Jo Bennett, pictured at the mic, gives a victory speech on Tuesday night. Bennett won the Democratic primary for the Onondaga County Legislature's 15th District. Credit: Laura Robertson | Central Current

Jo Bennett won the Democratic primary for the Onondaga County Legislature’s 15th District against former county legislator Bill Kinne. 

Bennett led by a 22.3% margin, according to county Board of Elections’ unofficial election results. 

They will be the Democratic nominee to represent the Southside of Syracuse this November, and will likely face off against Republican Woodruff “Woody” Carroll in that election. 

The 15th District seat will be vacated by Legislator Maurice “Mo” Brown at the end of Brown’s term. Instead of running for re-election, Brown is running for a New York State Assembly seat. Brown was one of four Democrat incumbents who retained their seats when the party last year gained its first majority in the legislature. 

As a teacher at Nottingham High School, Bennett said he had a clear view of the struggles their students faced and their families faced. They are dealing with unsafe and unaffordable housing, unreliable transportation, and a lack of childcare, Bennett said.

“Our county could be doing way more to make sure their needs are met,” Bennett said

For Bennett, a longtime organizer with the Syracuse chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, their victory in the primary signifies a triumph for socialists and progressives in the left wing of the Democratic Party. Bennett and fellow socialists Brown, and Tammy Honeywell assembled the “affordability slate” — a group of candidates who focused on issues like access to housing, transportation, education, and healthcare.

“This is a political revolution, right here in Central New York,” said Bennett in a speech at the Westcott Theater. The slate held its watch party at the venue on Tuesday night.  

Bennett said that revolution was seeded with the resurgence of socialist politics in the region, a movement that began with the 2016 presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont.

Now, Bennett said, the Democratic Party was shifting in favor of DSA’s nascent movement. 

“Either get out of the way or step up. This is where the party’s going,” Bennett said.  

Kinne served as a legislator for more than 20 years during two different tenures, before leaving the legislature in 2023 to run for county executive. At the time, Kinne said he would retire from seeking elected office if he lost to County Executive Ryan McMahon.

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Eddie Velazquez is a Syracuse journalist covering economic justice in the region. He is focused on stories about organized labor, and New York's housing and childhood lead poisoning crises. You can follow...

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...