ONONDAGA COUNTY — Fayetteville Mayor and Onondaga County Legislator Mark Olson has announced he will be running for reelection as the representative of the 10th District this year.
Olson was first elected to the legislature in 2021, taking over the open seat left by fellow Republican Kevin Holmquist.
Olson, the mayor of Fayetteville since 2004, thereby expanded his jurisdiction to cover the entire town of Manlius minus the village of Manlius.
He said that his first year occupying his legislature seat showed him how much of a “support role” it is, whether that means contributing to bringing Main Street grants to fruition, working with social services to help senior citizens, or assisting area veterans with project objectives and funding.
“I’ve stayed to the mantra of people over politics and service over getting mired in political debates and the muck,” Olson said. “It’s about providing service to our residents and bringing needed resources back to the district.”
With that, Olson said he has learned from his time in village government that doing the right thing for residents, sticking to promises and being accessible is more important than alignment with a political party.
“I’ve voted with my Republicans and I’ve voted against,” he said. “When I run at the village level, I run as Mark Olson, and that’s what I want people to know.”
Olson said another initiative he accomplished dealt with bringing livestreaming capabilities to the legislature’s meetings.
In fulfilling the roles of mayor and legislator simultaneously, Olson said the workload balance has been “a little more challenging” than originally expected, though he asserts he has not “let off the gas” at the village or county levels.
“I’ve been surprised at the pace of both jobs, but I’m still very passionate about being the mayor and I’m really enjoying being county legislator,” he said. “It’s worth it.”
Olson said his position as the mayor had given him “institutional knowledge” going into his role as legislator since he had already been familiar with explaining legislation and interacting with such entities as the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection.
As far as his goals for the future, Olson said he would want the legislature to do a better job of making sure the public understands all the significant points of proposed and approved projects and the reasoning for either pushing them forward or halting them.
If reelected, he said he also wishes to collaborate with the East Syracuse Minoa and Fayetteville-Manlius school districts with respect to mental health services and educational programs connected to the Micron semiconductor facility coming to Clay.
His other aims include reducing the county government’s carbon footprint and studying the impacts of developments like the Micron plant and the Interstate 81 community grid project on quality of life for 10th District residents.
Olson said the trustees on Fayetteville’s village board and the rest of the village’s municipal staff have been helpful whenever he shifts to his other capacity while officials and residents at the Town of Manlius and individual village levels have been “receptive” of his presentations updating them on county legislature news.
Olson said that in any case he plans to keep his word on his commitment to finish out his current mayoral term, which concludes in March 2024.
