Calarco will run for Auburn City Council instead of another term as legislator | #citycouncil

Calarco, D-Auburn, announced Tuesday that she will run for Auburn City Council next year. She joins former Auburn firefighter Terry Winslow, who is also a Democrat, in running for the two city council seats that will be up for grabs in 2023. 

“Upon my return to Auburn many years ago I found it was not the city I remembered as a child,” Calarco wrote in a letter to the Cayuga County Democratic Committee. “I was worried that it would not return to the amazing place that was so instrumental in my upbringing. 

“Fortunately, through much hard work over the past decade, Auburn has experienced a renaissance. I believe we live in a hidden gem that has unlimited potential, and I want to help us realize that potential.” 

Calarco was elected to represent the Cayuga County Legislature’s 13th district in 2021. However, after Cayuga County voters approved a redistricting plan that includes reducing the size of the legislature from 15 to 11 seats, she decided not to seek reelection as a county legislator. 

The city of Auburn will lose two legislative districts when the new map takes effect in 2024. 

Outside of her duties as an elected official, Calarco is a biology teacher at Auburn High School. She has been a cheerleading and Odyssey of the Mind coach and is completing a Noyce Master Teacher fellowship this year. 

Barring any primary challenges, the Democratic ticket could be set in Auburn. Auburn City Councilor Jimmy Giannettino is running for mayor next year after longtime Mayor Michael Quill announced he would not seek reelection. Calarco and Winslow are seeking the council seats currently held by Giannettino and Councilor Tim Locastro, a Republican. 

Locastro has already ruled out a run for mayor and is undecided on running for a second term on the city council.

The lone Republican who has publicly expressed interest in any city seat is Tim Lattimore, a former mayor and county legislator. Lattimore told The Citizen that he is considering another run for mayor. He was mayor from 2004 through 2007 and the GOP mayoral nominee in 2011, 2015 and 2019. 

Candidates are announcing their plans now because of the political calendar. The period to circulate petitions begins in late February. The parties are expected to meet in January and February to designate candidates for local elections.