Onondaga County Legislature Chair Nicole Watts (right) takes a picture with two new legislative staffers. Watts was appointed chair of the legislator by a 10-7 vote along party lines. Credit: Laura Robertson | Central Current

Onondaga County legislators on Friday appointed Legislator Nicole Watts chair of the legislature, making her the first woman to serve in the role.

Watts will preside over the first Democratic majority in the legislature in decades. Watts was voted in on a party line, 10-7 vote. Democrats also voted through Legislator Nodesia Hernandez as the majority chair. 

Before the session, the Republican caucus sent out a press release about the “far left chaos” signaled by new legislature picks. 

Their criticism revolved around the planned appointment of Nicole Watts as chair and Maurice “Mo” Brown as chair of the Ways and Means Committee. The press release said the choices reflected a “shift toward far-left, city-centered priorities.” 

In the press release, former chairman Tim Burtis said that while no one knew how Watts would govern, choosing Brown for the Ways and Means committee sent a “concerning signal.” Burtis declined to comment further on the press release. 

Democrat Majority Leader Nodesia Hernandez pointed out that Watts is the second legislator to become chair during their very first term in the legislature — the first was current County Executive Ryan McMahon. 

Watts did not respond directly to the release, instead saying that while “change is always difficult for all of us,” she was honored to serve as chair and hoped to do so with “wisdom, discernment, and prioritizing the needs of the people of Onondaga County.” 

“It’s unfortunate that my colleagues to my right want to go to the partisan games with the naming of chairs and questioning of our staff choices,” said Brown. “However we have so much work to do that I can’t get too bogged down on their games. I am looking forward to doing the work as the Ways and Means chair should Chairwoman Watts pick me to lead that committee.” 

Legislator Richard McCarron nominated Charles Garland for the role of Chair, and all seven Republicans voted his name for the role. Garland, a Democrat, called the move “flattering” but “a surprise,” and voted with his caucus for Nicole Watts. 

The decision to nominate Garland was made Thursday night, said Burtis. Usually, the caucus would vote for the previous chair, he said, but that would be “too ordinary.” He said they had known that Garland had been mentioned during the initial Democratic caucus conversations about the role, and the Republican caucus wanted to “just really give them an opportunity to own” their appointment. 

Legislator Kevin Meaker nominated Democratic Majority Leader Nodesia Hernandez for the role, but the motion was not seconded, and her name was not included in the vote. 

All five of the legislative staff were replaced. The staff took these roles:

  • Hassina Adams, clerk
  • Spencer Berg, deputy clerk
  • John Desantis, assistant clerk 
  • Kyle Madden, director of legislative budget review 
  • Jamea Johnson, the legislative aid
  • Ruthnie Angrand, communications director 

“Five really good people who serve this entire legislature and the county in good faith every single day lost their jobs,” said Republican Minority Leader Brian May of now-removed legislative staff. He also called a pay increase for Desantis “offensive” to those who had held the roles before. 

Hernandez said that all candidates had been interviewed for the position, and that they had decided to keep Clerk Jamie McNamara before she made her own decision to leave the role. May contended that the interview process had been “both patronizing and disrespectful.” 

All six appointments were made along party lines. 

Law firm Bousquet Holstein was appointed as the legislative counsel for the legislature. Republicans objected to the appointment. They said that there was a conflict of interest as Legislator Gregg Eriksen is an employee of the law firm. Democrats said that they had done due diligence on the issue. The vote also passed along party lines, with Eriksen recusing himself from the vote. 

Editor’s Note: Central Current founding board member Larry Bousquet is a founding partner of the law firm Bousquet Holstein. He is currently president of Central Current’s board. 

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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...