Democrat Bill Magnarelli conceded his loss in the race for Onondaga County executive Tuesday night.
With 100 percent of the vote in, the unofficial tally was 68,183 votes for his opponent Republican Joanie Mahoney and 42,144 votes for Magnarelli, according to the News 10 Now Web site.
Magnarelli gave his concession speech surrounded by family, friends, and even an arch of red, white, and blue balloons. He showed no tears. But, he said, if he turned to face his family, he would break up. Despite the loss, he expressed optimism about the Democratic Party’s prospects.
“I was hoping we were going to make history today, but I guess it will wait for another day and another candidate. And, I know that that will happen.” [Magnarelli]
Despite the defeat, Magnarelli walked into the Empire Room at the New York State Fairgrounds with a smile on his face. The members of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee who were celebrating there greeted him with a long round of applause. After shaking hands on his way to the front of room, Magnarelli thanked everyone who helped with his campaign. He said the race was not a total loss for county Democrats.
“I think this shows that the Democratic party is alive and well. And we do have wins tonight that show that we are making inroads on the county level.” [Magnarelli]
This year’s race for county executive was the first time in 20 years it was a contest. For the past two decades, Republican Nick Pirro has held the seat. The office was created in 1962. And in those 45 years, the county executive has always been a Republican. Mahoney is only the third person to take the position.
At the polls on Tuesday, voters hinted at factors that could have led to Magnarelli’s loss.
In the 12th County Legislature District, voter Dominic Pascal was unsure about his vote until shortly before the election. One reason, he said, he voted for Mahoney was Magnarelli’s advertisements shortly before the election.
“The last couple of days the negativeness that they put on T.V. to try and get you to vote for him against her, that’s a turn off.” [Dominic Pascal]
Ted Bauer of Lafayette has voted in every election he can remember. And, this time around he wanted to see someone new as county executive, just not Magnarelli.
“He’s alright. He does a lot of stuff, but I think we need a woman in the county to kind of stir things up a little bit.” [Ted Bauer]
Also in the 12th District, Margery Keskin and her husband run a small construction company. She says they like to vote for the candidate they feel is the most business-friendly. She met both candidates in person and decided to vote for Mahoney.
“Personally, I like Bill Magnarelli. He’s a nice guy. But his political views and mine don’t match as well as Joanie’s and mine.” [Keskin]
Also on the ballot were Republican Dale Sweetland and Democrat Ed Ryan. Sweetland was the Republican party’s choice for county executive. But he lost to Mahoney in the primaries. He still remained on the ballot under the Conservative and Independence lines. Ed Ryan lost to Magnarelli in the primaries. But he also remained on the ballot under the It’s Your County line.
Magnarelli will return to the state assembly. He says he does plan on running for re-election again next year.
For Democracywise, I’m Tracy Kracker.
(Tracy Kracker is a broadcast journalism graduate student.)
-30-
