To the editor:
After much prayer, wise counsel and careful consideration, I filed my nomination petitions with the Onondaga County Board of Elections to officially enter the race for mayor of Manlius.
The “urgency of now” and my deep affection for our village compels me to re-enter the arena of public service and seek elected office.
Uncontested elections can breed complacency, lackluster attitudes and presumptiveness in our representatives, which is not healthy for a participatory democracy. It is time to give our village a real choice at the ballot on March 21.
Our village tax rate has increased every year since 2013 while services (ie: leaf/brush pick-up) have steadily declined. Now is the time to elect a mayor who has experience right-sizing our village budget and controlling bottom-line spending as well as re-prioritizing the services our village residents not only deserve but pay for with their hard-earned tax dollars.
Many village residents believe Manlius has been hijacked by the special interests of our fire department. We only have to look outside our village borders at the intersection of Route 92 and Enders Road for the proof. An $11 million village fire facility is now under construction that will burden village and town taxpayers with a 30-year debt. Now is the time to elect a mayor who has a proven track record of balancing the needs of all our village departments with fiscal responsibility, sustainability and control.
The status quo mentality of our current elected officials is stagnant and does not serve the Village of Manlius well. Consolidation, shared services and dissolution are more than just mere words. For the powers that be in Albany, they are a call to action.
Now is the time to elect a mayor who has the bold vision to see Manlius as a progressive, hybrid village for the 21st century and the capabilities to make it happen. The time to elect a mayor, who has the ability to move our village forward, to keep our village strong and to put our village first, cannot wait any longer. Tomorrow is today.
To all those I have had a conversation with about your concerns and your ideas for Manlius: Thank you so very much. Together, we can achieve anything we set out to accomplish. Together, we must be vigilant stewards of the village our founding fathers established in 1813.
I respectfully ask for your continued help and support as well as your vote for mayor on March 21. It is my hope we can have a civil discourse during this election cycle on the real issues that matter most to you and the Village of Manlius.
In response to Paul Whorrall’s recent editorial comments:
Whether the current mayor of Manlius ran again or not was never a topic of conversation as I collected my nomination petition signatures. In fact, the point was mute. I had to first be certain I could offer the village voters a viable choice in this election regardless of my opponent. After knocking on lots of doors and having many insightful “kitchen table chats,” the residents overwhelmingly affirmed my decision to run for mayor.
I have always known and appreciated the value of our volunteer fire department well before my tenure as mayor. But because you might not agree with the construction of an $11 million fire facility at a location outside village borders, on a site that cannot be annexed into the village — which will most certainly result in slowing down the emergency response time to some of our village neighborhoods. — you, too, may find yourself misquoted and misrepresented.
Anyone who knows me knows better. And that is the truth of the matter.
Mark-Paul Serafin
Manlius
