VILLAGE OF EAST SYRACUSE – Well over a hundred regular meetings into his tenure, Robert Tackman saw to it that this week’s village board gathering would be his last as the mayor of East Syracuse.
On the first Monday of 2021, Tackman posted on his Facebook page—alongside a reflective collection of photos—that he would forego another run, calling the decision “difficult and emotional.”
Now, nearly a year after that announcement and eight and a half after he was first elected, he is set to be succeeded by returning mayor Lorene Dadey.
“It’s bittersweet,” Tackman said immediately after the Dec. 13 meeting. “The reality hasn’t kicked in yet that I won’t be mayor. I’m still just waiting for it to click.”
Adding that he will miss the excitement of the job and the expectation that no day would ever turn out the same way, Tackman said he will carry with him the pride he felt watching the work ethic dedicated to various volunteer endeavors around the village and such duties as snowplowing and firefighting.
Looking back, he said that increased community engagement over the years, a lowered tax rate for residents, repairs to public works buildings, the upgrading of the sewer system, and the creative ideas hatched for parks and recreation events have ranked among the notable achievements of his administration.
The departing mayor said it has come time, however, for him to step back and enjoy East Syracuse activities from a different, redirected perspective—that of a community member and father to his four children.

In other news
• East Syracuse Associate Justice Courtney Hills will not seek reappointment at the end of her term, which expires Jan. 1.
• The village has been granted a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant administered by Onondaga County. The $50,000 grant will go toward additional signage, equipment, cleanup, and other renovations for Bagg Street Park.
• The village’s neighborhood watch is tentatively scheduled to meet inside the village hall at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 12.