For the first time in years, the 4,739 enrolled members of Onondaga County’s Conservative Party will have a primary election. Committee members have endorsed Democratic candidate for sheriff Toby Shelley to run on the Conservative Party line.
Party Chair Chuck Mancabelli says both Shelley and Republican Party candidate Gene Conway were vetted through resumes and interviews, and Shelley came out on top.
Shelley might be the Conservative Party’s endorsed candidate, but petitions submitted in the race have opened the ballot for a write-in.
Still, he says he's very surprised and honored by the nomination. Shelley says this campaign is different than his 2010 challenge of then-incumbent Kevin Walsh.
But anything can happen if enough party members go against the party’s endorsement and choose to write-in someone else. Meanwhile, Shelley says he’ll work to get the vote out on primary day, and then shift gears to the Democrat-Republican race for the general election against Gene Conway.
