Mark English sympathizes with the unemployed. He was once in their shoes.
When he was 38 years old, English recalled, he lost his job as a foundry worker with what was then Crouse-Hines, a manufacturer of electrical products. He still vividly remembers, he said, the effect on his co-workers who also lost their jobs.
“I saw how hard those people worked, and the devastating effect,” English said. Now, he said, in his campaign for the Onondaga County Legislature in November his top priority is to create jobs for the growing number of unemployed.
For the November election, English, a private practice lawyer, is running on the Democratic and Working Families ballot lines for county legislator from newly redrawn District 15. He will face Republican and Conservative Party candidate Ryan McMahon. McMahon has been the Common Councilor for District 3 since 2005.
The winner will succeed veteran legislator Bill Kinne, D-Syracuse, who has held the seat since 1992. In 2010, Kinne suffered a brain aneurysm and is retiring. District 15 was redesigned in the recent redistricting of the county legislature. District 15 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the southwestern corner of Geddes, Solvay and a small southern portion of the city of Syracuse.
The election is Nov. 8.
In his campaign, English has an advantage in voter enrollment. As of August 2011, the district had 18,335 registered voters, according to the county’s board of elections. Of those, 7,582 voters, or 41 percent, are registered Democrats. That compares to 5,280, or 29 percent, registered Republicans and 4,303, or 23 percent unaffiliated with a party.
English grew up in Syracuse and learned politics at his father’s side. He remembers his father taking him to see John F. Kennedy speak at Clinton Square in 1960. His father was also a member of city’s Democratic Committee.
English is a graduate of Le Moyne College with a degree in history and of Syracuse University’s College of Law. He and his wife Catherine have been married for 33 years. They have a daughter, December, and two grandchildren.
In 2007, English made his first run for public office as county legislator for District 8. He lost to incumbent James Corbett, R-Camillus. But, English said, his experience then is helping him in this race. For example, he said, he’s running this time on three party lines instead of one. That exposes him to a larger pool of voters. As a former sailor in the U.S. Navy, he said, he’s particularly proud of running on the Veterans’ Party line.
English is a partner in a family-law firm with Vincent Finocchio. Finocchio credits English with an advantage over many lawyers. English’s work in manufacturing, said Finocchio, gave him “a life before being a lawyer.” Said Finochio: “He had the advantage of his own maturity and his own life experiences.”
In his campaign for the District 15 seat, English calls for policies to create more jobs. He wants, he said, to make the city the industrial powerhouse it once was.
Right after graduating from college, he recalled, he started to work for Crouse-Hinds. The company is now a division of electrical production manufacturer Cooper Industries. English worked for the company for 17 years. Then his job, he said, was outsourced. His wife, Catherine, worked for the county and was able to support the family while he pursued a law degree.
But not all families in the area were as lucky, he said. “I was fortunate,” he said. “But for most people, their families never recovered.”
As a reminder of those challenges, English keeps in his office two autographed photos of boxing legend Muhammed Ali. “I think, in spite of all his charisma and skills, I most admire that he’s been a model to carry adversity with him,” English said.
He stresses job creation as a solution to many problems, he said. For example, he said, more jobs can decrease the crime in the city. He promises tax breaks to businesses if they create more jobs.
But he’s critical of some past job-creation efforts. The expansion project with Carousel Mall, commonly known as Destiny USA, has not created the jobs that were promised, English said.
“We’ve been slipshod about handling our tax breaks. And a more effective government will help that,” he said. “Let’s make it work by putting people to work.”
(Sara Tracey is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism.)
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