To the editor:

In today’s world, a mayor of a village, to be effective, has to interact with not only his or her residents but all levels of government. In the case of Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall, he has demonstrated during his tenure in office that he has the ability to be an effective leader by taking on major projects, such as the redevelopment of the center of the Village of Manlius, taking on the major firehouse project, making the center of the village a safer walkable area — and let’s not forget the saving of the swans.

The mayor, to take on these and many more projects and issues, demonstrates he has the ability to lead his own village board as a team; without a team effort none of what has been accomplished over the last four years of Mayor Whorrall’s tenure would have been possible. Second, the projects and the few issues I’ve mentioned takes a great deal of time and effort to develop relationships with the Town of Manlius, the Villages of Fayetteville and Minoa as well as county, state and federal officials at all levels. One must realize that Mayor Whorrall is not only responsible for the health, safety and welfare of his village residents, which includes fire and ambulance protection, he also has that responsibility for a fire protection district outside of the village which includes portions of the Town of Manlius and the Town of Pompey.

As the former mayor of the Village of Minoa, past president of the Onondaga County Mayors Association and Past President of NYCOM, New York Conference of Mayors, I’ve watched Mayor Whorrall continue to grow as a leader, not only does he participate in the Onondaga County Mayors Association, he participates at the state level with NYCOM. He has sat on several committees at NYCOM as well as being a presenter on fire and local issues.

Why is that important? That is how we learn and grow as an elected official. We take the time and make the effort to work with and learn from our colleagues from around Onondaga County and the State of New York.

Mayor Whorrall has earned his place as a leader.

Dick Donovan

Former Mayor of Minoa

Past President, Onondaga County Mayors Association

Past President, New York Conference of Mayors