 Stratton received his bachelor of arts degree from the State University of New York at Oswego in 1980.He began his career in 1981 as an employee of General Electric, where he worked for the company's cable television and broadcasting department in Schenectady before moving to its government relations department in Washington D.C. From 1987 to 2000, Stratton worked for the Empire State Development Corporation as part of its staff in the Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research.He served on the Schenectady City Council from 1992 to 2002, and ran unsuccessfully for New York State Senate in 2000.