Syracuse, NY – Julie Abbott, a Republican who served in the Onondaga County Legislature since 2019 before losing in November’s election, will begin a part-time job with the county in the New Year.
Abbott will become an administrative assistant at the county Department of Water Conservation, which operates the county’s wastewater treatment system, according to paperwork filed with the county comptroller’s office.
Since 2019, she has been a member of the legislative committee for environmental protection, and from 2022 she chairs it. This committee oversees WEP projects and expenditures.
Abbott, a former NewsChannel 9 broadcaster who lives in Skaneateles, will be paid $31.20 an hour.
That would mean a profit of up to $32,000 a year. The legislator’s job pays $38,478 a year.
She would be able to keep county health benefits as long as she works at least 20 hours a week, said county Comptroller Marty Masterpole.
According to the county’s human resources department, being an administrative assistant “involves the responsibility of assisting department heads or program administrators with a wide variety of administrative duties.”
County Executive Ryan McMahon appointed Abbott to the 6th Legislative District in 2019 to fill a vacancy. She won election three times, but lost to Democrat Greg Eriksen in November as the Democrats regained the majority for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The district includes all of Skaneateles, Marcellus and Spafford and part of Camillus.
Abbott was one of four Republican lawmakers who lost to Democrats in November. None of the other three Republicans have been appointed to county positions, Masterpole said.
Abbott, a graduate of Syracuse University, is a real estate broker. She began her career as a journalist at WSYR where she was on the talk show “Bridge Street”.
Abbott did not respond to messages seeking comment today.
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