Central New York’s longest serving state lawmaker is facing a challenge from a Town of Geddes official in this year’s election. Democrat Bill Magnarelli is hoping to win his 12th two-year term in the State Assembly this year, but hoping to stop Magnarelli’s streak is Republican Ed Weber.
Weber is a deputy supervisor in the Town of Geddes and a retired sheriff’s deputy. He’s also worked for the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety. He said he’s running because of one issue, bail reform, which eliminates bail for someone arrested on certain crimes.
“Being a police officer for 46 years, I don’t think it was fair in how they took away dispersion from judges, district attorney’s and police officers,” said Weber.
Bail reform has been tweaked since it became law in New York last January, to offer judges more discretion in certain cases, but Weber believes it still is the wrong way to go. He’s proposing committees made up of law enforcement officials to discuss individual laws in relationship to the bail issue.
“They gave a little discretion back to the judges, but you need to go further than that,” he said.
Magnarelli defends his support of bail reform, saying it was a long overdue piece of legislation.
“What has happened in the past, is people arrested for the exact same crime, one has money and never spends a day in jail,” Magnarelli said. “One doesn’t have money, and spends as long as it takes to get him or her to trial. That is not just.”
Magnarelli admits some tweaks made following an uproar over bail reform, were necessary to moderate it. And thinks more will come.
This is an ongoing process. We’re trying to get it right, we’re trying to get it better, we’re trying to make it just, that’s all,” he said.
The other issue Weber brings to the race is term limits. He believes Magnarelli’s 22 years in Albany is too long.
“We should set term limits, maybe set it at eight years total. After four terms you have to get out,” he said.
Magnarelli thinks his long incumbency gives him perspective. For example, he’s seen the state dig itself out of deep budget holes after 9/11 and the Great Recession. So he’s optimistic the state will be able to do the same during the pandemic budget crisis.
“This is one thing about being an incumbent for so long,” Magnarelli said. “I know that we can do this. And people have to understand we will get through this.”
The 129th Assembly District includes parts of the Town of Geddes and a large part of the city of Syracuse.
