The Onondaga County Legislature’s Democratic majority is proposing changes that restrict - or altogether strip - some political powers of the county executive. The caucus also wants to impose term limits on the county’s highest office.
Democrats presented the three local laws for consideration at Tuesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting. They call the measures a “slate of good governance” that gives more power to residents. On the surface, it might appear to personally or politically target the Republican county executive or GOP lawmakers. Chairwoman Nicole Watts acknowledged that’s hard to avoid.
“All we can do is just continue to say that is not the intent," she said. "I serve the exact same county and my colleagues here serve the exact same county as the county executive. One of the things that's important about this is this goes to the ballot. The reason why we're doing it now is so that it's in time to go to the voter.”
The legislature has until it's August session to approve any local laws that go to the voters.
If lawmakers approve the measures next week, voters decide in November whether to:
- Impose a limit of three four-year terms on the office of county executive
- Give lawmakers the power to fill legislature vacancies rather than the executive
- Create an independent redistricting commission to redraw district lines, also a power that currently resides with the county executive's office.
Republican Floor Leader Brian May said Democrats are clearly leveraging their majority status.
“They have control of the legislative process and the agenda and they’re seeking to empower their control and influence," he said.
May said he can’t take sides on any of the measures because he hasn’t had any time to review them. He said the first his caucus heard of the proposed laws was Friday evening when the committee agenda was released. Democrats said it was the usual time the agenda was due. But local laws typically get more scrutiny under other committee meetings held the previous week.
REDISTRICTING MEASURE RAISES LEGAL CONCERNS
The creation of the reapportionment commission is perhaps the most controversial. The proposed law runs just over 16 pages.
County Attorney Bob Durr warned lawmakers the measure likely conflicts with other county and state laws.
“As this sits, this is not a legally viable law. It's going to be open to lawsuits," he said. "So I'm not saying not do it. I'm just saying do it properly. There are some provisions that may be in conflict with the New York State Constitution. There are provisions in here that bind future legislatures regarding finances, which you cannot do. Our office was not really consulted on this."
“Working with County Legal, when I met with them last week, they didn't offer any of those explanations," said law sponsor Chad Ryan. "And so I've asked if Bob Durr could make the necessary changes that he would find functional to make that law presentable.”
Democrats said depending on the legal implications, they may choose to create the commission but hold off on redrawing district lines.
Democrats tried and failed to establish an independent redistricting commission a few years ago, but majority Republicans voted it down. Now in the majority, Democrats are trying again.
Legislator and former chairman Tim Burtis said even if it passes, creating an independent commission won't be easy.
"That is probably a desire, but we all know in this community that is very difficult to do," he said. "There's not a lot of people in our world here that want to volunteer for something so polarizing, so political that will be so hot in the world that we live in."
Lawmakers have a week to hammer out remaining details and work through any concerns before taking a vote on Tuesday. Residents can offer their input during a public comment period preceding the 1:00 meeting.
In a statement, a county executive spokesperson said proposals that fundamentally reshape county government should not be rushed. The spokesperson says Ryan McMahon "is engaging stakeholders, consulting community members and local leaders, and carefully reviewing the long-term impact these changes could have on the integrity and effectiveness of county government, regardless of who holds power."
