Liedka will not seek reelection

By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

Independence candidate Courtney Hills has announced her candidacy for the Onondaga County Legislature District 7 race, looking to fill a seat Republican Legislator Danny Liedka recently announced he was leaving.

Hills has received the support from the Onondaga County Republican Committee and will run on that line.

On July 18, Liedka announced he would not seek reelection in the seat he has held since 2011. In a Facebook post, Liedka said he has been giving a promotion in his company and the demands on his time are greater, and he doesn’t want to lose the ability to spend time with his family.

“After 15 years of public service and nearly 20,000 hours of my life dedicated to serving I realized it was time,” said Liedka in the Facebook post. “So today I hold my head high and thank all of the people that helped get me to where I’ve been. I’m extremely proud of my work, my track record and all the friends I’ve made over the years. Thanks again for allowing me to serve.”

Before learning of the county legislature seat vacancy, Hills was in the petition process to run for mayor of East Syracuse in November.

“I was very excited by this opportunity as it not only allows me to speak on behalf of village of East Syracuse residents, but now the entire 7th district,” said Hills.

Since the vacancy opened, Hills was appointed by the Republican Party to run on its party line, but due to the last minute appointment, she was not able to get the same for the Independent Party. Hills said she still hopes to run on the Independent line through the Opportunity to Ballot process.

Hills works as a partner with Primo & Hills Law Firm in Manlius, and concentrates in village and town legislation as well as development of real estate. She received her J.D., B.S. and B.A. degrees from Syracuse University. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Onondaga County Bar Association, the New York State Conference of Mayors and Public Officials and the New York State Association of Towns. She is on the board of directors for the non-profit Home Headquarters, and is involved with Hope for Heather and Stupid Dumb Breast Cancer.

Hills will face Democrat Tom Buckel, who previously served as Onondaga County Legislator in the 7th district from 2008 to 2011. Onondaga County District 7 covers the entire village of East Syracuse, a portion of the town of DeWitt and a small portion of the city of Syracuse.