Changing the Subject Is Not an Answer
August 21st 2025
On August 18, the mayor of Liverpool, Stacy Finney, wrote a letter to the editor. On August 20, Onondaga County’s Republican Elections Commissioner Kevin Ryan wrote a response.
I hyperlinked them, so that you can read both letters in full, but here’s the short version: Mayor Finney asked a direct question: why does a lawyer from Syracuse, who does not live in Liverpool, want to run for mayor of Liverpool? Commissioner Ryan answered with something else entirely: why is Mayor Finney afraid of letting the voters decide?
That is not an answer. That is a subject change.
Before I begin: I have acknowledge my clear and present bias on this “dialogue”
I will be upfront. I know Mayor Finney to be an entirely upstanding person. While I have not worked with her directly, our conversations about housing, transit oriented development and the village have been thoughtful and productive. I also know many people who have worked with her closely, and they consistently speak well of her leadership.
On the other side, Commissioner Ryan and I have sparred online before. A couple months ago, he jumped into one of my Twitter threads to defend former state senate candidate Caleb Slater, (yes that Caleb Slater). I don’t know their relationship and why Commissioner Ryan felt a need to defend Slater. Whatever connection they may have, is between them and God, but in that conversation, I reached a point where I simply agreed to disagree with them both.
So all of that to say, yes, I carry some bias here. But my bias does not erase logic.
The Question Deserves an Answer
We can debate lawsuit specifics another time. What I do think is that if Mayor Finney is suggesting someone is committing voter registration fraud, in other words breaking the law, in that case lawsuits are an appropriate response.
But my point is bigger. A clear question was asked and it was not answered. Instead, the subject was changed. That is not dialogue. If you were to ask me, “Is it raining outside?” and I say, “Well, do you wish it was snowing?” That doesn’t clarify if I need an umbrella or not. When that happens, we have not had a productive conversation.
What we’re coming to learn though is that this is not an accident.
The Republican Playbook
For years, Republicans have leaned on this tactic: do not answer the hard question, change the subject. Donald Trump does it every time Epstein’s list comes up. Locally, we see it when County Executive Ryan McMahon is challenged about the long-term viability of the aquarium/movie studio. Now we’re seeing it from the elections commissioner about the intent of someone running for Liverpool Mayor.
The goal is not understanding. The goal is distraction, agitation, and frustration.
What Would a Real Answer Look Like?
The question was simple: why does a lawyer who does not live in Liverpool want to be Liverpool’s mayor? Here are at least a few possible answers:
He does not think the current mayor is doing a good job.
He feels the community is headed in the wrong direction.
He has friends who own businesses in the area and he feels they are suffering.
He personally believes that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, and therefore not able to be mayors.
He thinks that lawyers are inherently more qualified to lead than school teachers.
His dad told him, “if you don’t run for Mayor of the Village of Liverpool, you’re grounded!” To which he replied, “but dad, I don’t live there.” And his dad responded with “well that’s too damn bad, you have to run anyway.”
The building he lives in on Tulip St is only zoned for commercial use, with no actually dwelling units so to prove to the Zoning Board that it’s actually residential and get the zoning changed, he needs to run for Mayor of the Village.
I do not believe any of those to be true. I also put some of them in there humorously to make the point, but at least they are answers. At least they engage with the question. That is how dialogue works. Not by dodging, but by answering.
Wasting Our Energy
On the left, we spend too much time and effort trying to engage in dialogue with people who are committed to not understanding us. Sometimes there are honest disagreements. But too often, the real play is to wear us down. And it is working.
In 2020, about 81 million people voted for the winning presidential candidate. In 2024, that number dropped to 77 million. Fatigue is real. People are checking out.
This era is designed to wear us down. Our children are seeing their classmates kidnapped, auditors physically assaulted, and political opponents are being arrested. In the face of all that, our energy is one of our most valuable resources, and we cannot afford to waste it trying to “win over the hearts and minds” of people who are committed to not understanding us.
Where does this leave us?
When Mayor Finney asked her question, she deserved an relevant answer. Instead, Commissioner Ryan dodged. When Executive McMahon is asked about using lake cleanup money for an aquarium/movie studio, or about returning Maple Bay to the Onondaga Nation he deflects to talk about the removal of the Columbus statue. Or When Trump is pressed about Epstein and the files that “don’t exist”, he decides to do a Federal takeover of DC.
Different people, different stages, same playbook.
If we accept this tactic as normal, then every serious question about our community’s future can be waved away. That is not what democracy looks like. That is distraction.
Liverpool voters deserve real answers. Onondaga County taxpayers deserve real answers. And the residents of the United States of America deserve real answers. Until we demand them, and stop wasting energy on people committed to dodging, we will keep spinning our wheels while the powerful keep moving unchecked.
It is time to stop rewarding the dodge and start insisting on the real answers, and understanding that our energy might be better spent elsewhere.