Democratic colleagues in DeWitt government are among the funders for Lorene Dadey’s campaign for the District 7 seat in the Onondaga County Legislature.
Between July 15 and Oct. 24, at least four DeWitt officials gave a total of $450 to Dadey, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
Dadey, 54, is the Democratic Party’s candidate for the District 7 seat for the Onondaga County Legislature. District 7 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including a small northeastern part of the city of Syracuse, most of the northern and western parts of DeWitt and all of East Syracuse. She is running against Danny Liedka, a Republican and the mayor of East Syracuse.
The election is Nov. 8.
Some highlights of Dadey’s campaign finances, from the state election board reports:
- Between May and Oct. 24, Dadey has raised over $4,500. Her opponent, Danny Liedka, has raised over $15,000. That’s more than three times the amount of Dadey.
- 44 percent — or $2,000 — of Dadey’s campaign money came from donations by five political committees and one union.
- Her largest donation is $1,000 from the Committee for Legislative Action, an group that raises money to elect Democratic candidates to the Onondaga County Legislature.
- 35 percent — or $1,560 — came from nine individual donors. The largest donation from a named individual is $150 from Ed Michalenko, the DeWitt town supervisor.
Michalenko emphasized the importance of Dadey’s political experience. She has been East Syracuse mayor, DeWitt board member and a DeWitt trustee.
“From the experience side, she understands how town and local governments work,” Michalenko said.
Sylvia Matousek, chair of the DeWitt Democratic Committee, gave $100 to Dadey’s campaign, along with praise for Dadey’s commitment to her constituents. On door-knocking rounds of campaigning, Matousek said, Dadey often stayed talking with residents instead of moving quickly on her way.
“I would tell her, ‘You don’t have time to spend 20 minutes talking to everyone,’” Matousek said. “She would always tell me she’d rather listen than be efficient.”
For campaign expenditures, as of Oct. 24, Dadey had spent more than $1,500, according to state election board reports. Most of her expenses were for literature and signs. As of Oct. 24, she had just under $3,000 on hand.
(Emily Maher is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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