Blake Carter is running to represent District 13 in the Onondaga County Legislature. His opponent, Ken Bush, has represented the district since 2018. Carter is running on the Democrat and Working Families Party line. 

Central Current sent Carter 11 questions about housing, immigration, data centers, agriculture, and more. Here are his responses. 

Central Current: With Micron moving in, politicians from every part of the political spectrum have emphasized the importance of building more housing. What is your vision for increasing housing in Onondaga County, and what role (if any) should the county play in doing so?

Blake Carter: My vision for increased housing is utilizing building new and renovating old starter homes, apartments, senior housing, affordable housing, and market-rate housing. The county can partner with all branches of government to create funding sources, zoning agreements, and incentive programs. 

CC: Transparency has been a major talking point in the legislature this year – from donor transparency around the aquarium to concerns that each caucus brings things to the floor without giving the other advance notice. Where would you like to see more transparency in county government, and what can the legislature do to enforce it?

BC: The current Onondaga County Legislature is doing a great job with building transparency and trust. There should be more transparency with donations for public funded projects(ie The aquarium and the CNY Film Hub), and where the money goes when a project fails. If we didn’t have an outstanding County Comptroller, we may have never found out about the secret spending of public dollars. 

The other area the legislature has spent time improving is public meetings. We need to keep holding more public meetings that involve the community, at times that work with the community. Their input is crucial to holding public officials accountable. 

I think historically both party caucuses have been guilty of surprising each other on the floor with bills, secret agreements, and other documents. This does not help with public trust. Changes to Legislature procedure to submit earlier before meetings and sessions would improve this from happening.      

CC: As thousands of Onondaga County refugees and residents lose their access to SNAP benefits, what should the county’s role be in ensuring access to food? 

BC: We need to take care of our vulnerable residences all across the county. That is a priority. Onondaga County Legislators can’t control what the Federal and State does with their programs, but OCL can strengthen programs we currently have, fund new programs, and coordinate to address barriers of access and implementation to help residents get what they need to survive and thrive. 

CC: Roughly one-third of Onondaga County’s land is used for agriculture. What, if anything, can the county do to support farmers, farmworkers, and other people involved in agriculture in the county? 

BC: While the need for increased housing is needed, we also need to protect farmers and agriculture. This is the balance we talk about with how the area is going to expand with Micron coming. We have to be smart with infrastructure decisions for population growth, when balancing with protecting agriculture. Incentives and farmland Conservation Easements Programs are some of the ways the County does this. 

CC: As Micron prepares to move into Onondaga County, some county residents have raised concerns about PFAS and other emissions. How do you plan to mitigate the environmental concerns of county residents? 

BC: When economic growth in CNY and Onondaga County is brought up in discussion, how it impacts the environment needs to be the first question. No growth is worth forever contaminating the air,soil.water, or people. It is possible to have both, but If we can’t have environmental protection, we can’t have growth.

CC: Could the county be doing anything more to mitigate and combat its lead problem? If so, what? 

BC: In our ENTIRE county, lead is one of the biggest problems. First thing we have to do is understand the problem is bigger than reported. If we updated the industry norms to what is an unacceptable amount of lead is in our blood, to what it should actually be, we would see how big the problem is. 

The County  needs to invest in better data monitoring, more testing, and more remediation programs. The County needs increased transparency with the testing and programs. We need to be more aggressive with holding landlords responsible for lead in our housing.    

CC: Over the last two years, USCIS has rolled back protected status for many groups of immigrants and has begun to target people for detainment who might not have been targeted in the past (i.e.: asylum seekers). Do you believe the county needs to do anything more to protect its large immigrant and refugee populations? If so, what? 

BC: While Syracuse is not officially a sanctuary city, our City, County, and State is unofficially a sanctuary for our neighbors from around the world. Period. It is what we like about our region. We wear this badge with honor. My involvement in the New American/Immigrant/Refugee community has brought me face to face with some of the greatest people on the planet. The County needs to protect these people with language accessible education in regards to their rights, safety, and county services to assist with these rights and due process. 

I also like the County Sheriff’s approach to handling ICE in our County. New American/Immigrant/Refugee population are humans who add value to our community, and should be required to be treated that way.  

CC: What – if any – role should AI have in county operations? Should the county develop rules and policies to regulate its use? 

BC: The County involvement with operations should include rules and policies to allow AI with some tasks, but not all. AI can be helpful, but should not exclude human supervision, definitely should not replace people working for the County. This stance should be reevaluated periodically with the rapid advancement of AI. 


CC: County Executive Ryan McMahon has announced a plan to study the feasibility and potential impacts of building a data center in Onondaga County. What would be the ideal outcome of that study? Depending on the outcome, how do you plan to respond? 

BC: County Executive Ryan McMahon has announced a plan to study the feasibility and potential impacts of building a data center in Onondaga County. What would be the ideal outcome of that study? Depending on the outcome, how do you plan to respond? The ideal outcome of the study would be great economic growth with no environmental impacts to the community, all while being transparent to the public. That is ideal, but highly unlikely. If there are no environmental impacts, I would support it. If there are environmental impacts, I would not support it. 

CC: Syracuse consistently has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the nation. Do you believe the county should be doing anything more than it is currently to address childhood poverty? If so, what?

BC: We need more investment in: Housing, education, food security, childcare; health care, mental/behavioral health care, transportation, workforce development, unions. Poverty is created with lack of access to resources, and needs to be solved holistically with access to create greater quality of life. 

CC: What county issues and concerns have an outsize impact in your district specifically? How do you plan to address those concerns and bring them to the forefront of the legislative agenda? 

BC: What county issues and concerns have an outsize impact in your district specifically? How do you plan to address those concerns and bring them to the forefront of the legislative agenda? 

The growth with Micron has been the biggest issue and concern. The plan is  investing in infrastructure (roads, bridges, sewer/water, internet, housing)  and economic development, emergency services, schools, and protecting our environment as we grow.  

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Laura Robertson is a staff reporter covering Onondaga County. Prior to joining Central Current, she lived on the edge of the Bering Strait in Nome, Alaska, where she worked as a reporter for a year. She...