Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon (right) signed a term limits agreement brokered by a judge. McMahon, the Onondaga County Legislature and the county's election commissioners were at odds over whether a term limits referendum McMahon accidentally greenlit should be enforced. Credit: Laura Robertson | Central Current

With a week to go before Onondaga County’s 2027 budget cycle begins, County Executive Ryan McMahon signed a local law which will bring a months-long fight over term limits to a close — at least until November. 

The local law, signed by the Onondaga County Legislature last week, will put two referendums on November’s ballot: one would create a four-term, or 16-year, limit on the county executive and comptroller’s positions. The other would do the same, but the limit would be three-terms, or 12 years. 

McMahon held a brief public hearing on the referendum on Tuesday afternoon, as required by law. There was only one speaker. Once the hearing closed, he told reporters he had already signed the law. 

“I just signed it. It’s right there,” McMahon said, gesturing to a pile of papers in front of Deputy County Attorney Ryan Ockenden. “My lawyer was looking at it to make sure I signed it correctly. It was signed correctly.” 

He joked: “Hopefully the right things are in it!” 

The referendums will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. If only one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, it becomes law. If both do, the one with more votes becomes law. If both fail, the county remains without term limits. McMahon said he does not anticipate the dual referendums splitting the vote. 

The local law is the solution to an extended fight over term limits that peaked shortly after McMahon accidentally signed a law he meant to veto. That law would have put just the 12-year limit to referendum. 

The county reached a compromise last month after four parties — two elections commissioners, the legislature, and the executive — found themselves in front of a judge in the aftermath of that accident. With the judge’s help, they agreed to this compromise, which closely mirrors one which McMahon had proposed before the judge was involved. 

McMahon pointed out the similarities between his proposed compromise and the one the judge arranged at least five times during the 14-minute public hearing and press conference, and said it was “disappointing” that the case had ended up in front of a judge. Ultimately, he said he was glad the solution had been reached before it wound up in court. 

He disagreed with the contention, previously made by Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, that the compromise would not have been possible without the involvement of a judge. 

McMahon was also confident a judge would have ruled in his favor regarding the original veto. 

“July 28, we put a path forward that eventually a judge helped broker between the two parties,” McMahon said. “So overall, I hope it’s a learning experience for those who are a bit newer to government. And I’m just glad that this isn’t a prolonged distraction for the community.” 


A four-term proposal narrowly failed on the legislature floor earlier this summer, with the backing of two Democrats and all but one Republican. The three-term proposal narrowly passed, with one Republican and all but one Democrat supporting it. 

McMahon repeated what he had said about the proposals at the time — that he was more willing to support the four-term proposal because he did not believe the three-term one had enough bipartisan support. 

“Me, personally, I don’t like term limits,” McMahon said. He believes they take away choice from the voters.

McMahon once again reiterated that he does not intend to stay in office long enough for these term limits to impact him. They would not go into effect until 2030, and would allow him to remain county executive until the 2040s. 

“I can assure you I won’t be here 15 more years or 19 more years,” he said. 

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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...