Neil Smith is running to represent District 12 in the Onondaga County Legislature. His opponent, David Knapp, was first elected in 2011 and previously served as Legislature Chair. Smith is running on the Democratic line. 

Central Current sent Smith 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?

Neil Smith: Onondaga County desperately needs new housing. However, with that new housing development comes the danger of losing farmland and green spaces. Consequently, we need to build up our villages and other dense areas, not build out farther into the countryside. While it is up to our towns and villages to oversee the zoning process which chooses the sites for development, the county can help guide that process by providing assistance to municipalities as they update their comprehensive plans to avoid uncontrolled sprawl. The county can also help avoid sprawl by being selective in which projects it chooses to support.  

My vision for increasing the amount of housing involves the county government providing the funding necessary to spur further development of middle-income housing. I strongly support the recently passed $25 million allocation to the new ONHOME development corporation, which is intended to provide financing to developers looking to build the middle-income housing our county needs. Moreover, I also would seek consideration of the expansion of the County O-CHIP program which provides additional funding for housing development. Lastly, I strongly support the continued efforts of the Housing and Transportation Citizens Advisory Board, which helped to develop the ONHOME concept.  

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? 

NS: One particular area of county government that would benefit from additional transparency is the Onondaga County Water Redevelopment Corp. That is the entity that was formed to help facilitate the construction of the wastewater plants that will in part handle the wastewater that will be generated by Micron. Due to its structure, the corporation is not subject to the kind of scrutiny from the legislature and the public that a usual county department would be. This entity can also take on large amounts of debt that would not directly appear on the county’s balance sheet. 

The county legislature, however, is not without tools to ensure that the Onondaga County Water Redevelopment Corp., and other development entities related to the Micron project, are operating properly and in the public’s interest. Under the County Charter, the legislature has the power to subpoena books and records and to compel testimony to aid it in auditing and investigating whatever it deems to be in the best interest of the county. In the event the Redevelopment Corp (or any other entity doing business with or for the county) fails to provide sufficient information to the full satisfaction of the public, then I would support the use the legislature’s subpoena power to compel testimony and the production of records to get that information. 

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? 

NS: The county has an important role to play in softening the blow caused by the reduction in SNAP benefits. Towards that end, I strongly support the provisions in the recently passed county budget and other programs that address the problems of food security. That includes the $100,000 Local Farm and Food Security Pilot Program that is intended to find ways to bring locally produced food to local food pantries. I also strongly support the $500,000.00 infrastructure grant program that was announced earlier this year to expand the capacity of local food pantries.   

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? 

NS: The county can do a great deal to further support its agriculture industry. In addition to the Local Farm and Food Security Pilot Program, the county must continue to fund and expand the Agricultural Grant Program which provides grants for agrotourism and agricultural production projects. In addition, I support the Onondaga County Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plan and the other efforts of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board to protect our farmland. Lastly, I would support looking at ways for expanding support for the construction of more and better housing for agricultural workers through the new ONHOME housing development program.     

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? 

NS: There are several areas where further investigation by the legislature can be used as the basis for requiring more stringent testing of the effluent from Micron’s planned facility. The legislature should investigate the following potential actions: 1) Requiring monthly sampling beyond the sampling that is required only every three months under the current SPDES permit; 2 )requiring targeted monthly sampling for the PFAS compounds used in Micron’s manufacturing processes, and set specific limits for each PFAS compound based on the expert opinions of independent experts retained by the county; 3) require tests for the presence of fluorine compounds; and 4) requiring the relevant agencies to perform periodic tests of water that are not targeted at specific chemicals in case other contaminants that have not been anticipated are released. These concrete actions by the county should be the first steps in helping to mitigate concerns related to Micron’s discharges into our water.   

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

NS: While the aging lead pipes primarily in the City of Syracuse are a significant concern, the primary cause of lead exposure and poisoning in Onondaga County is through exposure to lead paint. Much of the housing stock in our county was built long before lead paint was banned, and children are exposed to lead by the dust created when aging lead paint deteriorates. I fully support the County Lead Hazard Reduction Program which provides funding for remediation of lead paint for qualified households. In the final analysis, the lead paint problem is a housing problem, which is one of the reasons I support the new housing fund authorized by the new budget. Only by building new housing and substantially renovating our old housing stock will the lead paint problem be finally eliminated once and for all.    

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? 

NS: One thing that Onondaga County should consider is to allocate additional funding for groups such as the Legal Aid Society that provide free legal services to ensure more immigrants have legal representation in Immigration Court. Many immigrants who face proceedings cannot afford a lawyer. Everyone deserves a fair chance in court to present their case when the government is bringing a case against them. In addition, law abiding immigrants should have no reason to fear local law enforcement. Therefore, in accordance with New York State law known as the Local Cops Local Crimes Act, the county should not enter into any so-called 287(g) agreements or agree to house federal civil ICE detainees in our local jails.  

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

NS: AI is a powerful tool, and it is being integrated into more and more computing systems. It is likely inevitable that AI will have some role to play in all of our computer systems in the future. Certainly, Onondaga County should follow the same best practices for AI and other information technology that other governments and large companies have and are sure to develop going forward. Regardless of the shape of things to come as technology evolves, the county should adhere to the following bedrock principle: that every decision must be traceable to a human being who has to take responsibility for it. Every benefit that is approved or denied, every investigation that is opened or closed, and every program that is started or ended, must be attributable to a human being that has authority over it. AI can be a useful and excellent servant, but it should never be used as excuse for escaping responsibility.      

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? 

NS: I have no preconceived notions about what the outcome of the study should be, other than it should provide accurate information about what the effects of a data center would be on our infrastructure, water and electric utilities, and other economic activities in the county. Once the one year moratorium on large data center development expires, it is anticipated there will be further guidance on data center development from Albany. In my view, data centers are akin to any other heavy industrial development, like a new factory or chemical plant. They can provide substantial tax revenue, but they can also pose substantial environmental impacts and put significant demands on our utilities. Whether any proposed data center should be permitted should be decided on a case by case analysis of the demands that it would place on our water and electric utilities, and whether it complies with state law.  

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?

NS: Childhood poverty does not simply happen in isolation. It is caused by the poverty of children’s parents and families. Onondaga County can and should be undertaking all efforts to alleviate the concentrated poverty in Syracuse and Onondaga County, through (among other things) fostering economic development throughout our community so that every family has an opportunity to succeed. That would include making sure that the county supports and enforces the Project Labor Agreement that requires Micron to utilize local labor unions and companies from here in Onondaga County. In addition, by pressing Micron to agree to an enforceable Community Benefits Agreement, the county can help ensure that the working families of Syracuse have a chance to participate in the economic opportunities that the Micron project is bringing to Central New York.  

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?

NS: My district is large and diverse, with dense suburban villages like Manlius and Tully, wide open spaces in the Towns of Lafayette, Fabius and Pompey, and everything in between. Everyone in the district is confronted by the same rising housing costs and the need to protect our beautiful green spaces and farmland from over-development. To combat rising housing costs, I will strongly support and work with other legislators to champion dense new mixed-use development in our villages to make it possible for young people and families to afford homes while protecting our open spaces from sprawl. I will also support the expansion of the agricultural programs described in my prior answers to ensure that our farming community stays strong. Lastly, I will work with fellow legislators to expand rural bus services for the elderly and disabled through such programs as OSCAR in partnership with Centro, to ensure everyone can reach jobs, stores, medical appointments, and remain independent.

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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...