From Clinton Square to County Legislature: Meet District 8 candidate Brandon Camperlino

For Brandon Camperlino, his unexpected path into politics began after a troubling incident downtown. Three years ago, he was walking through Clinton Square with his young sons when a person without housing aggressively approached his family.   

The incident sparked Camperlino’s desire to get involved in local governance. He called it a “wake-up call.”

“I started attending events, political events in the city, and talking to political leaders,” he said. “I eventually found myself in the city Republican Committee because that was the only place I found a home.”

Now, Camperlino is the GOP nominee to represent District 8 in the  Onondaga County Legislature. And early voting is already underway in the race against Democratic incumbent Chad Ryan. Camperlino is making the case that his background in supply chain management can bring business-minded solutions to strengthen Syracuse.

Campaigning since February, Camperlino ran unopposed in the Republican primary to secure his name on the general election ballot under both the Republican and ‘Common Ground’ lines, a third-party alternative that he says has attracted support from traditional party voters ‘sick and tired’ of Trump and the current political climate.

“I’m not super-thrilled with the [Republican] party, and I don’t think that the party represents upstate New York very well,” he explained. “That’s why I decided to create my own third-party line.” 

His divorce nearly four years ago and subsequent negative experiences with the family court system were further catalysts for change. Living downtown, he enjoys being able to walk to his Church, as he returned to his Catholic upbringing later in life and now regularly attends Mass and a group for divorced Christians.

“When I did end up having troubling times in my adulthood. I felt that was a place I could go to for some spiritual relief, and, honestly, it’s been a sanctuary sometimes to go in times of need,” he said.

Camperlino said he sometimes consults ChatGPT when he has an issue and doesn’t have an appointment scheduled with his therapist. But he said he prefers face-to-face interactions because, despite the efficiencies and benefits of artificial intelligence, he doesn’t see it replacing real human interaction, like that with a real therapist.

The seat Camperlino is running for has been held by the Ryan family for decades. Chad Ryan’s father, Edward Ryan, held the seat for 32 years, and his cousin, Chris Ryan, represented the district for 14 years after redistricting in 2011.

“I don’t think it’s good in any democracy, whether it’s public office in a local community, state, or national, that we should bequeath somebody’s title to a position,” he said.

Camperlino said he recognizes the uphill challenge he faces in the election, with nearly one in every two voters registered as Democrats. He believes there should be restrictions to prevent individual families from holding positions of power for such long stretches, and intends to break that streak in November. 

His biggest criticism is reserved for the current members of the Legislature and his perceived lack of desire to do anything quickly in local government. He said the Even Year Election Law — introduced to align all New York elections into even-numbered years — means legislators like Ryan have taken it easy, not wanting to do anything controversial and jeopardize their chances of winning. 

“Well, I think that’s b— s—,” Camperlino said. “I don’t think any of the legislators, including Chad, did enough to do something that they could stand behind and say, ‘I made this community better in 2026.’” 

Camperlino earned an MBA from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in 2019 and has worked for the HVAC company, Carrier, since 2014.

Both Camperlino and Ryan agree that Micron will be a welcome and transformative addition to Syracuse. Camperlino believes his specific skill set will secure success for Micron and other industries in the city. 

The Republican candidate is confident in his ability to help CNY prepare for the workforce demands of Micron’s planned project, which is projected to create 50,000 new regional jobs, according to Empire State Development.  

“The manufacturing jobs for Micron are important, but that’s just the anchor,” Camperlino said. “It’s like having one large store in a mall. That’s not the whole mall. It’s all the stores around it now that come into play.”

He shares the same concerns as his opponent regarding the region’s natural water resources and the need to mitigate any potential detrimental impacts to the natural environment caused by Micron.

Camperlino believes there should be an on-site water reclamation plant to prevent pollution by processing the wastewater, and he has promised he wouldn’t let Micron get off the hook. 

To incentivize recruits and investment in Syracuse, Camperlino plans to propose new affordable housing, which has been his campaign’s main priority throughout this election period. He comes from a family of prominent homebuilders and says he knows what it takes to build the new, cheaper starter homes needed to meet the influx of workers projected to descend on Syracuse from Micron and the associated businesses that will emerge.

“My specific proposals would be: set up a giant fund that would help back up and guarantee loans from banks for new builders,” he said.

Removing the ‘red tape’ will incentivize more builders, producing more competition in the housing market and bringing down the costs for the community, according to Camperlino.

He points to his experience as a key factor in bringing down the costs for prospective homeowners and puts forward another proposal he knows won’t be popular with building material distributors in the area.

“I’m in supply chain management,” he said. “What I could bring to the table that I don’t believe anyone else on the ‘ledge’ currently has is that my job is to save money every single year by negotiating with contractors, suppliers, or being more efficient with how we buy. The way to do that is to buy in bulk and negotiate long-term contracts.”

Under this proposal, the county would prioritize efficiency in construction and supply costs. Camperlino says the county would then be able to purchase all of the aggregated materials to sell to the company, keeping funds in the local economy. 

He said the current leadership hasn’t gone far enough and criticized the legislature for recently passing the Onondaga County housing fund, which dedicated $25 million to ONHOME, the county’s housing revitalization initiative. 

“That sounds great on paper until you realize $25 million is going to build you about a hundred homes,” he said. “It’s not enough, it’s a drop in the bucket.”

At the bottom of his campaign literature, Camperlino proposes increasing security in the downtown area. He said that more proactive police units would give local bars and clubs the confidence to stay open later.

“I want to make downtown fun. It was fun probably 10 years ago, I used to go there all the time. It was lively, there were zero storefronts that were empty. All the bars were open until 2 in the morning,” Camperlino said.

Stemming from his negative experience in Clinton Square, he said the pay gap between city police and those in the sheriff’s department needs to be closed, to ensure more ‘bobbies on the beat.’ 

“Help pay the difference from the county budget, so that at least there’s no incentive for them not to work in the city,” he said. “We can certainly find a way to budget for more of a salary increase for 200 more police officers for $10,000. It’s not undoable,” he said.

The one initiative not written down on his campaign flyer is related to his childhood. 

“When I was a kid, my parents said, don’t play video games, you’ll amount to nothing,” he said. “An area that I am passionate about is an esports center downtown.”

He proposes that the County fund a bus service to transport the children to and from the center at night. He said his experience makes him capable of making the necessary cuts in the budget to fund this esports initiative.

“If we can save money structurally, we can find the funds to bus the kids to these programs,” he said.

When asked what he would do if he lost the upcoming election, Camperlino said he would continue to attend the county legislature sessions and advocate for issues that he thought were important. All in the pursuit of making a better Syracuse for his children’s future.

“If I make whoever’s in that position, whether it’s Chad or me, do more for this community, I already won,” Camperlino said.