Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, pictured after winning re-election on Nov. 7, 2023. Credit: Anais Mejia | Central Current

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon won re-election Tuesday night, beating Democrat challenger Bill Kinne.

McMahon leads Kinne by more than 20% and believes he could carry every municipality in the race.

The county executive took the stage at about 11 p.m. at the Embassy Suites near Destiny USA to declare victory. McMahon walked out to “Sirius,” the song the 1990s Chicago Bulls — who won six NBA championships — used during pregame introductions.

His parents stood behind him, while his fiancé and his two sons accompanied him at the podium.

McMahon thanked voters for “decisively delivering a mandate” for his next four years in office.

“It’s a mandate to change the psychology of a community,” McMahon said. “To believe that we are worthy of good things. To believe that we can compete, not just in this country but throughout North America and throughout the world.”

McMahon said this term starts with more political capital than his last. In 2019, he beat Democrat Tony Malavenda by about 10%.

In interviews after he declared victory, McMahon checked off his priorities. He named bringing the potential $100 billion Micron investment to fruition, landing semiconductor supply chain companies, an “all of the above housing strategy,” tackling the opioid epidemic and the lead paint crisis, among other issues that he hoped to address.

Throughout the race, McMahon told voters that he’d lead them through the Covid-19 pandemic and helped land one of the largest economic development projects ever in the country.

Kinne hit back by calling McMahon a politician who made backroom deals. He criticized the $85 million aquarium project that narrowly passed the county legislature. Kinne said his focus was on the people who already live in the county and improving infrastructure and housing, among other things.

“What we were talking about was the message people want,” McMahon said Tuesday.

Kinne had not called McMahon to concede as of Tuesday night.

“Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I won’t be standing on the corner saying thank you, obviously. I’ll call (McMahon) and I will concede,” Kinne said.

Kinne will be exiting the Onondaga County Legislature at the end of his term and said he will retire from politics if he loses.

“I am going to spend time with my wife and my children, help my neighbors and do what I have always done,” he said. “I am not running for office again.”

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Chris Libonati is the managing editor of Central Current. He is a founding editorial member of the organization and was hired as Central Current's first reporter. He previously worked at the Syracuse Post-Standard...

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...