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McMahon wins race for Onondaga County executive, Masterpole elected comptroller

Tom Magnarelli
/
WRVO News
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon speaks to the crowd after winning his race against Democrat Tony Malavenda Tuesday

Republicans retained a firm grasp on Onondaga County government after the votes were counted Tuesday. But while the GOP still has control over the legislative and executive branch, it did lose one county-wide seat.

For Ryan McMahon, winning the county executive job on Election Day was a validation of the work he’s been doing in the office since being appointed to the job over a year ago.

"I’m ecstatic. I can’t wait to get back to work, to keep the ball moving forward, keep building partnerships," McMahon said. "The success we are seeing now is undeniable and there’s more where this is coming from."

McMahon has an unofficial 9,000 vote lead over Democrat Tony Malavenda, who put $1 million of his own money in a race that turned negative in its waning weeks. Malavenda says he has no regrets.

"This isn’t over for me. You may not see me running again, but I got the bug and I’m gonna stay engaged," Malavenda said. "I made a lot of promises to stay engaged and I plan on doing that."

While McMahon touted economic progress in his campaign, he said there’s more than new jobs and buildings to look forward to.

"We have a team specifically focused on families and generational poverty. We have funding for the Early Childhood Alliance. Right now, the legislature is considering our infrastructure consolidation plan. There’s so much going on right now, I’m just happy I’ll be quarterbacking it for the next four years."

Get full results of Tuesday's elections here

Republicans also maintained control of the Onondaga County legislature, and the county clerk's office, and District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick won an eighth term, defeating Democrat Chuck Keller and Conservative Gary Lavine.

Credit Tom Magnarelli / WRVO News
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WRVO News
Democrat Marty Masterpole declared victory Tuesday in his race for Onondaga County comptroller over Republican Matt Beadnell

The only downside for the GOP was the loss of the county comptroller’s office. According to unofficial results, Democrat Marty Masterpole leads incumbent Matt Beadnell by about 3,600 votes, with more than 5,600 absentee ballots to count. If the result holds, Masterpole will be the first Democrat elected to countywide office in almost three decades.

Masterpole attributed his win, in part, to what he called "a fumble" by Beadnell. In September, Beadnell announced the results of an investigation into Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, for driving for ride-hailing services during Board of Elections office hours. Beadnell passed the information to District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, who found that Czarny committed no crime.

Masterpole said Tuesday that could have been part of the reason why Beadnell lost.

"It had a big impact on the race," Masterpole said.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.