Julie Abbott is running for re-election for her 6th district seat on the Onondaga County legislature.
Abbott is running on the Republican and People First Party lines. She is a former news anchor for the local ABC affiliate and is a mother of five. Abbott lives in Skaneateles.
In 2018, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon appointed Abbott to her county legislature seat. Abbott has since been re-elected twice.
Abbott will face Blake Carter who is running on the Democratic Party line
“It makes me feel good when I can be a voice for people who don’t necessarily know how to navigate the system,” Abbott said. “People need a voice to represent them and that’s me.”
Is there any action you believe the legislature should take in regard to Deputy John Rosello shooting and killing two teens?
Editor’s note: Abbott said she did not want to pass judgment on Deputy John Rosello’s decision to shoot two teens while investigating a robbery. Central Current modified the question it posed to her.
The legislature cannot take any action until requested to do so by Sheriff Shelley. I can tell you that we are all waiting intently on whatever he decides needs to happen because that department is directly in his purview. Hopefully the sheriff will make proposals if he so chooses, that the legislature can absolutely get behind to better the system and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Does the sheriff’s office have enough accountability mechanisms in place? Why/why not? What would you change?
I would have to look at what policies and mechanisms Toby Shelley is using and has in place, which has not been presented to us at the legislature, but speaking as a policymaker myself everybody always has room for improvement. I can’t speak directly to it because we have not been given their policy procedure catalog, but I am of the understanding that their intentions are to make changes where they feel necessary.
Should Jamesville be closed, and what changes should be made at the downtown jail?
I do believe Jamesville Correctional Facility should be closed. The reason is because we were outwardly violating inmate rights because we don’t have the staff. When you don’t have staff, we can’t allow inmates at certain points out of their cells. There were points where they couldn’t have visitors which is violating a constitutional right of theirs. As a steward of taxpayer dollars, violating these rights may lead to lawsuits. I am accountable for what happens financially as a result of not staffing a jail.
Does Onondaga County have enough housing? How will you propose to build more?
It is a well-known fact that we do not have enough housing especially with Micron on its way. Specifically senior housing and affordable housing. We are already taking steps with Plan Onondaga; it is our comprehensive plan for the first time in 25 years that is focusing on the influx of people that are coming here and how our villages and towns are going to deal with it. I believe our role is to continue what we’re doing; working with towns and villages, offering assistance where necessary, and, with Micron coming, looking at what the people of the county want to achieve. It is important to give them a bottom-up approach and let our towns and villages lead the way and be there to support them.
How can the county facilitate better public transportation inside/outside of the city?
We need to comprehensively plan and study the issue. We have done it with Amazon to allow them to be able to transport their staff to and from work that have difficulty with transportation. It is absolutely an issue for the people who must sit on the bus for an hour while also paying childcare. We must study and invest in it.
What more can the county do to fight Syracuse’s lead crisis?
We continue to throw money at a problem that we simply do not have a workforce ready and available to fix. The biggest thing we should be investing in is workforce development. We have partnered with Syracuse city schools to offer good paying jobs and opportunities to students that will hopefully work to remediate lead. We have also invested in our mobile lead testing van, however the problem is the lack of lead testing certification for on-site projects like the van. We need to build forged relationships with community partners, so families trust us when we come to their neighborhoods. No child’s level of success should be determined by their zip code. Kids have a right to a safe home and paint that is disadvantaging them both academically and intellectually is completely unacceptable.
What topic would receive more attention if you were elected?
The thing we need to continue to focus on is opportunity for our kids and adults who want to give themselves a fantastic trajectory into a very well paying job to be trained and have an opportunity to work at Micron. I think we have to focus, and continue to educate our village, town leaders, businesses and our real estate agents to start comprehensively planning for what is about to come.
I also really feel strongly that we need to continue to preserve our water bodies and our lakes which are our sources of drinking water. We need to continue to make sure that Skaneateles lake remains unfiltered, because it saves us millions of dollars versus having to build a filtration plant and it services the entire city of Syracuse. I feel that our agriculture and our farm communities must have continuous support and preservation and make sure they are not developed. We need to make sure that we have quality food that is local. I want to continue to support and provide free daycare for families and help them out of poverty.