Democrats on the Onondaga County legislature are preparing to take control of the chamber for the next four years after flipping more seats on Election Day. They’re already mapping out a path forward.
In January, the chamber will have enough Democrats to make a supermajority. The exact number isn’t known because one race is too close to call. Watts said Thursday she expects to maintain a focus on resident’s needs.
“We are looking to have another citizen advisory board, this time focused on children and families and issues pertaining to them and looking to continue some of the work we began this year and move it forward and the lessons that we learned," she said. "The pacing should be quite similar and you should continue to see a lot of action coming out of the legislature for the things that we're hearing from our community that they want us to be doing.”
Democrats took control of the legislature last year for the first time since the late 1970’s. The state’s new even year election law put all 17 seats on the ballot again this year. That happened to coincide with a new county law that gives lawmakers four-year terms but limits them to three terms. Watts said it’s been a quick but productive learning curve.
“We learned this year that you don't have to accept things as intractable, issues that folks are saying, 'oh, that's too big, or the county can't do anything about that.' That's not true," she said. "There is something in many of these issues the county can do something about, maybe not solve as all on our own, but that we can make a meaningful move to be a part of the solution.”
For example, she said one of the biggest wins was their work on housing. Their citizen advisory board informed the budget process and the county executive agreed to invest $25 million in a fund that incentivizes building affordable homes.
Watts said she hopes to get equal results on other priorities including addressing poverty, food access, and ensuring access to the economic opportunities presented by Micron.
Meanwhile, the legislature's Republican caucus is still coming to terms with major losses at the polls. The mood among members at Thursday's legislature session was noticeably somber. One of the three surviving lawmakers declined an interview, saying it was still too soon because it was akin to losing members of the family.
Party leadership also declined comment on the election results. In addition, Republican Committee Chair Joe Bick lost the Clay Town Supervisor race.
