Syracuse, N.Y. — Democratic members of the Onondaga County Legislature on Thursday decided to back newcomer Nicole Watts as the next chair of the legislature.
Watts, 43, will become a new member of the legislature in January after winning a three-way race in the 9th District representing Syracuse’s North Side.
Democrats, who will take control of the legislature in January with a 10-7 majority, picked Watts late Thursday night during a contentious caucus in which several members sought the position of chair.
Watts’ selection won’t be final until the full legislature votes at its first 2026 session on Jan. 2, after the new members are sworn in. But as long as Democrats remain unified in supporting her, Watts will be a shoo-in.
The Democrats also chose their current minority leader, Legislator Nodesia Hernandez, 50, of Syracuse, to be the majority leader.
Watts would be the first Democrat to chair the county legislature since Mike Bragman in the late 1970s. She would also be the first female chair.
Hernandez will be the first woman of color in the role of majority leader.
It’s unusual for an incoming freshman to be elected chair, but it has happened before. In 2012, new Legislator Ryan McMahon – now the county executive – took over as chair in a legislature that was 13-4 Republican.
Watts, an enrolled Democrat, won an unusual three-way race in November, running as the Working Families Party candidate in an election that had no candidate on the Democratic ballot line. Incumbent Legislator Palmer Harvey, a Democrat, withdrew from the race and a court ruled that Democrats could not field another candidate.
Watts won the seat with 56% of the vote.
She is the founder and CEO of Hopeprint, a grassroots organization based on the North Side that aims to address disinvestment and poverty by coaching and assisting local residents with sustainable developments. Recent examples include a community garden and a pop-up food market.
She has served on the steering committee of Northside Urban Partnership and previously chaired the Refugee Alliance of Greater Syracuse and the Community Integration Coalition Committee.
Born in Northern Virginia, Watts came to Central New York in 2004 for an internship with Eastern Hills Bible Church. Hopeprint was founded in 2010.
Democrats pulled off a stunning victory on Election Day, winning five new seats on the county legislature and boosting their position from a 5-12 minority to a 10-7 majority.
Typically, when the majority party nominates a chairperson, there’s no doubt that pick will survive a vote by the full legislature. In 2022, however, six Democrats joined three Republicans to elect a Republican chair who was not the choice of the GOP majority.
Democratic lawmakers today pledged to unite behind Watts, according their news release.
Watts told her fellow legislators that her priorities as chairwoman would be to pursue “responsible economic development’' that reduces poverty and benefits communities that have long been neglected.
“We live in a space that has some pretty horrific statistics around poverty. I believe we can do something about that, and that the county is staged to really meaningfully address those things,’' she said in an interview Friday.
At the Democrats’ caucus Thursday night, several more seasoned legislators sought to be nominated as chair, including Maurice “Mo” Brown, Charles Garland and Dan Romeo. Watts won a majority of votes.
“I congratulate Nicole Watts on being chosen chair and Legislator Hernandez majority leader,’' Garland said Friday morning. ”I appreciate the opportunity I was given to put my hat in the race for chair."
“I have great faith that Nicole is the leader we need at the legislature,’' Romeo said.
Besides presiding over legislature sessions, the chair appoints members of the county industrial development agency. That’s a key body during a time of economic growth as Micron Technology prepares to develop chip fabs in Clay.
The current legislature chair, Tim Burtis, R-Brewerton, will remain in the post through the end of this year.
The chair’s job pays $72,486 per year. Floor leaders are paid $49,149. Legislators earn $39,794.
Correction: An early version of this story incorrectly said Nodesia Hernandez would be the first female majority leader. Kathy Rapp was majority leader in 2008-2009.
Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached at:email|Twitter| 315-470-3023.
