Explainer · 2026-09-23
Every Seat, Up at Once
Why Supervisor, all four Ward Council seats, and Town Justice are all on the same ballot this November — and what the 2025 "Salina Sweep" says about how competitive these races really are.
Why every seat is up at once
New York moved most town elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years. Officials elected in November 2025 got shortened terms ending December 31, 2026 — about one year in office instead of a full term — so they're right back on the ballot now.
Nothing went wrong. Nobody was removed. Nobody resigned. The calendar changed under everyone at once, incumbents included.
Who currently holds each seat
- Supervisor — Raul A. Huerta (D) — term ends 12/31/2026
- Ward 1 Councilor — Hayley Downs (D) — term ends 12/31/2026
- Ward 2 Councilor — Leesa Paul (D) — term ends 12/31/2026
- Ward 3 Councilor — Page Steinhardt (D) — term ends 12/31/2026
- Ward 4 Councilor — Eliza Hewitt Driscoll (D) — term ends 12/31/2026
- Town Justice — Anthony C. Lavalle (R) — term ends 12/31/2029, not on this ballot
- Town Justice — vacant seat — term ends 12/31/2027, on this ballot
That vacant justice seat is why there's a Town Justice race on the ballot this year at all.
Source: Onondaga County Board of Elections, 2026 Elected Officials List.
The 2025 Salina Sweep
Every one of those Democratic officeholders won their seat in a single election — November 2025, when Democrats took every town seat on the ballot. Local analysts called it the "Salina Sweep."
Raul Huerta defeated incumbent Nick Paro for Supervisor by 15.46 points, a margin well above the town's underlying partisan lean, which one published analysis puts at roughly 7.11 points. That gap matters: a win nearly double the town's lean means a real number of voters crossed over, not just party turnout. That cuts against reading Salina as simply a one-party town, and it's a big part of why these races are genuinely competitive in either direction.
Why this matters for November
Every seat above is either being defended or contested this year, on the same ballot as the Governor's race, which historically draws close to double the turnout of a town-only election year. A lot more people are about to weigh in on these seats than ever have before.
This page isn't telling you how to vote. It's here so you know why the whole board is on your ballot at once, instead of guessing.
Sources
- Onondaga County Board of Elections, 2026 Elected Officials List
- Dustin Czarny, "The Weekly Wonk: The Town of Salina 2026" (February 2026), for the partisan-lean figure
