MINOA — Mayor Bill Brazill has now seen the passage of 30 years since he tossed his hat into the Village of Minoa political realm.
Well before that solemn oath, however—specifically, around the time his family moved to the village in 1967—his father had started calling him Minoa’s “little mayor,” casually predicting by his son’s appreciation for the community that he would grow up to assume that role.
On his way to proving that hunch correct, Brazill became the student council president at East Syracuse Minoa Central High School and later a campaign volunteer for area congressman George Wortley.
Through the 1980s, he would remain “quiet” on the political front though, choosing instead to focus his time on finishing college and raising a family.
Despite not being a lawyer, he was asked in 1991 to become acting village justice by then-judge and former Minoa Elementary principal Bob Kinsella.
Later appointed as a lay justice, a role that entailed middle-of-the-night arraignments and the signing of warrants for everything up to a felony, Brazill referred to the experience as “intimidating at first” but also eye-opening to the underbelly of a small village and the troubles faced by residents behind closed doors.
He would remain in that judicial seat for a full decade, a tenure that he said was helpful in making him a better listener capable of making firmer, more well-reasoned decisions.
Pushed to switch it up and run for the village board by Minoa mayor John Regan, Brazill ended up taking the place of resigning trustee Dan Cunningham in 2002.
“I guess the rest is history,” Brazill said.
Named a fire commissioner right off the bat, he went on to serve two years under Regan before the latter’s retirement. Once Dick Donovan moved up to the mayor’s chair, Brazill was selected to be his deputy mayor.
In the ensuing dozen years, Donovan would become a go-to mentor, so much so that Brazill felt fully prepared for his own changeover to the role of mayor in 2016.
“It was a seamless transition because I knew what to expect,” Brazill said. “I equate it to driving a Cadillac—he had everything in place and I just took over the driver’s seat…a lot of my success is because of him.”
As mayor, Brazill said he’s learned to have “tough skin” after realizing that not every resident or even every member of the board would be happy with all of his approaches and decisions. Knowing that, he began the “Pizza with the Mayor” events to allow for an exchange of ideas with the public and to hear the community’s concerns.
Reflecting on his 30 years spent as a Village of Minoa official, Brazill points to a placard on his desk displaying a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.
“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit,” Brazill says, reading the words of the sign.
He adds that he wouldn’t have been able to get where he is without the work ethic instilled in him by his father, the dedication of his fellow village board members, the help of the women in the clerk’s office, and the love from his two sons and his wife of 41 years, Cyndee.
“I have just a great support staff, from family to friends to professionals,” Brazill said. “I feel very fortunate to have the people I have around me and the others who have been in my life to make me the person I am.”
The last three decades have also seen Brazill serve as a member of the board of managers for the East Area Family YMCA, the National Fire Protection Association, the Town of Manlius Critical Response Committee and various volunteer organizations, including ESM Youth Sports and the ESM Sports Booster Club.
With two years remaining in his current term, Brazill said he intends to retire from his United Rentals salesman job in September so he can devote more time to his mayoral duties.
