Democrat Toby Shelley lost out to Republican Mike Plochocki for the District 6 seat in the Onondaga County Legislature.
“There’s nothing to say,” Shelley said on Tuesday night at Pensabene’s restaurant on State Fair Boulevard, after Onondaga Democrats chairperson Vita DeMarchi asked him if he wanted to speak. Shelley watched the results with a clenched jaw showing what family, friends and colleagues describe as his characteristic stoicism.
As of 10:20 p.m., with all 28 district precincts reporting, Shelley unofficially lost with 46.8 percent or 2,837 votes. Republican Mike Plochocki, a former mayor of Marcellus, had 53.2 percent or 3,228 votes, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
District 6 includes the southwestern part of Onondaga County, including Marcellus, Skaneateles, Spafford, Otisco and a small southern portion of Camillus.
This is the second run for office for Shelley, a deputy sheriff for Onondaga County. In 2010, Shelley ran for county sheriff but lost to his boss, Kevin Walsh, a Republican who has held the office since 1994.
Going into the election on Tuesday, Shelley was at a disadvantage in voter enrollment. As of August, District 6 had 19,631 registered voters. Of that total, 41 percent—or 8,168—are registered Republican; 26 percent—or 5,258—are registered Democratic and 24 percent of the district—or 4,376—are registered as unaffiliated with a party.
But Shelley had been ahead in fundraising. As of Oct. 28, Shelley’s campaign had raised a total of $12,185, compared to Plochocki’s $8,773, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
Earlier in the evening, as of 10:10 p.m., with 12 out of 28 districts reporting, Shelley was down by less than 1 percent.
“Makes your heart beat, doesn’t it?” he asked family and friends.
After Tuesday’s loss, Shelley said, he will retire from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department on Monday. In April, he said, he will retire from the military.
Of the campaign, he said, “There’s not much we could’ve done differently.”
(Annie Knox is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism.)
-30-
