Voters will choose occupants for every seat in the Onondaga County Legislature on Nov. 8.
But it’s not yet clear how many seats that will be. The county is being re-districted and is expecting to lose two districts — going down from 19 now to 17 in May.
“The majority is going to have the upper hand in drawing boundaries. How that will influence voters, I don’t know,” says Grant Reeher, political science professor at Syracuse University.
Republicans are the majority in control of the county legislature. The GOP holds 12 seats, compared to seven for Democrats. But the Republican Party’s advantage in voter enrollment has eroded in recent years. Now, Onondaga County has 304,881 registered voters. Of those, 112,524 — or 36 percent — are registered as Democrats. Republicans have 95,017 or 31 percent of the county’s registered voters.
For the 2011 election, it’s not yet clear which incumbents will face challengers for their seats. Only a few potential candidates have publicly expressed interest in running for the county legislature.
As of March 26, here’s the early overview of the county legislature races for the Nov. 8, 2011, election:
District 1
Incumbent Richard M. Lesniak, R-Baldwinsville, is up for his third term. He is one of two floor leaders. He is a union representative for the Law Enforcement Officers Union Council, Local 82. It represents New York police and corrections employees. Lesniak was formerly in law enforcement and retired after 25 years. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. District 1 includes the town of Lysander and three Districts in the town of Clay.
District 2
Incumbent John C. Dougherty, R-Liverpool, is up for his second term. Dougherty is the systems engineer and manager of business development at SRC, Inc., a defense, intelligence and environment company. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. District 2 includes the town of Clay west of Henry Clay Boulevard and north of John Glenn.
District 3
Incumbent William H. “Bill” Meyer, R-Cicero, is up for his eleventh term. Meyer is an insurance agent and business owner. He was elected chair of the legislature in 2008. District 2 includes Cicero and Manlius.
District 4
Incumbent Judith A. Tassone, R-Liverpool, would be up for her second term. Tassone is the owner of New York Title, a title insurance company. District 4 includes Liverpool and portions of Salina and Clay.
District 5
Incumbent Kathleen Rapp, R-Liverpool, would be up for her seventh term. Rapp is the director of mailing and marketing communications at a mailing services company. She is a graduate of SUNY-Oneonta. District 5 includes parts of Cicero, DeWitt and Salina.
District 6
Incumbent James M. Rhinehart, R-Skaneateles, would be up for his fourth term. He is the chairman of the legislature. He is a meat salesman and a graduate of Syracuse University. District 6 includes the towns of Spafford, Otisco, Marcellus, Skaneateles and part of Camillus.
Toby Shelley, a Democrat of Otisco, has announced that he will be running for this seat in Onondaga County Legislature. Shelley is a veteran county deputy sheriff. Heost the election for sheriff last year.
District 7
Thomas C. Buckel Jr., D-Syracuse, will not be running for reelection. As of March 26, no other candidates have expressed interest in the seat.
District 8
James A. Corbett, R-Syracuse, will not be running for reelection. Democrat Chris Ryan, the deputy supervisor of Geddes, plans to run for the open seat. District 8 includes the town of Geddes.
District 9
Incumbent Mark A. Stanczyk, D-Syracuse, would be up for his sixteenth term and he is one of two floor leaders. He is a financial consultant and a graduate of Syracuse University. District 9 includes the Eastwood area of Syracuse, East Syracuse, and a large part of DeWitt.
District 10
Incumbent Kevin Holmquist, R-East Syracuse, would be up for his fourth term. He is a licensed investment manager at Key Bank and Key Investments. Holmquist is also a graduate of Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University. District 10 includes Manlius, Fayetteville, Minoa and Fremont.
District 11
Incumbent Patrick Kilmartin, R-Syracuse, would be up for his third term. He is an attorney at Brookline Development Company. District 11 includes Onondaga, parts of Syracuse and Camillus
District 12
Incumbent Robert B. Cox, R-Syracuse, has been appointed by County Executive Joanie Mahoney to replace Robert Demore, R-Fabius, who was appointed as director of the Division of Community Development. Cox is an attorney and graduate of Syracuse University. The 12th District includes Fabius, LaFayette, Pompey and Tully, parts of Onondaga and parts of Manlius.
District 13
Incumbent Robert D. Warner, R-Baldwinsville, would be up for his eleventh term. He is a retired police officer and veteran who is now self-employed as a logger. Warner is a graduate of Baldwinsville High. District 13 includes Van Buren, Elbridge, and Jordan.
District 14
Incumbent Casey E. Jordan, R-Clay, would be up for his fourth term. He is an attorney. District 14 includes the eastern half of Clay.
District 15
Incumbent William T. Kinne, D-Syracuse, would be up for his eleventh term. He is self-employed as a handyman. Kinne suffered a brain aneurysm on March 31. He has since been recovering but is unsure if he will run for reelection. District 15 includes the Outer Comstock, Strathmore and the Valley areas of Syracuse.
District 16
Incumbent Sam Laguzza, D-Syracuse, would be up for his seventeenth term. He works at Wegmann’s supermarket. He is a graduate of Onondaga Community College. District 15 includes the Northside of Syracuse, the Hawley Green area, the Southeast Neighborhood Association area, the Westcott Neighborhood Association area and the University area.
District 17
Martin D. “Marty” Masterpole, D-Syracuse, will not be running for reelection. He will instead run for Syracuse city auditor. No other candidates have declared an interest in the open seat for District 17. The district includes the western portion of the city of Syracuse including the Lakefront, Westside and Near Westside neighborhoods and parts of South Side, Strathmore and Downtown neighborhoods.
District 18
Incumbent Monica Williams, D-Syracuse, would be up for her third term. She is a staffing coordinator at Rosewood Heights nursing home. She is a graduate of Fowler High School. District 18 includes the Southwest Side of Syracuse, Outer Comstock and the University Area.
District 19
Incumbent Linda R. Ervin, D-Jamesville, would be up for second term. She is a retired real estate agent. Ervin is a graduate of Syracuse University. District 19 includes, parts of Jamesville and Dewitt.
On redistricting of the county legislature, Ed Ryan, the Democratic board of elections commissioner, predicts redistricting will begin in Salina where two Republican legislators — Judith Tassone of District 4 and Kathleen Rapp of District 5 — live 2.25 miles apart.
What can voters do to make sure their votes count?
Grant Reeher, political scientist at SU, recommends: “Check out information in the news as it becomes available. Do research and frame questions. The good thing about local elections is that a lot of these people are available. Voters can go to candidates, talk to them and phone them.”
(Celeste Little is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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