MANLIUS — Although much of the election focus this year will be on federal and state races, there is a local contest for a seat on the Manlius Town Board between two residents, both of whom grew up in Manlius and have chosen to make it their lifelong home.

When John Deer was elected town supervisor a year ago, his vacated seat on the town board was filled by Alissa Italiano. Italiano, a Democrat, was appointed in January and must run for election to retain that seat.

Italiano is a risk manager and management analyst for the Syracuse Housing Authority, where she has worked since 2012. In that role, she handles insurance and affordable housing development and compliance, among multiple other tasks. She is a graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius schools and a 2011 graduate of the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University.

She was appointed within a week of applying for the post and said there has been a lot of on-the-job training in her first year as a councilor.

“I’ve learned a lot about our various departments and all that they do. We’re fortunate to have the staff we do in each department,” she said. “They all work hard and care very much about what they do.”

Italiano’s challenger is Republican Dave Barnwell, who is new to politics, but not to the town of Manlius.

Barnwell has lived in the town for most of his 49 years. He is an X-ray/CT technologist and works part-time for the town’s highway department. He has a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College as well as a degree in medical radiography from Upstate Medical University, College of Health Professions.

Barnwell, who has regularly attended town board meetings, said with his two children now a little older, he is eager to become more involved in the community.

Diversity of opinions

With the seven-person board entirely made up of Democrats, Barnwell said he believes the town’s management would be stronger if more perspectives were taken into consideration.

He cited the controversial solar law that was passed this past spring, which paved the way for the town board’s approval of the Bowman Road solar project — a project that was fated for rejection by the town planning board before town lawmakers changed the law to give themselves oversight of the project.
The board voted unanimously to approve the new solar law despite strong opposition from the neighborhood surrounding the project.

“I don’t think they took into consideration the people around the Bowman Road project,” Barnwell said, adding that he has no agenda other than “doing what is best for my community.”

Italiano said that even though the seven councilors all come from the same party, it doesn’t mean they always agree.

“Even though we may all have the same political affiliation, we all come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences, expertise, and invaluable strengths to the table that have nothing to do with our political party,” she said. “Trust me, we don’t all always agree on everything and we all have different opinions on many topics.”

Experience

Italiano said her experience with the Syracuse Housing Authority has prepared her well for the role of town councilor.

“I’m familiar with contracts and know what should and shouldn’t be in them in order to protect our town and residents,” she said. “I have experience in emergency preparedness/disaster readiness and know how to coordinate and collaborate with large groups of diverse people and in chaos.”

Barnwell said his role as a part-time machine equipment operator for the town has given him unique insight into the inner workings of the highway department. For most of the past 24 years, he has worked the overnight shift three days a week during the winter months, checking the roads for snow cover to help determine how the town’s snowplow fleet should be deployed. That, along with other work done throughout his time with the highway department, has given him a great deal of knowledge of the roads and drainage issues throughout the entire town, he said.

ARPA funds

As the town board considers how to put the remaining $1.77 million of American Rescue Plan funding to use, Barnwell said it is important not to link that funding to projects that will require the town to incorporate them into the town budget once those funds have been used. He much prefers to see the ARPA funds spent on one-time projects, like water districts and highway department equipment, rather than on ongoing initiatives.

Italiano would like to see the funding spent on a neighborhood sidewalk initiative, as well as improvements to town hall and the highway department. She would also like the town to invest in a newsletter to keep residents abreast of what is going on at town hall.

Barnwell said he is not opposed to sidewalk projects but is concerned that the long-term costs of maintenance and replacement will have an adverse impact on the town’s budget.

“They’re not thinking it all the way through,” he said of the proposals that would add long-term costs to the town.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, and early voting will take place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6. To be eligible to vote, those who are unregistered have until Oct. 14 to send in their voter registration. Visit onvote.net for more information.