Choices for Voters in 9 County Legislature Districts

Voters in nine districts for Onondaga County Legislature have choices in their candidates for legislator.

All 17 county legislature seats are up for re-election.  Nine of those are contested races with two candidates running.  Republicans control the legislature, holding 14 of the 17 seats.  Election Day is Nov. 5.

Here’s a look at those contested races:

District 4 (central county)

The incumbent, Judith Tassone, R-Liverpool, is seeking her third term. In her re-election campaign, she cites success in repairing a local railroad by Heid’s restaurant, lowering property taxes and on cleaning up Onondaga Lake.  She is also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.

For the future, she said, she supports more residential, recreational and commercial development around Onondaga Lake.

Before entering the county legislature, she served on Clay’s Zoning Board of Appeals.  She owns New York Title Co.

Carol Sinesi of Liverpool is the Democratic challenger. Sinesi, 44, is making her first run for political office.  She is vice-chair of the town of Salina Democratic Committee. She is also endorsed by the Working Families Party.

In her campaign, she’s focused on Onondaga Lake development and reducing the number of car break-ins.  To combat crime, she calls for more community policing. For development around Onondaga Lake, she said, she won’t support development that bars access to the lake.  “I would not want a private developer coming in and saying, ‘I own this’ and folks not being able to have access to the lake,” said Sinesi.

She has a degree in sociology and criminology from Le Moyne College and a master’s degree in social work at Syracuse University.  Sinesi volunteers at the Syracuse V.A. Medical Center.

District 4 includes Geddes, the western part of Salina, Liverpool, most of Onondaga Lake, and a small portion of the Northside of Syracuse.Of the district’s 15,655 registered voters, 33 percent are Democrats, 31 percent are Republicans and 25 percent are unaffiliated with a party.

District 5 (northeastern county)
Kathleen Rapp, R-Liverpool, is a 15-year incumbent.  She’s working to integrate refugees into the local work force, arrange job training for veterans and boost agricultural industry, she said.

If re-elected she wants to create a work-space, such as a food court, for refugees to learn hands-on business management skills.

She is chair of the planning and economic development committee.  For more agricultural businesses, Rapp points to Agrana, a yogurt factory in Baldwinsville.  Food manufacturing generates jobs, Rapp said.  “And because we’re kind of an agricultural state, and in the middle of the state, I think that’d be a good fit for us,” she said.

Gary Brisson, the Democratic challenger, criticizes Rapp’s 15 years as too long for any politician to serve.  Brisson calls for term limits for county legislators.

“There’s term limits for councilmen.  There’s term limits for councilor-at-large.  There’s term limits for the mayor,” said Brisson.  “In the county, no, you can be in there the rest of your life.  It’s too much power.”

Brisson is endorsed by both the Democratic and Conservative tickets.  He’s a retiring foreman for National Grid – a job he’s held for 37 years.  So, county legislator, he said, “will be a full time occupation for me if I’m elected.”

District 5 includes Salina’s eastern half, DeWitt’s northeastern part, Cicero’s southwest corner, a portion of North Syracuse, and Syracuse’s Sedgwick and Lyncourt areas. Out of 16,004 registered voters, 34 percent are Democrats, 30 percent are Republicans and 25 percent are not affiliated with a political party.

District 7 (central county)
This election is déjà vu for District 7. Incumbent Danny Liedka, R-East Syracuse, and Democratic challenger Lorene Dadey faced each other in a close race in 2011.

Before he entered the legislature, he was mayor of East Syracuse until his term ended in

March 2013. He also has been an East Syracuse village trustee. He’s also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.

Liedka is a global account executive for Marriott International.  His cites his experience in business and government with helping him contribute to debates on the 2013 county budget, he said.

Lorene Dadey, the Democratic challenger, is making a second run for county legislature.  In 2011, she lost a tight race against Liedka. She’s also endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Dadey, 56, also has been the mayor of East Syracuse, the village councilor, deputy mayor and trustee. Her family has owned Sunshine’s Coffee Shop in Syracuse since 1979.  In her 2011 campaign, she promoted efficient county spending and more options for affordable housing.

District 7 includes East Syracuse, the northern and western parts of DeWitt and a small northeastern part of Syracuse. Of the district’s 16,412 registered voters, 40 percent are Democrats, 26 percent are Republicans and 25 percent are not affiliated with a political party.

District 8 (central county)
Campaigning for a second term, Chris Ryan, D-Syracuse, calls for cuts in government spending.

“I have a fiduciary responsibility to rein in spending, to lower taxes and to make county government as efficient and effective as possible,” he said.  He cites as accomplishments in his first term in the legislature as cutting the number of take-home vehicles.  He plans to help consolidate more resources and services if re-elected, he said.

Ryan graduated from Buffalo State with a degree in criminal justice and he’s now studying labor relations at Cornell University.  He’s a field technician for Verizon and vice president of Communications Workers of America, a labor union that has around 600 members.  He’s also endorsed by the Independence and Working Families parties.

Russ Andrews of Syracuse is the Republican challenger.  He calls himself, “civically obsessed.”  For example, he served two terms as a county legislator in the mid-1990s.  Now, he volunteers for at least eight community groups including:  FOCUS Greater Syracuse, Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association and Onondaga Citizens League.  He also serves as vice chair on the Erie CanalWay National Heritage Corridor.

His campaign emphasizes downtown revitalization.  “We have some wonderful opportunities in our community—we’ve seen great progress downtown—revitalization, new people moving downtown with new ideas that should be nurtured and considered,” Andrews said in a speech posted on his campaign website.

Andrews is also endorsed by the Conservative party.

District 8 in the center of the county and includes part of Solvay, part of Geddes and Syracuse’s northwestern corner. Of the 11,832 registered voters, 47 percent are Democrats, 19 percent are Republicans and 24 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

District 9 (central county)
Bob Andrews, R-Syracuse, is seeking his second term in office.  He’s also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.

Last year, Andrews was appointed to the legislature by County Executive Joanie Mahoney to fill the unexpired term of legislator Mark Stanczyk, a Democrat, who was taking a county job.

If re-elected, Andrews said, he’ll work to reduce crime and to promote more government consolidation and resource sharing.  To lessen crime, Andrews said he’ll look at sharing county police resources with the city.  He’d also like to merge city-county services to cut costs and improve efficiency.

Andrews is director of business development for Madison-Cortland ARC, which offers services to people with disabilities.

Peggy Chase is the Democratic challenger.  She’s also endorsed by the Working Families Party.

County lawmakers cut jobs in public health, the county jail and social services, Chase said.  She wants to put these former employees back to work.  “It’s come back to bite us – bad care, inappropriate assessments, people have died, people have gotten hurt,” she said.

For more than 40 years, Chase has supervised and taught nurses at local hospitals. She has a doctorate in educational administration from Syracuse University and a nursing education degree from SUNY Oswego.

District 9 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the northeastern part of the city of Syracuse. Ofthe district’s 13,517 registered voters, 48 percent are Democrats, 19 percent are Republicans and 25 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

District 11 (central county)
Patrick Kilmartin, R-Syracuse, is seeking his fourth term in office.

Before he entered the legislature, he was a county assistant district attorney. In 2012, he lost the race for the county’s family court judge.

He’s a self-employed attorney and a part-time counsel and partner with Brookline Development Co.

Maggie Mahoney is the Democratic challenger.  This is her first run for political office.   She’s also endorsed by the Working Families Party.

A longtime labor activist, she casts herself as a voice for blue-collar residents in her district.  “I think that anytime we have more people that resemble the greater population, it’s a good thing,” Mahoney said.

So far, at least 15 area labor unions endorse Mahoney.  She is now a secretary with SIEU 1199, which represents health care workers.

District 11 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including the town of Onondaga, Nedrow and a small southeastern part of Camillus. Of the district’s 17,490 registered voters, 29 percent are Democrats, 35 percent are Republicans and 26 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

District 15 (central county)
Ryan McMahon, R-Syracuse, is running his first re-election campaign for the county legislature.

At the start of his first term in the county legislature, McMahon’s fellow Republicans elected him chairman.  He served three terms on the Syracuse Common Council, where he was the minority leader and chairman of the Finance Committee.

During his two years in office, McMahon cites on his campaign website, he worked to ban sales a synthetic drug called bath salts, to expand the Save the Rain program to reduce runoff water, to the Syracuse suburbs and to help the county redevelop tax-delinquent properties.

If re-elected, he’ll also continue to focus on improving public safety and easing the tax burden.

McMahon grew up in Syracuse.  He has degrees in both political science and business administration from LeMoyne College.  He’s vice president of The Funding Source.

Ronnie Bell, 64, is the Democratic challenger.  He’s also endorsed by the Working Families party.  Bell is calling for better city schools, more government transparency and a balanced budget.

In the city school district, he says, he’s taught every grade, K-12.  He’s also taught at Onondaga County Community College. Bell leads the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival, a theater group that performs several shows a year.

He calls for more efficiency in government spending. He’s attended all of the legislative hearings to find ways to improve spending efficiency, he said.

District 15 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the southwestern corner of Geddes, a portion of Solvay, a portion of the Town of Onondaga and the southern portion of the city of Syracuse.Of the district’s 18,662 registered voters, 42 percent are Democrats, 27 percent are Republicans and 23 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

District 16 (central county)
Monica Williams, D-Syracuse, is seeking her fourth term in office.  She is also endorsed by the Working Families Party. She is a staffing coordinator at Rosewood Heights nursing home and an organizer for SIEU 1199.

If re-elected, Williams said, she wants to expand the Save the Rain program and continue with cleanup of Onondaga Lake.  She said, “Make sure at sure at some point down the road – I may be a little optimistic – that people will be able to swim in it.”

Melody Holmes is the Republican challenger.  In 2003, she ran unsuccessfully for the Syracuse Common Council.  She’s also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.

She’s the director of jail ministry for the Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice.  And she’s a social worker for the county’s Meals on Wheels program.

District 16 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the southwestern portion of the city of Syracuse.Of the district’s 14,395 registered voters, 70 percent are Democrats, 7 percent are Republicans and 17 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

District 17 (southeastern central county)
Linda Ervin, D-Jamesville, is seeking her third term as county legislator.  She is also endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Earlier this year, the legislature’s two other Democrats elected Erwin as their floor leader.

She cites as accomplishments negotiating for a sales tax agreement that gives the city a larger share of revenues and more funding for libraries, the arts and OnCenter complex.

In the community, she’s board president of Jubilee Homes of Syracuse and works with eight other organizations, according to her biography on the county legislature website.

For 12 years, she was president of the Jamesville-DeWitt school board.  She has also worked as a real estate agent. Her degree in psychology is from Syracuse University.

Woodruff (Woody) Carroll, 57, is the Republican challenger.  This is his first run for public office.  He’s also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.

He’s primarily concerned with balancing the city’s budget and improving its school district, he said.  The city’s problems, he says, also affect the county.  “When they get dragged down, it drags down everyone else,” he said.

Carroll has a degree in Latin from Syracuse University.  He’s a partner in the law firm of Carroll and Carroll.

District 17 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the southeastern portion of the city of Syracuse and a small portion of the southwestern side of DeWitt. Of the district’s 14,114 registered voters, 56 percent are Democrats, 14 percent are Republicans and 22 percent are unaffiliated with a political party.

(Valerie Crowder is a junior with dual majors in newspaper and online journalism and political science. Sean Farrell contributed some reporting to this story.)

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