Editor’s note: If you’d like to read about Elaine Denton’s opponent, Mark Olson, click here. Central Current’s election coverage is supported in part by a grant from the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.
Democrat Elaine Denton is vying to unseat Republican incumbent Mark Olson in a contested race for the Onondaga County Legislature’s 10th District seat.
Denton, a freelance graphic designer, will appear on the ballot under the Democratic Party line. She is seeking to represent a district that will encompass the town of Manlius after the newly redistrict maps take effect next January.
A native of Herkimer County and a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Denton settled in Manlius to be closer to her family 15 years ago. She has been involved in local politics as a community organizer and member of the CNY Solidarity Coalition throughout her time in Manlius.
She was elected to the Manlius Town Board in 2019, where she focused on creating ways for residents to advocate for pedestrian safety and walkway improvements.
Denton has garnered the endorsement of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, Manlius Democrats, the New York Working Families Party, and issue-focused organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety, Eleanor’s Legacy and Run for Something.
Central Current asked Denton and Olson six questions about the issues facing their district. Below are Denton’s responses:
Central Current: How will you make up for the potential gap in funding needed to build the aquarium?
Elaine Denton: I’ve been following the aquarium since it was proposed… that just wasn’t enough. The proposal wasn’t fully fleshed out and I was really concerned.
We do have this funding gap. I think it’s in the county executive’s hands to raise that money, like he said he was going to fully fund that project. I would like to see the private investment that is going to go into it before they put most of our taxpayer dollars toward this project. I do think, and the county legislators have said this, taxpayers have put enough in.
CC: How will you handle the potential loss of funding to services like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP — and Medicaid projected in the federal budget?
Denton: I’m a little concerned about that due to the federal budget cuts and these cutbacks in the shutdown, but we do have a healthy fund balance. Onondaga County has at least over $200 million in a rainy day fund.
I’m hoping that the state can step up, but I know some of the state money is also coming from the federal government, so we’re all going to have to work together to really make sure that we are providing those essential services. We need to ensure that people are getting what they need to put food on the table and they get the services they rely on.
CC: The Legislature passed two resolutions to transfer land to the Onondaga Nation. As a legislator, do you believe you have a role in facilitating a transfer? If so, what is that role?
Denton: I think the County Legislature has a role in this, and I believe that they’ve made different promises in the past. They haven’t really followed through on those.
I’d be really interested in learning all of those details and looking at specific proposals, but I think making sure that the nation is involved in many of these decisions.
CC: In a hypothetical scenario where federal funding for Onondaga County is conditioned on the basis of the county sheriff’s office cooperating with the operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would you be in favor of supporting that collaboration with ICE? Why or why not?
Denton: I would not be in favor of having our County Sheriff’s Department in collaboration with ICE. That’s because we need to protect our residents here, making sure that they have their fundamental rights like due process. The sheriff has been very clear that he was following the law. ICE has a federal responsibility and that’s at the federal government level, whereas our sheriff’s department really needs to take care of our local needs.
They need to focus on our communities and make sure that everyone is safe.
CC: As the arrival of Micron looms, how do you plan to monitor and ensure that Micron lives up to its lofty promises to protect Central New York’s bountiful natural life?
Denton: I would like to see Micron and the county come to an agreement and have a community benefits agreement.
We’ve been through this before with different companies in the past, promises have been made, but they haven’t been kept. So in this situation, we want to make sure that the promises being made are kept this time.
So I’d like to see a community benefits agreement come together, and what that does is really make sure that Micron knows our expectations, that we know their expectations, and that way the community has a way to hold them accountable.
We want to make sure that we have transparency and that there’s annual reports and what those reports will say, making sure that we get the necessary data to make sure we know that our environment is protected.
CC: If ICE approaches the county and requests sensitive information to aid in what it says is a “criminal investigation” — and refuses to provide more details — should the county furnish sensitive data from a department like the County Department of Social Services to federal authorities with unclear motives?
Denton: I would say no. I would kind of need some guidance there from the sheriff on what the situation is and what we’re really obligated to provide. But I absolutely want to make sure that our residents’ data is protected, and then it’s not being used against them.
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