Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney is stepping down in the middle of her term to take on the role of chief operating officer at SUNY-ESF.

Mahoney, the first woman to serve as Onondaga County executive, announced her resignation during a news conference Monday morning.

Syracuse.com reported that Mahoney’s goal is to “right the ship” at SUNY-ESF after tensions between faculty and administrators eventually led to the resignation of then-President Quentin Wheeler.

Interim SUNY-ESF President David Amberg sent a campus-wide email Monday welcoming Mahoney to the university.

“Her experience as Onondaga County Executive and her financial experience will be particularly helpful as we work through ESF’s financial challenges,” he said in the email.

Mahoney was first elected county executive in 2007. During her time in office, she’s worked to help balance the county budget and clean up Onondaga Lake.

Mahoney will stay in office until her budget proposal is passed in October. There will not be a special election to replace her, according to the statement given by Mahoney. But, the Onondaga County Legislature could appoint a successor to finish out her term.  

Mahoney will also serve as a special assistant to the SUNY administration on SUNY Upstate Medical University matters, per the release.

Published on September 24, 2018 at 10:09 pm