TOWN OF MANLIUS – Democrat John Deer and Republican Rich Rossetti have both announced their candidacies to replace Manlius Supervisor Ed Theobald in the November election. After six terms in office, Theobald announced recently that he doesn’t plan to run for re-election.
Rich Rossetti
Rossetti has a long history in Manlius government. He is currently a member of the town planning board, and previously served a 10-year stint on the planning board and five years as a town councilor as well as a year on the zoning board of appeals. In his career in real estate and development he has been involved in several commercial projects around Central New York and in Arizona.
“Because of my experience and knowledge, and history of what’s taken place, I can be a very pivotal person if I become supervisor,” Rossetti said. “I love Manlius. It’s a great place to live. I want to see if I can help to move the town forward.”
Rosetti described himself as a detail-oriented planning board member who extensively researches the proposals that come before the board. In deciding how to vote on a project, he said he strongly weighs what types of precedents will be set for future issues.
“I try to always do my homework, get the understanding of what’s going on behind the scenes,” he said. “I try to use my background and my experiences and the history of how we’ve done things in the past and apply it to what we’re doing today.”
A strong advocate for the town of Manlius Police Department, Rossetti was among a group of residents who organized a rally last fall in appreciation of the department.
“We need a strong police dept. in the town of Manlius. People come here because they feel safe,” he said. “I have got a sense, from reading through the minutes and attending some meetings, that [the town] board is not as supportive of the police as I would like them to be.”
He would also like to have input in the comprehensive plan that the board recently voted to move forward with.
“If I’m elected in the fall, I’ll be able to have input and get involved with that,” he said, adding that he would like to see how the comprehensive plan will work with some of the development he expects will be coming to Manlius. “The thing that I’m concerned most about is some of the spending that’s taking place – that being one of the projects.”
Rossetti said that in his work on all three of the municipal boards he has served on, it is concern for the residents of the town that has been primary in his decision making.
“When I make a decision on any of these boards, I make it for what I believe is in the best interest of the constituents and the town of Manlius,” he said.
John Deer
Deer, 30, is in his first term as a councilor on the Manlius Town Board. After earning a degree in computer science from Rochester Institute of Technology, he moved from Long Island to Central New York with his wife and became involved in Democratic politics. He and his wife, Prerna, currently operate a small political consulting business.
During his time on the town board, Deer has focused his attention on transparency, citizen engagement and using technology to create additional efficiencies.
“I absolutely love every aspect of this job,” Deer said of his role as councilor. “When people are excited about local government, that’s when things change, that’s when things get done.”
Among his top priorities if elected, he said, will be ushering through the comprehensive plan that the town board recently voted to move forward with. That plan, he said, will be crafted using a wealth of citizen input and will be a guiding force for the board as they make decisions in the future.
“The comprehensive plan is going to give us a real opportunity to suss out what do we want to see, what are the changes, what kind of development do we want to bring, do we want to look at more green spaces, is aging in place the top priority for people, is making sure that college students are going to move back,” he said. “We need to know what the citizens want and act on it.”
He also sees the role of supervisor as providing support for the employees of the town and looking for ways to provide government services as effectively and efficiently as possible. He said his background in technology will serve the town well in this regard.
“We have amazing employees who know what they’re doing that serve the public exceptionally well and I want to make sure they have every tool at their disposal,” he said. “Being able to bring my [technology] background … and help them to do their job better, that’s my favorite thing.”
During the pandemic, Deer has been front and center as the town has migrated its meetings and many of its services to a digital platform. He has helped refresh the town’s website and relaunch its social media channels to keep residents informed and bring in input from citizens.
As technological literacy has grown throughout the community, Deer sees that as an opportunity for the town to interact with residents long after the pandemic has subsided.
“This does provide us the opportunity to try out things that are different. I’m looking forward to folding that in in the future,” he said. “We were able to make a real strong positive out of a pretty terrible event that we’ve all been living through.”