When Democrats prepared to assume the role of the majority party in the Onondaga County Legislature, riding a historic blue wave of victories, the aquarium project stood out to legislators as one of the key issues constituents wanted action on.
Majority Leader Nodesia Hernandez received — and still receives — constituent emails about the $100 million aquarium project. The spending and the opportunity to use that money on other pressing issues has made the aquarium a flashpoint issue.
As votes came in on election night, showing a Democratic victory, Hernandez said that if the Democrats took the legislature, she would want to set a deadline for aquarium funding. If the money had not come in by then, she said: “Scrap it.”…