Nicole Watts will be the county’s first Democratic Chair in nearly 50 years. © 2025 Courtesy of Nicole Watts Campaign
Audio Transcript: Incoming County Legislature Chair lays out vision for county’s next chapter
Drew Matyasik: When Nicole Watts is inaugurated in January, she will be the first democrat in 50 years to hold the position. So, what is her top priority when she gets the gavel? According to her, it’s the housing crisis.
Nicole Watts: There are opportunities for us to seize this moment to really address that housing shortage, particularly affordable quality housing need with gusto.
Matyasik: Watts also says that the incoming Micron investment could stress the housing market more, something that democrats are thinking about when structuring their plan.
Watts: With more people anticipated to move into the area, we really need to address this in a meaningful way, and ensure that those who have long called this county home are a key part of what it looks like for us to address that.
Matyasik: Watts says that she has talked with County Executive Ryan McMahon about this, and that he is on the same page as the caucus. Live from the studio, Drew Matyasik, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – It’s been 47 years since Democrats last held a majority in the Onondaga County Legislature. However, that all changed two weeks ago when Democrats swept Republicans in all the races they contested.
On Friday, the caucus announced that legislator-elect Nicole Watts of the ninth legislative district would be their nominee to chair the legislature, something a Democrat hasn’t done since Michael J. Bragman. One of her top priorities she said, is the affordable housing crisis.
“There are opportunities for us to seize this moment to really address that housing shortage, particularly affordable quality housing need with gusto,” Watts said.
With Micron bringing thousands of jobs and new residents to the county, it runs the risk of making a tough housing market even tougher. Watts said that this is something Democrats are thinking about when structuring their plan.
“With more people anticipated to move into the area, we really need to address this in a meaningful way, and ensure that those who have long called this county home are a key part of what it looks like for us to address that,” Watts said.
Watts said that she has already been on the phone with Republican County Executive Ryan McMahon, and that he has expressed interest with the caucus’s priority of affordable housing.
“I spoke with our county executive the other day and he has expressed that that is an interest of his as well, so I’m hopeful that we could work together on addressing that housing issue,” Watts said.
With County Executive McMahon still in office, it presents a check on the county’s executive branch that hasn’t been seen in decades. Since 1962, the year the county’s charter was established, every single officeholder has been a Republican, and the Democrats only controlled the county legislature from 1978 to 1980.
The last time a freshman legislator became the chair was in 2013, when Ryan McMahon took the gavel. Watts and Democrats are guaranteed only one year in the majority, barring any Democrat leaving office before their term ends. Legislators will have to run again next November, this time for a four-year term.