Joanie Mahoney

Mahoney worked as an attorney with the Harris Beach law firm as well as a criminal prosecutor in the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office.[8] She left the position in 1997 to become a full-time, stay-at-home mother, but decided to run for a seat on the Syracuse Common Council.[7] She won election to the Syracuse Common Council in November 1999, and served from 2000 until 2002.[6] Mahoney decided against running for re-election to the Common Council, choosing to spend more time with her children.

In 2005, she announced she would seek the office of Mayor of Syracuse, challenging incumbent Matthew Driscoll, a Democrat. She lost to Driscoll 49% to 46%, with Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins receiving 5% of the vote.[9] It was the closest mayoral race in over 80 years for Syracuse.[10]

In February 2007, long-time incumbent County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro announced his retirement. Mahoney decided to run, but failed to win the endorsement of the Onondaga County Republican Party. The Republicans endorsed Dale Sweetland, Chairman of the County Legislature.[10] Mahoney decided to seek the Republican nomination in a party primary held on September 18, 2007. In the primary, she edged out Sweetland by 21 votes.[10] However, Sweetland remained on the ballot, on the Conservative Party and Independence Party lines.

During the general election, Mahoney was pitted against New York State Assemblyman, William "Bill" Magnarelli. Mahoney campaigned on bringing a "fresh start" to the county, while Magnarelli campaigned on the grounds that he was more experienced than Mahoney. She also argued that Magnarelli was too tied to Albany to understand how Onondaga County worked – something the voters should not tolerate.[7] In the course of the race, Mahoney picked up some key endorsements. She was endorsed by Syracuse Tomorrow, the political action committee of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce;[11] The Post-Standard, the local newspaper in Syracuse;[12] and Republican presidential-hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who is popular in upstate New York.[13]

Mahoney won the election by a wide margin, earning 58% of the vote to Magnarelli's 36% .[14] On November 19, 2007, Mahoney announced the names of her transition team that would ease the switch from Pirro's administration to hers. As she had promised on the campaign trail, it was a bipartisan team of Republicans and Democrats. The honorary co-chairs of her transition team were Republican County Executive Nick Pirro and former Syracuse Mayor Thomas Ganley Young, a Democrat.[15]

Mahoney was inaugurated as Executive of Onondaga County on January 1, 2008. She was reelected in 2012, and again in 2016.

In September 2018, Mahoney announced her resignation as county executive, midway through her third term, to take a position as chief operating officer with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).[3][4]

Mahoney was appointed as the fifth president of ESF on November 4, 2020.[1][2][8] She is the college's first female president.[16]