EASTERN SUBURBS – By turning out at the polls and casting their ballots, voters made sure to make their voices heard on Election Day and throughout the prior weeks.
Around the area, there were candidates who ran unopposed to fill positions up for election but also slightly lopsided races and closely contested ones, some still without a clearly decided winner.
The following is a rundown of the winning candidates in the eastern suburbs, with vote counts according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections results caster.
John Mannion claims victory in 22nd congressional district
Democrat John Mannion, who has served as senator for New York’s 50th district, is now congressman-elect for the state’s 22nd congressional district, beating out incumbent Republican Brandon Williams.
Mannion told the Eagle Bulletin his new title will take some getting used to but that it feels good to have won after all the work that went into his latest campaign, including knocking on thousands of doors.
Mannion, who also ran on the Working Families ticket, secured 126,032 votes—amounting to 58.9% of the total—while Williams earned 87,667 votes.
“I want to thank the people who had faith putting me in this position and I want the people who didn’t vote for me to know I’m still here to represent them,” Mannion said.
He also thanked the team he’s had around him for advising him through the campaign and contributing to his success, though as he said post-election, “there’s no time to rest.”
“We have to hit the ground running,” he said late last week. “We’re working, and we’re certainly building relationships in the new counties.”
On flipping the congressional seat from Republican to Democratic, Mannion said he seeks to be a “good reflection” of the people living within the “down-the-middle” district and that he understands where a large portion of his constituents are coming from because he doesn’t fall “way on the left” or “way on the right” on the political spectrum.
After running for his current Senate seat in 2018 against Bob Antonacci and falling short, Mannion was first elected as senator for the 50th district in 2020 and reelected to the position in 2022. The 22nd congressional district overlaps with certain areas Mannion has represented as senator, including the towns of Manlius, DeWitt, Cicero and Clay, as well as Geddes, where he and his wife have resided for about 27 years.
Before entering politics, Mannion taught in the West Genesee Central School District for about 20 years, the last eight of which were spent as the teachers union president, giving him experience with negotiating contracts and overseeing arbitration processes.
Hoping to work across the aisle and within his own party to “do good for this country and not move us backwards,” Mannion said teaching taught him how to “juggle a lot” and manage a room of people and how to conduct himself as a positive, strong role model.
Al Stirpe wins Assembly District 127
Democrat and Working Families candidate Al Stirpe was reelected as the member of the New York State Assembly representing the 127th district, defeating Republican/Conservative challenger Tim Kelly.
Stirpe received 37,007 votes (56.3%) compared to Kelly’s 28,715 (43.7%).
Stirpe joked that it must’ve been his lighthearted ads featuring dogs that resonated with people and won them over, but he said it was mostly due to his following being more bipartisan than that of some other candidates statewide.
“I’ve been able to help a lot of people that have called for assistance,” Stirpe said. “People realize that it doesn’t matter to me what party you belong to or who you are or anything else, and that my office is always going to do the absolute best job we can to help you.”
Adding that there’s “a lot of work ahead,” Stirpe said the best part about being an assemblyman is meeting people throughout the community, including hospital workers, heads of colleges, school district superintendents, police officers, firefighters and EMTs.
Stirpe was first elected to his 127th district role in 2006 and stayed in the position until 2010, when he lost to the same Don Miller he would later win against to reclaim the seat in 2012, holding onto it ever since.
Stirpe said his labor and the investments he made as representative over time are finally coming to fruition, as shown by the area’s growth as a hub for unmanned aerial systems, the shovel-readiness of the Micron semiconductor plant property in Clay, the propping up of the SUNY and CUNY public university systems, and the development of the JMA Wireless Dome.
Pamela Hunter reelected to 128th Assembly district seat
Running as the Democratic and Working Families candidate, Pamela Hunter won back her 128th Assembly district seat last week against Republican/Conservative opponent Daniel Ciciarelli.
Hunter gathered roughly 62.7% of the vote versus Ciciarelli’s 37.3%. She earned 32,765 votes altogether to secure the win.
Saying she’s “definitely pleased” with the election win and how much she won by, Hunter said it was one of the largest if not the largest margin of victory she’s ever had as a candidate.
“I really think that has a lot to do with the work that we’ve done these past nine years, the relationships I have with people in the community, the resources I’ve been able to bring back to the district, and the legislation I’ve been able to sponsor and pass,” Hunter said.
She said it’s a “privilege” and an “honor” to serve such a socioeconomically and culturally diverse district containing urban, suburban and rural sections as well as the Onondaga Reservation, adding that she seeks to bring back to her constituents “meaningful” legislation and “desperately needed” resources.
During this election cycle, in addition to having her newsletter sent out every month like always, Hunter made a concerted effort to have interactions with first-time voters, unaffiliated voters and people who haven’t been active voters so they knew what she’s all about, she said.
Hunter first took office as assembly member for the 128th district after a special election in 2015 before being reelected in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and now 2024.
The Army veteran said she appreciates that her victories have fallen close to her November birthday and Veterans Day. She said being a member of the military shaped her into an organized, accountable leader and legislator.
Christina El Bayadi elected next family court judge
With over 54% of the vote and 113,699 votes in her favor, Democrat Christina El Bayadi won Onondaga County’s family court judge seat over Republican Jason Zeigler.
El Bayadi said the turnout of 100,000-plus voters who marked the oval by her name was “fantastic” and a sign that her hard work campaigning had paid off. She also gave credit to her opponent Zeigler for his campaign judging by his almost 95,000 votes.
She said she also extends gratitude to everyone who spread good words about her, put up lawn signs and attended her events—including her family and friends—for their “tremendous support.”
El Bayadi said she can’t wait to serve in her new role and that she’s up for the workload and challenges that lie ahead.
Since 2021, she has served as an appointed support magistrate in the family court hearing cases dealing with paternity, child support and spousal support.
As family court judge, she would have a wider breadth of cases within her purview, including neglect and juvenile delinquency cases, matters of custody, and adoptions.
Now residing at the top of Onondaga Hill, El Bayadi has lived in different “nooks and crannies” of the county she’s representing, including Fayetteville, Baldwinsville and the city of Syracuse.
Ingrid McCurdy re-earns Manlius councilor seat
Ingrid Gonzalez-McCurdy, who shortened her hyphenated last name to just McCurdy for her campaign to have less letters on her signage, was elected to fill the vacancy on the Manlius Town Board.
From her findings in talking with Town Supervisor John Deer, McCurdy said her 13,497 votes was a record-breaking number for a town councilor, helped somewhat by the fact that it was a presidential year.
Though she ran unopposed on the Democratic and Working Families lines, McCurdy said she’s appreciative and “pleasantly surprised” that so many people showed their confidence in her.
McCurdy, a faculty member at Le Moyne College teaching courses on leadership and team building, took a semester-long sabbatical to run her campaign and focus on getting to know residents better.
“Going through the process was important so I wasn’t just a name on a ballot, but someone people’ve had a conversation with to know what I care about,” McCurdy said.
She was appointed and sworn in as councilor in late March of this year, replacing Heather Waters, who stepped down to take on her role as executive director of the Crouse Health Foundation.
Continuing as councilor, McCurdy said she will keep working toward sustainability practices and fiscal responsibility while providing up-to-date information to the public and making the town a socially inclusive, walkable, age-friendly community with adequate housing and health services.
Carrie Grevelding elected to Manlius town clerk position
Appointed as the Manlius town clerk as of May 1, Carrie Grevelding was officially elected to the position last week, running unopposed to finish out the term of former town clerk Allison Weber, who resigned to pursue another career path.
“It was pretty neat to see how much support I actually had out there coming into this,” said Grevelding, who brought in 12,314 votes. “That was pretty amazing and awesome.”
Grevelding previously spent 20 years with the Onondaga County 911 Center, about 15 of those as supervisor of dispatch operations. She said that experience in emergency communications lends itself to communicating clearly with all types of people in the community, though now her interactions are more often face to face rather than over the phone or radio.
Going into the new year, Grevelding plans to work with her deputy clerks to scan and digitize as many town documents as possible to make sure nothing is lost.
She also intends to look at ways to better notify and communicate with both tech-savvy residents and townspeople who don’t own a computer.
Jane Rice reelected as Fayetteville trustee
Jane Rice, who ran on the Democratic and Fayetteville Voices tickets, has been reelected as a trustee on the Fayetteville Village Board.
Rice, the village’s former planning board chair for 15 years, was appointed to the village board in September 2022 to replace departing trustee Dennis Duggleby, who moved to North Carolina. She proceeded to run the following March to fill out Duggleby’s term and again this most recent March, when she was third of three candidates running for two available trustee seats.
Because Mike Small, previously a trustee, was elected mayor of Fayetteville in that election, his old seat had an opening and Rice was appointed to fill it.
Because the proposition to change Fayetteville’s elections from March to November passed, Rice had to run for a term this November.
“There are days when I’ve felt like the perennial candidate,” Rice said. “But that’s the way the dice rolled.”
To add to that, unique circumstances arose this time, with Rice’s one-time opponent Duffy Hartnett choosing to suspend his campaign over the summer yet still remaining on the ballot on the Fayetteville Forward line.
That was after the Town of Manlius Democratic Committee endorsed member Hartnett, only to have Rice seek their endorsement as well, leading to a contested caucus that turned into a “mini primary” drawing in over 100 Democrat voters.
Since Rice won that vote, by rules of the committee Hartnett had to either quit the committee and run his own independent campaign or stay with the committee and suspend his campaign.
Though she was technically unopposed this November, Rice knew not every voter was aware that Hartnett had dropped out, so she didn’t take campaigning for granted.
Rice said she’s grateful to continue as trustee, a role she says necessitates a full understanding of the functioning of the village and a willingness to improve on existing amenities to ensure quality municipal services are provided all around.
A resident of Fayetteville for over 30 years, Rice said she appreciates the village’s neighborly feel, its community events, and the quality of life it offers.
To those who supported her campaign this fall, she says she won’t let them down and that she’ll stay focused and work hard, including on projects like the updating of Fayetteville’s zoning code.
At press time, the race for New York’s 50th Senate district seat was too close to call, with Democratic/Working Families candidate Chris Ryan maintaining a narrow lead over Republican/Conservative Nick Paro.
