Maurice “Mo” Brown declared himself the Assemblyman for New York State’s 129th district, saying on Tuesday night that he defeated Republican challenger Shawn Fiato.
Brown called the race for himself at the Onondaga County Democratic Committee’s watch party in downtown Syracuse at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“This has been an anxiety-filled cycle… it’s been a lot of personal attacks, and it’s rewarding to know that it didn’t pay off,” Brown told Central Current at a gaggle. “I think we can work together and find solutions and I’m looking forward to doing that.”
Brown, a Democrat, won 63% of the vote with 97% of the votes counted, according to Onondaga County Board of Elections unofficial results. Fiato had 33%.
The 129th district includes parts of Syracuse, including the Strathmore, Tipperary Hill and University neighborhoods, as well as the towns of Geddes and Van Buren.
Brown defeated Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli by a margin of 104 votes in the June Democratic primary. Magnarelli held the seat for almost three decades before conceding to Brown, a sitting Onondaga County legislator for the 15th Legislative District.
Brown was one of the eight candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America who won Democratic primaries against incumbents for state offices.
Alongside addressing federal cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding, affordability will be the centerpiece of his policies, Brown said.
“Affordability can look like anything: from the National Grid bills to rent,” Brown said. “I want to do a lot of things around rent and stabilizing it, but fundamentally, it’s housing, it’s energy, it’s just making sure that people are able to get what they need.”
Fiato, a community leader in Syracuse’s Park Avenue neighborhood, was appointed as the Onondaga County legislator for District 8 last January. Fiato was defeated last November by Democrat Chad Ryan, who collected nearly 75% of the votes.
