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Legislators Stephanie DeVito, Aileen McNabb-Coleman, Heidi Nightengale and Ben Vitale will no longer be members of any caucus. Vitale, I-Montezuma, began the string of announcements by criticizing certain proposals that "have been hatched within the Democratic caucus." He did not attend the caucus meetings, but said he has opposed the unspecified ideas and offered alternatives "to no avail."

McNabb-Coleman, D-Sennett, told her colleagues that she didn't think the current caucus structure is working.

"I'm in my last term," she said. "I represent my district. I'm doing everything I can to move this county forward. I will never stop that, but I can do that independently."

Nightengale, D-Auburn, is the vice chair of the Legislature and decided to leave the caucus. She echoed concerns raised by McNabb-Coleman and Vitale. DeVito, D-Auburn, did not provide an explanation beyond saying she will not be aligned with any caucus.

The public announcement during a three-hour meeting at the Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural and Country Living Museum led to an exchange between McNabb-Coleman and Legislator Brian Muldrow, who criticized the lawmakers for not attending the caucus meetings.

Legislator Elane Daly added, "Other than (Nightengale), there has been no participation in the Democratic caucus, ever." 

"I'm not ashamed to say I'm a Democrat," Muldrow, D-Auburn, said. "I think it's cowardly to have somebody vote you into office and then you say you're not part of it because it got a little tough."

McNabb-Coleman clarified that none of the legislators will be leaving the party, which would require them to change their voter registration.

Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Jonathan Anna, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, urged legislators to work together. 

"The job facing this county is too important and too large for us to fight," he said. "I ran for office as an independent not because I didn't believe in one side or the other. It's because I believe that Republicans and Democrats don't really matter in local government."

Anna continued, "Right now, we have a job to do. It's not a Republican job. It's not a (Democratic) job. It's the people's job... At the end of the day, I don't care if we caucus with Republicans, caucus with Democrats, caucus or not caucus. We have a job to do and we have to find a way to work together or this body will get nothing done."

Democrats won seven of the 11 county Legislature seats in 2023, giving them a majority for the next four years. Daly, DeVito, Muldrow and Nightengale swept the four Auburn races, while Anna, McNabb-Coleman and Vitale won contested races in three of the seven districts outside the city.

McNabb-Coleman served as chair of the county Legislature in 2024, leading the Democratic majority. But there was a leadership shakeup at the beginning of this year. Anna was elected chair with Democratic and Republican support.