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Muldrow, a Democrat who was elected in November, is aware of the achievement. He told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's that he's "honored to be the first."

"Auburn has a great tradition of many leaders — Harriet Tubman, Brud Holland — and also some of the people that played a role in cracking the ceiling for me to have this opportunity," he said. 

As a county legislator, he will be responsible for representing the 15th district, which stretches from the west end to the northeastern part of the city. His district is a priority, but he also believes he represents another constituency: People who look like him that haven't been represented in local government. 

Prior to taking office, Muldrow has been learning more about county government and meeting with the various department heads. It's through those meetings that he finds a lack of diversity in the county workforce. 

"It doesn't escape me that there are very few people of color actually working as county employees," he said. "One of the things that I will take pride in is trying to diversify some of those departments. Hopefully, it will reflect the city and the county that we're in." 

The issue of diversity in the county workforce is not a new problem and led to a disagreement among lawmakers in 2019. At a committee meeting that year, a resolution was considered to increase diversity among job applicants. One legislator, Michael Didio, argued that a lack of effort was the reason that there wasn't a more diverse candidate pool. 

Race-related matters also arose in 2020 when Cayuga County Legislator Andrew Dennison authored an op-ed about the Black Lives Matter movement that was widely panned as racist. 

Dennison and Didio will soon be Muldrow's colleagues. While he is aware of what's happened in the past, he is optimistic that they will listen to another point of view. 

"Hopefully we both can learn from each other and grow as we represent the county," he said. 

As he prepares to take office, Muldrow said he's been learning more about the legislative process and county government. One of the priorities he spoke about on the campaign trail was addressing "eyesores" and slumlords in the 15th district. But after further conversations, he's realized this is a county-wide problem. 

He also wants to ensure that older residents have the resources they need and that the county boosts programs for young children. 

"All of those things are goals of mine," Muldrow said. 

He hopes his historic election will lead to more people of color getting involved in government. During the campaign and now as a legislator-elect, he notes that the Auburn City Council and Cayuga County Legislature consist of all white members. 

"I won't be the last," Muldrow said. "There will be many behind us. Hopefully, in the upcoming election, we can actually have more diversity at the legislature and the (city council)."