Onondaga County’s new top economic development official might be familiar to many Central New Yorkers. County Executive Ryan McMahon announced Monday that former Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow is taking over as deputy county executive for economic development after Bob Petrovich announced his retirement last week.
Barlow served two terms as Oswego Mayor where he led a $10 million downtown revitalization plan that created 200 housing units, a dozen commercial spaces, and waterfront improvements. Barlow said during a press conference that experience should serve him well in his new role as the region prepares for Micron.
“With the Central New York semiconductor cluster, I know we still have some work to do there with recruitment and supply chain management in other areas," Barlow said. "We have to fully execute and complete Plan Onondaga, which is interesting. If you look at Oswego's comprehensive community plan in 2016 and 2017 when we authored it, is eerily similar to what is in Plan Onondaga.”
Plan Onondaga serves as the county’s framework for economic development, housing, greenspace, agriculture, and transportation.
McMahon said Barlow is the perfect fit for the job.
"He understands how connected this region is, and it already has the relationships that will be critical as we work to make sure communities throughout Central New York benefit from the opportunities in front of us," he said. "This role is a lot more than relationships, though. It requires executive leadership and discipline execution. Billy's background as mayor gives him exactly that kind of experience that this role requires. He wasn't just promoting economic development. He was responsible for pursuing it, securing it, and delivering it," McMahon said.
Barlow says he’s moving to Cicero July 1 and begins his new role the following week.
