Second District candidate
John Dougherty
Background info (age, family, political affiliation, work history, etc.)
I’m 37 years old. I am married with three school-aged children. I am registered Republican. I moved to Clay in 1996 after graduating from SUNY Buffalo to pursue a career in engineering. Since then, I have earned a master’s degree in engineering and a master’s in business administration from Syracuse University. For the past several years, I have worked for SRC as the manager of business development.
Why are you running for office?
I was first elected to the county legislature in 2009 and I am seeking re-election this year to continue forcing Onondaga County to be a smaller, more efficient operation that can focus on only those things that are essential to proper government.
Why are you the best candidate?
I have experience in town and county government that is absolutely essential if we expect to fix some of the major issues facing the county and the state as we go forward. These issues include unfunded state mandates, metropolitan consolidation, and an increasingly complicated interdependence of local governments. I also have many years of formal education and real-world job experience in private sector business development. This knowledge will continue to be very valuable as we try to attract new businesses and tourism to the area.
What are the issues facing the town and how will you address them?
The single biggest issue facing the town of Clay is the financial burden placed on them by increasing costs. These increasing costs combined with a population that is already overtaxed will lead to some very difficult decisions in the next few years. This is the same issue that faces the city of Syracuse and most of the other towns in Onondaga County. Despite the fact that the property tax dollars used to fund county government have been dropping over the past 10 years, the total amount of taxes collected have been increasing. This difference is driven almost entirely by unfunded state mandates. While the county executive and state representatives work on solutions to the state mandate issue, I intend to use this crisis as an opportunity to push necessary cost saving measures. These measures include expanding local consolidation programs, increasing the use of shared services, and using public/private partnerships to let local businesses compete for some of the work traditionally done by town and county governments. If these efforts are successful, the property tax increases can be reduced or eliminated without a corresponding reduction in services.
Third District candidates
William Meyer
Biographical information (family, employer, political affiliation, age, number of years in home, etc.):
Bill Meyer has been married to his wife Linda for 42 years. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren. He is 64 years old and has owned a local, award-winning insurance agency for over 37 years. He will be on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines in November. Bill has also earned the endorsement of the Veterans Party of Onondaga County. His family has lived in the area for five generations.
Why are you running for office?
I believe that we all have a duty to serve our community in as many ways as possible. That is why I served over 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and in local government. I believe that my education and experience in business and finance fits best in county government.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I have real world experience and qualifications in business serving the public and in creating jobs.
What are the issues facing the town, and what will you do to address them?
The two major issues facing the county are jobs and high property taxes.
I will continue to address them by offering real budget cuts in spending and voting no to budgets that do not represent my residents, just as I did this year.
I will also continue to work with OCC and local businesses to create real jobs, not just make work projects with no future.
Joan Kesel
Biographical information (family, employer, political affiliation, age, number of years in home, etc.):
Democrat; 66 years old. Married to David, daughter Susan, sons John and Brian, grandchildren Halie, Tanner and Samantha. Retired from the U.S. Postal Service.
Previous political experience: Cicero town supervisor (1996-99), Cicero Zoning Board of Appeals, Cicero Board of Assessment Review, founder of Central New York Women in Leadership; campaign chair and volunteer in numerous local, state and federal elections.
Awards: Onondaga County Town Democrat of Year 2011; America Red Cross “2011 Women Who Mean Business” honoree; USPS Affirmative Action Awards; Life Member Cicero Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary; CNY Girl Scout Council Woman of Distinction; North Syracuse Central School District Wall of Distinction; United Methodist Women’s Special Mission and Membership Award.
Community involvement: President, Cicero Historical Society; member, CNY Women in Leadership; Cicero United Methodist Church, church school teacher; NAMOW nominating committee; Friends of NOPL @ Cicero. Former board member of: North Area Meals on Wheels; Northern Onondaga Public Libraries; Central New York Girl Scout Council; Cicero North Syracuse Band Parents; Cicero United Methodist Church Board of Trustees; HUD Board of Directors.
Other government experience: Oneida Lake Watershed Advisory Committee; Hancock Filed Development Corporation; Onondaga County Community Development.
Why are you running for office?
Although I have served many organizations and families as a community advocate I am not nor have I ever been a career politician. If elected I will serve no more than three terms. I believe residents are best served in all levels of government when new people take office bringing a new voice and fresh ideas to the responsibility of that governing entity. Keeping the same people in office for decades can create an apathetic view and often eliminates an opportunity to research and explore new and innovated options.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
My goal as town supervisor was to improve the quality of life for residents, to maintain public services and to be fiscally conservative. I was very effective in my role as supervisor, working every day for the town. Several of my proudest moments were the development and opening of Wegmans, the Cracker Barrel Restaurant, the Young at Heart Senior Center and the NOPL Libraries in Cicero, Brewerton and North Syracuse. I worked with the Burdick family, beginning with the late Glen Burdick in their quest for a location for Driver’s Village now located at the former Penn Can Mall site. We welcomed Syracuse Research Corporation and it continues to be a major employer in Onondaga County. Working with the Metropolitan Development Agency we encouraged companies to locate at the former Hancock Airbase. I assisted neighbors and we successfully opposed a Third Parallel Runway at Hancock Airport for nightly transport cargo carriers.
What are the issues facing the town, and what will you do to address them?
New challenges face all levels of government and school districts in NYS. The 2 percent tax cap signed into law by Albany lawmakers creates an imbalance between a limit on property taxes and rising costs for state mandated programs. As a county legislator, there are several measures that can be proposed to compensate for the inability to raise property taxes more than 2 percent. First and foremost people need to understand it is 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less; inflation is the lesser rate right now at about 1.3 percent. New York must get property taxes under control to encourage businesses and manufacturers to reinvest in our local economy. The 2 percent cap helps this, but not without sacrifice. As a county legislator, I would push the legislature to look at every line in the budget and make tough decisions about right-sizing every department utilizing consolidation where redundancy in state, town, village or city services exists. We must prepare to negotiate salaries and benefit packages of county employees that will compensate current employees and attract new people, but at the same time contain costs. We should work with the city, towns and villages to develop a health insurance consortium. By increasing the number of subscribers, we can negotiate better premiums for governments while possibly enhancing employees’ coverage. We need to convince Albany that our newest public employees need a new pension tier that will help local governments lower its obligations in the public employees’ retirement system. These are but of the few issues that need to be addressed at the county.
Fourth District candidates
Judy Tassone
Biographical information (family, employer, political affiliation, age, number of years in home, etc.):
Over 20-year, active veteran of the Republican Party. Also endorsed by the Conservative Party, Independence Party and the Veterans Party. Retired from National Grid and have entrepreneurial experience as owner of a consulting business. I have served the community volunteering at the Make a Wish foundation, Meals on Wheels and the Everson Museum. I have been married to my husband Bill for more than 10 years. I have two sons and five step-daughters with 17 grandchildren combined.
Why are you running for office?
I want to continue to dedicate my time to provide the services that I was elected to do. People are my top priority. I am running for re-election simply to continue in the interests of my constituents that expect and deserve the best of representation.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
As a legislator, prior member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the chairperson for the Town of Salina Bicentennial, I have had many opportunities to listen to the concerns of the residents and I have been able to bring solutions to their problems. I work well with the towns and I vote on the issue, not just the party line. I also successfully lobbied the entire legislature for a new piece of legislation that will establish a grant program to study opportunities to share services. This will help in cutting costs and reducing the size of government.
What are the issues facing the town, and what will you do to address them?
Taxes are the main concern. This economy is presenting very hard times in our community. Our number one issue is the unfunded mandates that are handed down to us from Albany. New York state slammed us with another $17 million in state mandates within the past two years alone. Mandate relief is an issue I have been fighting for the past two years and I will continue to fight for this. Onondaga Lake cleanup is another issue. The cleanup work by Honeywell is well under way with the lake dredging to start next year. The vision of a trail around the lake is becoming more and more of a reality.
David Stott
Background info (age, family, political affiliation, work history, etc.)
39 years old. Democratic Party and Better Decisions party lines on the ballot. Work history: county legislator 2008-09, Salina town councilman 2004-07. Currently a sales consultant in the network security field, former regional sales manager, Datacom Systems, Inc.; former national account manager, Fastenal Company; former Pennsylvania State Police Cadet; intern, New York State Attorney General’s Office in Consumer Frauds Division. President, Oot Meadows Home Owner’s Association since 2002; CNY Neighborhood Watch (won an award in 2011 for involvement); volunteer, Guardians of the Eucharist since 2000
Why are you running for office?
My parents raise me to be a charitable and compassionate person. Public service provides an avenue to help others and the community with issues and problems that are important to them. My number one goal is to help better my community while keeping a close eye on taxes because in this economy we cannot afford the massive tax increases that occurred in 2011 throughout the fourth district.
Why are you the best candidate?
Having served six years in elected office and 10 years as the president of the Oot Meadows Homeowners Association, I am a proven community leader. The state imposed spending on the county during my legislative term, yet I never voted for a county budget that raised property taxes. My opponent is now referencing individual line item spending votes from the 2009-2010 budgets with a combined total of $26 Million. That is .001 billion of the total nearly $2.5 billion in spending for 2009-2010. These were line item votes, not budget votes that raised taxes.
This is not a game and one just needs to look at their 2011 tax bill to see the largest property tax increases in decades. I never would have supported the Sales Tax Sharing agreement that caused record property tax increases throughout the fourth district and I have never denied my vote or shirked responsibility for the results of any vote. I have never sent out literature with any personal attacks or character assassination statements, while my opponent’s mailings are filled with pictures of clowns, wording like “the land of make believe,” and belittling accusations based on opinion and conjecture. I’m interested in serving this community with facts, not playing politics.
What are the issues facing the town and how will you address them?
We must do a better job finding ways to reduce spending at all levels of government. I am very concerned about the proposed spending of $6 million for a new town hall and the haste in which this project was proposed. Never before in my six years in elected office have I seen such a large undertaking pushed in a five-week period. To take a commercial property off the tax rolls that has annual tax revenue of nearly $65,000 and drop that burden on homeowners is not responsible. A 15-minute presentation was given weeks ago and urging voters to approve the 30-year spending plan. There are issues with these facilities, but during the worst economy in decades, taxpayers can’t afford this today. This is like taking one step forward (build a new facility) and two steps back (spending millions while talking another commercial property off the tax rolls) is the opposite of what we should be doing. Commercial businesses help reduce the burden on the residential taxpayers who can least afford the recent property tax increases. Lastly, my commitment will be to work through each department in County government to stop wasteful spending.
Fifth District candidate
Kathy Rapp
Background info (age, family, political affiliation, work history, etc.)
Fifth district county legislator: 1998 to present. Salina town councilor: 1991 to 1998. Married to Bill Rapp for 33 years. Age: 59. Three children: Erik 29, Kathryn 26, Jeffrey 21. Republican also endorsed by Conservative and Independence Parties. Professional: Director of ACLS in Liverpool: 1982 to present.
Why are you running for office?
After all of this time I still find I am still passionate about my work in the legislature. With government becoming ever more complicated, I believe we need representation that has shown the ability to look beyond what we have always done to find both creative and cost effective solutions to the very difficult problems we face. I believe I have made a difference in making Onondaga County one of the most fiscally stable counties in the state while at the same time one of the most innovative. I do not believe we need more drama in public service but rather candidates who offer sensible solutions and the work ethic to follow through and make things happen. I am running because I believe my record supports these goals and because there is so very much left to do.
Why are you the best candidate
We are in a very unique position in the legislature this year. We have downsized from 19 to 17 legislators and seven of our most experienced legislators have decided not to run again. This is the largest turnover ever in the history of the legislature. I believe my record of accomplishment as well as my historical perspective will be enormously helpful in supplying leadership to the legislature as we move forward.
What are the issues facing the town and how will you address them?
In our newly consolidated legislative districts, I now represent the towns of Salina, Cicero, Dewitt and the north side of the city. Each has distinct issues but there are common issues that transcend all borders.
Taxes are a problem everywhere. One solution is to come to grips with the fact that New York state government cannot be all things to all people. All of our property tax growth comes from bloated state programs that are out of touch with the reality of today’s economy. I put forth at budget time two resolutions calling for mandate relief and for the state take over of Medicaid
Last year the county absorbed $20 million dollars in new, unfunded mandate costs. In the 2012 budget, we absorbed another $17 million dollars. At the same time we reduced the tax levy by $35 million dollars. In other words, the sales tax the county “kept” was turned directly over to the state for ever rising mandates. This is obviously unsustainable. If we are precluded from raising taxes by more than 2 percent yet we continue to receive increases that amount to 12 percent, our only recourse will be to cut the services we control: parks, road patrol and the arts, essentially, everything that makes this a safe and wonderful place to live and work.
Additionally, we need to continue to collaborate with our many levels of government.to reduce the total cost of government. Some successes include the co-location of City and County Economic Development offices. This office is now totally off the property tax rolls and is paid for by development fees collected.
Some other examples:
Consolidation of countywide purchasing.
Storm water education is being done by the Regional Planning Board to meet state mandates rather than each town hiring their own staff.
Some towns have elected to have tax payments go directly to the county eliminating a receiver of taxes in town hall. For those towns, this has proven a money saver.
Our facilities department has taken over facility management at the OnCenter, which has reduced overall costs significantly.
Finally, our “Save the Rain” program has received national acclaim and saved our tax payers tens of millions of dollars. I sponsored the resolution that will begin funding green projects in the towns which is a cost effective solution to help correct years of neglect in our aging “inner rim” sewer systems.
Projects to reduce overall costs that I am currently working on include:
Collaborating with SUNY Upstate to run Van Duyn.
Exploring the viability of consolidating the Metropolitan Water Board and OCWA
We hope to turn our 911 “Master Site” into a regional center serving the five county regions rather than each county duplicating this service.
We are doing a strategic assessment of all the buildings the county owns—over 300 in total. With a workforce that is downsized by over 1000 people, we plan to “right size” the number of buildings we own, reducing carrying costs significantly.
I would like to see Air1 become a regional rather than a county service.
Similarly, I believe our Symphony could better be supported as a regional orchestra.
I am working on a “2020” plan for sustainable development throughout the county. The focus will be to redevelop what we have rather than adding new and very expensive infrastructure costs. Ideally, this will help return value to our inner rim suburbs.
Fourteenth District candidate
Casey Jordan
Biographical information (family, employer, political affiliation, age, number of years in home, etc.):
Casey Jordan is a 40-year resident of the town of Clay. Casey attended Vassar College as an undergraduate, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics in 1984. From Vassar Casey then attended Hofstra University College of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree in 1987. Following graduation, Casey practiced law for a New York City law firm in its St. Thomas, USVI office, for a law firm in Albany, New York, and then for a law firm in Syracuse. Since 2001, Casey has been a partner in the law firm of Rose and Jordan, a general practice law firm. Casey has been married to his wife, Carla, for the past 18 years, with whom he has a 23-year-old step-son (James Gentile), a 17-year-old daughter (Alyson) and a 15-year-old son (Brian). Casey is 50 years of age.
Casey was a member of the Clay Planning Board from 2005 through 2006 and has been a member of the Onondaga County Legislature since November 2006, when he was appointed to the legislature by former County Executive Nicholas Pirro. Since 2006, the voters returned Casey to the Onondaga County Legislature in 2007 and 2009. He is presently running unopposed for re-election this year. Casey is a registered Republican and has had the endorsements of the Conservative and Independence parties in each of his prior elections, and this year. Casey also has the Veterans’ endorsement.
Why are you running for office?
I think that it is imperative that the citizenry have an independent voice and advocate dedicated to representing and protecting their interests in the Onondaga County Legislature. Governments at all levels have become too large and have become much too intrusive into our daily lives. It, therefore, is critical that the people have a representative who is committed to attaining and maintaining a “right-sized” government, dedicated to operating in the most efficient and cost-effective fashion possible. Since becoming the representative for the 14th legislative district, I truly believe that I have done everything in my power to ensure that the cost of Onondaga County government, and thereby the burden on taxpayers, is the lowest that it can responsibly be. I have continually questioned and challenged the status quo and have not accepted the excuse that “this is the way it’s always been done.”
I am committed to representing and protecting the interests of my constituents and feel that I have been and can continue to be a staunch advocate for the interests and welfare of the residents of the 14th district, the town of Clay and of all Onondaga County.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
As my record in the legislature reflects, I have continuously and zealously worked to scrutinize every county expenditure to ensure that every tax dollar spent is justified and in furtherance of the best interests of my constituents. I have also carefully ensured that the county does not spend a penny more than is minimally necessary to fulfill its obligations to the residents of Onondaga County. When I have not been convinced that expenditure was necessary or appropriate, I have not hesitated to oppose those expenditures and have fought hard against the incurring of any such expenses.
Throughout my tenure in the legislature, I have also sought out and incorporated the views and opinions of my constituents, and have always been available to discuss any concerns or questions of my constituents. These measures have included a continuous effort to build a “book” of constituent email addresses through which I have been able to maintain a dialogue with the residents of my district and have been able to keep my constituents apprised of issues and events that are before or may be coming before the Onondaga County Legislature.
In short, I feel that I have been a staunch and faithful advocate for the residents of my legislative district and have done all that I can to further the interests and well-being of my constituency.
What are the issues facing the town, and what will you do to address them?
The issues that face the town are, in many respects, the same issues that we face in the Onondaga County Legislature: substantial increases in costs (mandated and non-mandated), maintaining services while trying to minimize costs, and now the budgetary impact of the state-imposed 2 percent property tax cap. Of particular concern is the fact that the legislature has, over the years, done an enormous amount to reduce the size and cost of county government, which now places us in the position of having to consider reductions in services as the only remaining means of effectuating substantial reductions in county expenses in the future. And if we are going to reduce services, the question becomes what services to cut? Should we start closing parks? Should we eliminate services for the poor or unemployed? Should we cut back on public safety? Should we eliminate or reduce non-mandated health programs?
In order to address these issues, I will continue to maintain a dialogue with our state representatives, urging them to reduce, or preferably eliminate, unfunded mandates that are crippling our local economy and over-burdening our residents. I will also continue to advocate for the reformation of the 2 percent tax-cap formula to exclude the cost of state imposed unfunded mandates from the calculation of the cap. I will also continue to seek out the views and opinions of my constituents and encourage a dialogue with them so as to make informed decisions on whether and to what extent potential program reductions and/or eliminations should be implemented.
