As Lorene Dadey sees it, her 20 years in local politics has prepared her to help govern the county.
“It takes a lot of knowledge, experience, endless hours to move to that next level,” Dadey said.
In the Nov. 5 election, Dadey, 56, is the Democratic challenger for the District 7 seat in the Onondaga County Legislature. She’s facing incumbent Danny Liedka, R-East Syracuse. In 2011, she lost to Liedka by 166 votes.
District 7 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including a small northeastern part of the city of Syracuse, most of the northern and western parts of DeWitt and all of East Syracuse. Voter enrollment strongly favors Democrats. Of the district’s 16,412 registered voters, 40 percent are Democrats; 26 percent are Republicans and 25 percent are unaffiliated with a party.
Dadey has spent at least 20 years serving in some kind of local, public office: 10 years on East Syracuse’s zoning board. Six years as village trustee. Two years as mayor in 2003. One year as deputy mayor. And one year on the Dewitt Board of Trustees.
She’s also a life-long East Syracuse resident, Dadey said. For 34 years, she and her husband, Patrick, have owned a small diner, Sunshine’s Coffee Shop in DeWitt. At age 22, she opened the coffee shop after completing her associate’s degree from Central City Business Institute. The Dadeys have four children.
As she runs for the District 7 seat again, Dadey is emphasizing her background in small business. Her campaign also highlights her experience in government and community service. She promises to pursue lower taxes on small businesses, more government efficiency and more public safety.
Mark English, chairman of the county’s Democratic committee, says Dadey represents middle-class workers well. He cites her support for lower taxes for small businesses. That’s one reason the county’s Democratic committee chose her to run, he said.
“Her philosophical stance is that our true democracy and prosperity,” English said, “depends upon a vibrant middle class.”
Outside of public office, Dadey says, she still advocates for small business owners in DeWitt. For example, she said, the town board is considering a proposal to shrink the size of free-standing signs outside commercial buildings. Small businesses could lose money if the law passes, said Dadey. So she’s been keeping them aware of the board’s deliberations, she said.
“Small businesses can’t afford to spend $3- or $4,000 to take down a sign and put up another one,” she said.
To improve government efficiency, Dadey said, her church leadership experience comes in handy. Dadey is a member of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in East Syracuse, where she’s also president of the pastoral council. In this role, she meets with representatives from five nearby churches to look at ways to merge their facilities. For government, she said, she would like to consolidate resources while still providing services to residents.
“You have to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together to make them work,” she said.
As village mayor, she said, she moved all civic employees, including fire and police departments, under one roof. To improve energy efficiency, she said, the renovated and expanded municipal building also included HVAC and sealed windows. These upgrades will save money over time, she said. Officials, she said, must consider long-term implications for spending.
“Are you trying to make an investment for the future?” asked Dadey. “Or are you trying to meet the status quo?”
She cites public safety as another important agenda during her time as East Syracuse village mayor. She stepped up enforcement of a 10 o’clock curfew for children aged 15 and younger, she said. “We worked with the police department, Neighborhood Watch and codes department to get kids off the street after dark,” she said.
In her campaign for county legislature, public safety remains an important issue, she said. If elected, she will support police, firefighters and first responders, Dadey said. She calls neighborhood crime a quality-of-life problem, said Dadey: “We all deserve safe streets and a healthy neighborhood.”
(Valerie Crowder is a junior with dual majors in newspaper and online journalism and political science.)
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