Manlius political breakfast kicks-off local campaign season

By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

The eighth annual Manlius Political Breakfast was held on Aug. 8 at the Cavalry Club in Manlius, marking the beginning to the upcoming campaign season for candidates seeking local government roles in the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

The event is sponsored each August by the Greater Manlius Chamber of Commerce, and allows citizens a chance to see how each candidate qualifies for the position and what their views are on the issues. The emcees for this year’s event were Chamber President Judy Dardzinski and Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson.

Each candidate got a total of three minutes to speak to the crowd about why they are running in their prospective seats. This year, 24 candidates in county, town and city elections were present to speak to attendees, including:

Syracuse Mayoral Candidates: Howie Hawkins (Green); Laura Lavine (R); Joe Nicoletti (D); and Juanita Perez-Williams (D).
Onondaga County Legislature 3rd District: Pete Ludden (D).
Onondaga County Legislature 10th District: Incumbent Kevin Holmquist (R) and Mark Matt (D).
Onondaga County Surrogate Court Judge: Mary Keib-Smith (D) and Loretta Kilpatrick (R).
Onondaga County Family Court Judge: Laurin Haddad (D) and incumbent Michelle Pirro-Bailey (R).
Manlius Town Supervisor: Nancy Durkin (D) and incumbent Edmond Theobald (R).
Manlius Town Board: Sara Bollinger (D); incumbent Vince Giordano (R); incumbent Karen Greene (R); and incumbent Dave Marnell (R).
Manlius Town Justice: Tim McMahon (D) and incumbent Bob O’Leary (R).
Manlius Town Clerk: Incumbent Allison Weber (R).
Manlius Highway Supervisor: Incumbent Rob Cushing (R).
Manlius Receiver of Taxes: Elvis Mehmedovic (D) and incumbent Laura Perchel (R).

In the upcoming Nov. 7 local elections, the Manlius Democrats have produced a slate of candidates for the town-level positions, and will challenge the incumbent Republicans who currently are in the seats of town supervisor, three town board seats, town clerk, town justice and receiver of taxes.

Another contentious race in the town of Manlius will include the race for the Onondaga County Legislature 10th District, which has brought incumbent Republican Kevin Holmquist against Democrat challenger Mark Matt.

“I am the longest serving member of the Onondaga County Legislature … and the only elected official that has served in elected capacity in the village, town and county levels of government. I am a strong advocate for local government,” said Holmquist. “I’m proud to be an independent voice. Yes, I’m a well-known long time Ronald Regan conservative Republican and I have opposed ideas I thought would hurt the county and the towns from the Democratic party for a long time. Unfortunately, lately I’ve had to oppose many Republican ideas.”

“At the county level, the economy is in crisis mode. Onondaga County has a huge problem in economic development and it’s one of the most important issues our area faces,” said Matt. “It’s no time for business as usual … No matter what your political affiliation is, I plan to enhance our community, take care of your taxpayer dollars and focus on progress.”

To learn more about each candidate, visit their prospective websites.