Onondaga County lawmakers propose term limits for county comptroller

Onondaga County lawmakers are moving toward a vote on whether the county’s chief financial watchdog should face term limits, a change that would put the office of comptroller on the November 2026 ballot if the charter process clears its next hurdles.

The proposal, sponsored by Majority Leader Nodesia Hernandez of the 17th District, would limit any person elected county comptroller after Jan. 1, 2027, to three consecutive four-year terms. Service before that date would not count toward the cap, and partial terms would be excluded as well. The ballot language would ask voters whether to impose a limit of three consecutive four-year terms on the office of County Comptroller.

That detail matters because the change would not reach back and erase prior service. It would reset the clock for future elections, leaving the current history of the office outside the term-limit tally. Marty Masterpole, first elected county comptroller in 2019 and reelected in 2023, would not be affected by the proposed cap unless future election rules change again.

The comptroller is not a ceremonial post. Onondaga County describes the office as an independently elected position that leads the Department of Audit and Control, monitors financial transactions, and serves as a check on fiscal integrity and accountability. In a county where residents rely on those audits to help safeguard public money, the question is not just who wins the office, but how long one person should be able to hold that power.

The Legislature is expected to vote in July, during its regular session on the first Tuesday of each month. If the measure passes the Legislature, it would still need to survive County Executive Ryan McMahon’s veto pen. A veto would put the burden back on lawmakers, who would need a two-thirds majority to override.

Timing is tight. The county’s own charter language says the proposal must clear the process before the beginning of August to make the November ballot. That places the comptroller fight squarely inside a broader debate over how Onondaga County divides power between elected offices and the voters who can reset those rules.

The proposal comes after Democrats took control of the Onondaga County Legislature for the first time in 46 years and after voters approved a separate county-legislator term-limit change in 2025. Republicans argued in the earlier charter fight that term limits were being rewritten selectively, while County Attorney Robert Durr said the broader package had not been properly reviewed and could conflict with state law. If this comptroller measure reaches voters, it will be another test of whether county charter changes are genuine reform, or another round of political rule-making dressed up as good government.