Voters in Syracuse and Onondaga County will see limited options on the ballot when they go to choose their common councilor or county legislator. A majority of district seats have no opponent.
Of the 17 seats up for grabs on the county legislature, only five are contested. That means most voters will see only one candidate.
Democratic elections commissioner Dustin Czarny says in Onondaga County, both parties have failed to nominate candidates where the other party has a competitive advantage.
“This is a historical low in terms of competitive seats,” Czarny said.
It could be the lowest since the legislature was created 61 years ago.
Currently, 11 of the 17 seats are held by Republicans, and Czarny says the ratio isn’t likely to change much, if at all, after the election.
"We're still seeing the effect of over a dozen years of gerrymandering, where many people feel like they can't win in districts that are historically Republican," Czarny said. "And also they've packed several districts that are historically Democrat that the Republicans aren't even competing in.”
Republican elections commissioner Michele Sardo only seemed willing to anecdotally acknowledge that redistricting was a factor in the lack of candidates.
“I've been hearing that it's because of the redistricting and how they did it, so we didn't have any candidates running against the Republican side,” Sardo said.
The most recent redistricting process in 2021 was seen by Democrats as so flawed along partisan and racial lines that they’ve taken it to court.
For now, some voters might find themselves in a different district. Sardo encourages voters to educate themselves by checking their website.
“It’ll give you your candidates list. You can also make sure that you're registered to vote at the correct address," Sardo said. "It will give you your candidates that are running in that district. Also, your legislators, your town offices.”
That includes the Syracuse Common Council, which consists of all Democrats. There, too, city voters will find little competition. Those districts were also redrawn, but by an independent commission. Only two of the five seats are contested.
But one candidate is trying to make one of those council district races competitive. In a release, outgoing first district councilor Jennifer Schultz says she’s mounting a write-in campaign against fifth district incumbent Jimmy Monto.
Schultz was first elected in 2021, but redistricting moved much of her district to the fifth district. After an unsuccessful democratic primary bid for an at-large seat this summer, she says constituents urged her to challenge Monto. He was appointed in 2022 to fill a vacancy left by Joe Driscoll. Aside from Schultz’s challenge, Monto is running unopposed.
