WAER News continues its coverage of the competitive races for Onondaga County Legislature with a look at the 8th district. Democrats are hoping to reclaim the seat that’s been theirs for more than four decades.
The 8th district covers most of Syracuse’s northwest side, including the Park Avenue neighborhood where Republican Shawn Fiato has deep roots.
“I moved into Park Ave. 39 years ago and restored our house. And when I started doing that, I wanted to see things look more beautiful," Fiato said. "I got my hands in the dirt to start doing things. And that's when I started to get to know a lot of the different people in the city, all the county legislators, all of our counselors, all the different mayors.”
She said that involvement and her neighborhood advocacy have prepared her to continue in the seat she was appointed to in January. It became vacant when Democrat Chris Ryan won a state senate seat, allowing the GOP to fill it. Fiato said she was honored to assume the role and doesn’t automatically toe the majority party line.
“I think the most important thing is my honesty. I'm not a person that's just a yes person," Fiato said. "If I feel that something fiscally isn't correct, I'll speak up about it. If I have an opinion about something, I'll speak up about that too.”
Fiato said she’s also spoken up for residents and connected them to the right departments, whether it’s on the county or city level. Democratic challenger Chad Ryan said he’d like to see more of a regional approach to tackling issues, with an emphasis on the city.
“Fifty years ago, 80% of the people live within the city limits and the majority of the wealth was in the city limits," Ryan said. "Now we have a situation where the majority of the wealth is outside of the city,
and the majority of the folks in Central New York use the services that are located in the city. It is really the heart of our region, and I'd like to see a better overall effort to try to reflect that."
Ryan is re-entering politics after a previous stint on the Syracuse common council. He’s hoping to follow his cousin and father on the legislature who represented the district for over 40 years, all in the minority party.
“There's obvious disadvantages where we will not be able to implement the policies we think are important in the immediate future," Ryan said. "However, I think I can bring at least some people to the table that may hear us out. I hope to be that center voice.”
Ryan said he’s eager to bring his lifetime connection to the district, its people, and the issues back to the legislature.
