Residents of the 13th District of Onondaga County will have three candidates to choose from when selecting their county legislator. Jim Scaramuzzino is running on the Democratic and Working Families tickets, Derek Shepard is running on the Republican and Independent tickets and Bob Warner, the incumbent, is running on the Conservative ticket.
The Baldwinsville Messenger recently interviewed the candidates to get an idea of what each candidate represents. Their answers are featured below (in alphabetical order, by last name):
Jim Scaramuzzino
Democrat
What makes you qualified to serve as county legislator?
I am a hard working middle class family man who will represent the district and the residents of the 13th Legislative district.
Why should residents vote for you?
I have 11 years of experience in government and was a supervisor for the department of Public Works that had a multi-million dollar budget which gave me the knowledge and ability to asses and evaluate budgets. I can use my experience in government and management in the private sector to control cost, taking on the budget line by line and eliminating unnecessary costs.
In your opinion, what is the number one issue facing county residents? Van Buren/Camillus residents? How would you help to resolve the issue(s)?
I believe that a good solution for the Sheriff’s department regarding the helicopter would be to sell the helicopter that they currently have and purchase a smaller, newer, more economical version. We need someone who has forward thinking and economical ideas like a hard working middle class family man. I have been a resident of Van Buren for 11 years now and have seen my taxes increase consistently for the past five years. My reason for getting involved in the race for 13th Legislative District is because I am tired of watching politicians manipulate my neighbors into thinking they are doing a good job.
Derek Shepard
Republican
What makes you qualified to serve as county legislator?
Before and during my term on the Van Buren Town Board, I spent eight years in a private sector executive position managing a multimillion dollar budget and 40 great employees. My four years on the Van Buren Town Board has given me a valuable opportunity to bring private sector efficiency to municipal budgeting, public sector personnel management and resident relations. I know that in business, the books must be balanced and the customers must be satisfied. When elected officials do their jobs properly, public service is no different. In any public service position I am honored to be elected to, I will never forget the universal principles I learned in private industry.
Why should residents vote for you?
The residents should vote for me because the town government I help manage is operating in a more streamlined and efficient manner than it was four years ago. Our board voted to share our assessor with the town of Lysander, to contract dog control to the Town of Camillus, to merge the tax receiver’s position into the town clerk’s duties and to save 50 percent on engineering costs by hiring a dedicated town engineer instead of paying unnecessarily for an entire firm. These are just a few examples of the sorts of measures I supported and which helped us to reduce the town tax rate by 7 percent last year while other governments were in crisis and forced to raise taxes. If given the chance, I will work to bring these and other efficiency measures to county budgets.
In your opinion, what is the number one issue facing county residents? Van Buren/Camillus residents? How would you help to resolve the issue(s)?
As I have stated many times during my campaign, the biggest issues facing the county are clearly the property tax burden and state mandates driving county costs. Homeowners like me have seen extraordinary increases in our property tax bills and escrow payments. As county legislator, I will employ the sort of strategies I described earlier as well as work to force aggressive competition between our vendors and continued consolidation of operations within county government or with other governing bodies.
Though I am committed to thinking creatively about how to best streamline the multiple layers of government, keeping our small town autonomy and character will also be my priority. I would clearly identify expenses Onondaga County faces, but which are not under its control, such as state mandates. The public needs to understand how state lawmakers impact the county’s budget if they are to effectively use their voices and their votes to hold the appropriate representatives accountable for mandate relief. The county legislator is in the best position to recognize and communicate this information to the public, and I look forward to serving that role in our district.
Bob Warner
Conservative
What makes you qualified to serve as county legislator?
Having served in the Onondaga County Legislature for the past 20 years, and being employed by the NY State Police for 25 years prior to that, gives me a good sense of what Onondaga County is all about and how to make it even better. Being married with two adult sons and six grandchildren gives me the experience and knowledge of the financial struggles of families, particularly couples with children in Onondaga County.
Why should residents vote for you?
I have been elected by margins of 2 to 1 for most of the past 20 years. I have served on almost every committee at the legislature. I have sponsored several anti-tobacco laws including the second hand smoke law, which includes no smoking in restaurants. Several states and some nations have followed our lead with the end result being a more healthy country and eventually reducing the billions of dollars in taxes spent on Medicaid and Medicare.
In several of the past 20 years, county property taxes have been decreased in the district. With the sales tax revision in 2010, there was a 101 percent county property tax increase in Van Buren. Fifty percent of that increase was caused by my opponent Derek Shepard who as a Van Buren Town Board member voted to take over $800,000 of Onondaga County sales tax money and put it in a Van Buren bank account. He continually avoids the fact his vote was responsible for 50 percent of the huge tax increase. The other 50 percent was due to the county executive’s veto of the legislature taking $45 million out of her budget to offset tax increases.
I have fought to keep the 500-acre, NYS DEC permitted landfill in Van Buren from becoming operational. There have been recent discussions regarding the importation of garbage from outside Onondaga County to increase revenues at the county owned incinerator at Jamesville. The incinerator is operating at 40,000 tons a year less than its full capacity. Any change in the flow control laws could somehow have an effect on the 500-acre landfill. If the county gets into financial difficulty and decides to sell the landfill to a private company, then we lose control. With several legislators not seeking re-election this year, my election would provide some stability and retention of institutional knowledge.
In your opinion, what is the number one issue facing county residents? Van Buren/Camillus residents? How would you help to resolve the issue(s)?
The number one issue facing all of Onondaga County is the economy and jobs. I am presently working on the sale of Van Duyn to Upstate University and Hospital. This sale may provide several jobs and the potential for a geriatrics college at Upstate. I have and will continue to push for more job opportunities in Onondaga County.
