The special election is this Saturday, September 23, 9AM – 5PM at Manlius Town Hall. Here are some questions and answers I thought might help before you head to vote. To be clear, I am against this proposal because I believe it will limit our Democracy in the Town of Manlius.
– Elaine Denton, Manlius Town Councilor
Do you want 6 town councilors to represent the entire Town of Manlius or 1 town councilor representing your area of the town and 5 others representing other areas of the town?
- If you would like to keep the government the town was founded on over 200 years ago, Vote No.
- If you want a government like Onondaga County, you may get deals like voting for an over 85 million dollar aquarium. “It was very clear it was to gain something for the district. … You shouldn’t have to vote in support of something to get necessary funding for your district.”
Do you want town councilors to be elected every 2 years or every 4 years?
- If you want to keep 4 year terms, Vote No.
- Also remember town residents voted in 2021 to change the highway superintendent and town clerk from 2 year terms to 4 years term so they could have more time to plan for the future in their departments vs running every other year.
Do you want the town government to have continuity?
- With a ward system the entire town board will be up for election every 2 years.
- Currently 3 town councilors are up every 2 years meaning there are at least 3 councilors with 2 years experience on the board when new members are elected.
- If you want the town government to have continuity, Vote No.
Do you want town councilors elected with more votes?
- Currently town councilors need almost 5,000 votes to be elected to the town board.
- Wards will divide the town into 6 wards and candidates will need less votes to win a seat on the town board.
- If you want town councilors to be elected with more votes, Vote No.
Could the town be gerrymandered with a ward system?
- Yes. If the ward system passes, the Board of Elections will draw a map of the 6 wards. But the Town Board could change the law to have a citizen led process to draw maps like the City of Syracuse recently has done. Or they could change the process to have legislators draw their own lines like Onondaga County.
- Laws are not permanent; they can always be changed.
Would the ward system affect village governments?
- No, the ward system is only being proposed for the Town of Manlius Board. Village governments are completely separate and are run by their elected boards. If you want change in a village you need to work with their government.
Is the whole town being represented?
- Yes, every town councilor represents the whole town. It doesn’t matter where you live in the town, you are a resident of the Town of Manlius and have 6 councilors to contact if you have an issue, concern or suggestion.
- The Town Supervisor is the 7th member of the Board. The previous Town Supervisor, a Republican who lives in Minoa, served from 2010 – 2022.
- There are two candidates running for Town Board who live in the northern part of the town this year. Mike Nesci lives in Fremont, has worked and volunteered for Minoa and Manlius fire departments and is a Labor Relations Specialist at CSEA. Visit https://www.mikeformanlius.com/ to learn more about Mike.
Vote No on September 23, 2023 to keep our Democracy fair & open to everyone!
