(Editor’s note: On May 1, 2008, veteran Republican Kristen Rounds, long-time chair of the 3rd Ward, won the designation of the Onondaga County Republican Party over Peter Gay, who had been the only openly declared candidate when this story was filed on April 29.)
For voters in the 102th state Assembly District around Syracuse, the choices include the incumbent Democrat, Bill Magnarelli.
For the Republicans, Peter Gay, from the north side of Syracuse, was the only potential challenger as of late April. “I feel like the people of my district deserve an option,” Gay said. “I represent an alternative.”
The State Assembly’s 120th District includes Van Buren and Geddes. It also includes the northern, western, Eastwood and Valley sections of the city of Syracuse, according to the New York State Board of Elections.
The general election will be Nov. 4, 2008.
The Onondaga County Democratic party meets May 15 to designate its candidates. The party is expected to nominate Magnarelli to run for re-election.
The Onondaga County Republican Party will meet on May 1 to designate its candidates. Several Republicans had expressed interest in running, according to a spokesperson. But the spokesperson wouldn’t give specific names. Peter Gay had announced on April 18 that he had submitted a letter of intent to the party to seek its nomination.
Here’s an early look, as of April 29, at the 120th District’s potential candidates:
The Incumbent: Bill Magnarelli (Democrat)
Bill Magnarelli is the five-term Assemblyman for the 120th District.
He serves on several of the Assembly’s committees that help guide New York State’s economic development. He is on the committee for Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; and Education. He is the chairman for Ethics and Guidance.
To jump-start the local economy and create more jobs, Magnarelli said, the government can’t “just be looking for the big hit,” like the Carrier and Ford companies. Both have abandoned large manufacturing operations in Central New York and such big manufacturing facilities are unlikely to reopen. “It’s just not going to happen,” he said.
Instead, Magnarelli said. he would support smaller local businesses, like Microsoft, that “started with people working in their garages.”
In addition to supporting local business to jump-start the economy, Magnarelli said he would invest in infrastructures so that well-known businesses could use building space now available in the county.
In the fall of 2007, Magnarelli campaigned on similar themes in an unsuccessful bid for Onondaga County Executive. Magnarelli lost the race to Republican Joanie Mahoney with 38 percent of the vote.
Magnarelli is a Syracuse native. He attended Syracuse University for both his undergraduate work and law school. Magnarelli works at the Scolaro, Shulman, Cohen, Fetter & Burstein law firm, where he’s been for the past 29 years. He started his political career in 1996 when he ran for the Syracuse Common Council and served for two years.
The Challenger: Peter Gay (Republican)
Peter Gay speaks Spanish fluently, specifically in a Cuban dialect.
His brother David Gay, who is running for Congress, married into a Cuban family. So the brothers participate in Cuban culture, said Peter Gay. The family connection union, he said, has opened a relationship for him with a new group of people in the Syracuse community — a growing number of Cuban refugees.
This experience has helped shape his political philosophy, Gay said. He’s observed, he said, the refugees stand for freedom and hope. And those two ideas should drive the local economy, he said.
“Spending and taxing go along together,” Gay said. “Any tax is too high.”
A market free of government influence would eliminate government competition with local businesses, he said. So, if elected, Gay calls for cutting taxes for residents and promises help assure to uphold the rights of private businesses. He’d work to eliminate government competition with private businesses, he said.
Gay, 28 grew up in Syracuse. He is a 1997 graduate of Nottingham High School and a 2003 graduate of Covenant College in northern Georgia, where he studied philosophy. Gay works as a customer service representative with the Carrier Corporation.
Gay has never run for a political office. He publicly announced his candidacy on April 18 when he submitted his letter of intent to the Onondaga County Republican Party.
(Laura Van Wert is a senior newspaper major.)
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