. But his good friend knows that Sweetland will bounce back.
All pictures from Poststandard.com
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