For Judy Tassone, concentrating on cleaning Onondaga Lake has been one of her priorities and a favorite accomplishment in the Onondaga County Legislature.
“I have been helping with everybody to get it cleaned, and make a trail around the lake to make it more prosperous. Having a trail around the lake will bring a lot of visitors in, making the area more prominent,” Tassone said.
For the Nov. 5 election, Tassone, 61, R-Liverpool, is running for a third term county legislator for District 4. She faces Democratic challenger Carol Sinesi, also of Liverpool, who is making her first run for elected office. In 2009 and 2011, Tassone defeated Democrat David Stott for the District 4 seat.
District 4 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including 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 voters, 33 percent – or 5,322 voters – are Democrat; 31 percent – or 4,978 voters – are Republicans; and 25 percent – or 4,067 voters— are unaffiliated with a political party.
Tassone grew up in Central New York. She attended college at St. John the Baptist and Columbia College. She and her husband, Bill, have been married for 12 years and have two sons: Benjamin and Christopher. She also has five stepchildren: Lori, Kristy, Michelle, Jennifer and Billie.
Before becoming a legislator, Tassone spent 20 years at National Grid power company. In 2009, she retired from National Grid as a customer service representative. She owns the New York Title Company. Now, she has temporarily closed the company, she said, to focus on her re-election campaign.
She has been in government for about 25 years, Tassone said. That includes being a past member of the town of Clay Republican committee and on town of Clay zoning board of appeals.
She doesn’t look at herself as a politician, she said. ““I am not a career politician. I got involved to help people out. I devote my time to being county legislator,” she said.
Fellow Republicans in the legislature praise Tassone for focusing on constituents and for her attention to detail.
Kathleen Rapp, R-Liverpool, of District 5 works with Tassone on the planning and economic development committee and on the environmental protection committee. Rapp gives this example of Tassone responding to constituents concerns: Rapp recalls talking to a sheriff in her own door-to-door campaign. The sheriff told Rapp that Judy Tassone went door-to-door a few years ago, and he told her of his concerns about the sheriff’s department Air 1 helicopter, that was threatened with budget cuts. Tassone responded that she did not know the answer, but she would he get back to him. The sheriff, recalled Rapp, said he was so surprised to hear from Tassone a few days later about Air 1.
“She is really somebody who is looking out for the best outcome for constituents,” Rapp said. “Judy is very thoughtful and solid person. She is somebody who does her homework and she listens more than she talks.”
John Dougherty, R-Liverpool, of District 2, works on the County Facility Committee with Tassone. She is the chair and he is the vice-chair. “She is very easy to get along with and she is very dedicated,” he said.
For Tassone, politics is a family affair as her husband, Bill, is also the town chair of the Salina, vice chair of the county committee, and delegate of the judicial committee. Bill Tassone is part of all her campaigns, she said. “He runs my campaigns. It’s excellent,” she said.
Bill Tassone agrees. Working together sometimes is a lot of fun, he said. “She just moves along and does her job,” he said. For example, he cited her work on repairing the railroad crossing into Liverpool near Heid’s restaurant. She had to deal with the railroad itself, federal government, state government, county government, and village government, he said. “Judy was able to put everyone together and get it done,” he said.
For her part, Judy Tassone describes getting constituents’ phone calls and listening to people’s problems as something she enjoys. And going door-to-door, she said, helps her find out concerns and problems from people in the area.
An example of those concerns, she said, is the clean-up of Onondaga Lake. So far, the county health department says on its website, the lake is not yet safe to swim in. And there have been no requests for a permit for a public beach, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
That should change, Tassone said. “Something we are talking about is that people would like to see a beach. That’s what the citizens asking about,” Tassone said. “They would like to see a trail finished, a build-up of restaurants, places where they could rent bikes, and bring in community activity all around lake.”
(Alana Heller is a junior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism and minoring in marketing.)
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