Jim Weatherup is a retired telecommunications supervisor from Central Square who has led the Oswego County Legislature as chairman since 2019. A Republican, he is now his party’s nominee for the open 120th Assembly District, the seat Will Barclay is leaving, and he faces Democrat Tim Allers on Nov. 3, 2026.
So who is Jim Weatherup, what has he done, and what do his critics say? The record runs through six years as Hastings town supervisor, eight terms as legislature chairman, falling tax rates, rising levies and annual pay raises, and a 2026 race for a seat Barclay held for more than two decades.
Quick Facts
- Party
- Republican
- Hometown
- Central Square, N.Y.
- Date of Birth
- Not found in sources reviewed (68 as of February 2026)
- Current Position
- Chairman, Oswego County Legislature; Legislator, District 9
- Background
- Retired installation supervisor, Pair Gain Communications; Hastings town supervisor
- In Office Since
- 2014 (legislator); January 2019 (chairman)
EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
Weatherup lives in Central Square and has represented Hastings and Central Square in the county legislature since 2014, according to the Palladium-Times. He was 68 when he launched his Assembly campaign in February 2026, and the newspaper described him as recently retired from his private-sector job.
He worked as an installation supervisor for Pair Gain Communications in Cicero, where he provided engineering, equipment and installation support for commercial telecommunications. PagPol could not find his date or place of birth, his parents’ or siblings’ names, or any record of his spouse, children, education or military service.
Oswego City Hall in the City of Oswego, the seat of Oswego County, which Weatherup’s legislature governs. (Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
HASTINGS AND THE LEGISLATURE, 2008 TO 2018
Weatherup first served on the Hastings Town Board, according to an Oswego County announcement, and was town supervisor from 2008 to 2014. PagPol could not find vote totals from his town races. In 2014 he took his seat in the county legislature representing District 9, which covers the village of Central Square and parts of Hastings and Palermo.
In the legislature he chaired the Finance and Personnel Committee, and in 2018 he became majority leader, the county release said. PagPol could not find his vote totals in the District 9 races from 2013 through 2023, because the county Board of Elections certified results pages were not available to its researchers.
THE CHAIRMANSHIP, 2019 TO 2022
In January 2019 the legislature chose Weatherup as chairman. That July the county reached a $69 million payment in lieu of taxes deal with Exelon for its nuclear plants. “We think we’ve held their feet to the fire,” Weatherup said of the agreement, according to WRVO, adding that it was slightly more than the previous deal.
Under the deal the Mexico Central School District received $9 million a year, the county $4 million and the Town of Scriba $500,000, about $2 million a year more than before. In December 2020 the legislature adopted a $213.1 million budget for 2021 that cut the tax rate from $7.69 to $7.48 per $1,000, according to the county’s budget announcement.
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Ontario in Scriba. Weatherup’s legislature negotiated a $69 million tax deal with its owner in 2019. (Photo: Michael Styne, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
“We made every effort to control spending and protect the taxpayers,” Weatherup said of that budget. “Many households and many businesses are still struggling to make ends meet.” In January 2021 the legislature re-elected him chairman at its organizational meeting, the start of another term leading the body.
On Jan. 6, 2022, he was re-elected again, and the legislature unanimously approved joining a $200 million statewide Allergan opioid settlement, from which Oswego’s share was not yet known, in the county’s suit against Purdue Pharma and others, according to NNY360.
BUDGETS AND RAISES, 2023 TO 2025
In December 2022 the county adopted a $231 million budget for 2023 with a rate of $6.19. “Since 2005, the county’s tax rate has fallen from $9.20 per $1,000 of assessed value to roughly $6.19 in the coming year,” Weatherup said, according to the county’s 2023 budget release. He called it a reduction of more than 30 percent.
The legislature re-elected him chairman in January 2023 and January 2024. The 2024 budget, adopted in December 2023, totaled $252 million and cut the rate 9.5 percent to $5.60 while the levy grew $1.66 million, according to the county. PagPol could not find the total for the 2022 budget, though the county put that year’s rate at $6.95.
On Dec. 12, 2024, the legislature passed a $266 million budget for 2025, 20 to 2, cutting the rate to $5.15. Legislators also gave themselves a raise for the ninth straight year, according to the Palladium-Times. The chairman’s salary rose 3 percent to $35,403.
That raise passed 18 to 5, with Democrats Frank Castiglia Jr. and Marie Schadt and Republicans Noelle Salmonsen, Kevin Hill and James Scanlon voting no. Castiglia and Schadt were also the two votes against the budget, the newspaper reported, which made them the only members to oppose both measures that night.
In February 2025 the county declared a state of emergency during persistent lake-effect snow. “Our highway crews are working diligently to keep the roads clear, but the continued lake-effect snow is making it difficult,” Weatherup said, according to WAER, as crews worked to keep up with the storms across the county.
THE 2025 ELECTION AND A SMALLER MAJORITY
On Nov. 4, 2025, Weatherup was re-elected in District 9 without opposition, with 332 votes, or 97.08 percent, in unofficial results reported by the Palladium-Times. Countywide, Democrats beat five Republican incumbents and grew from two seats to seven of the legislature’s 25, the newspaper reported.
In December the legislature approved Local Law No. 4 of 2025, 18 to 4, its 10th straight year of raises, including 8 percent raises for the sheriff, clerk and treasurer. The chairman’s salary rises 3 percent a year, to $36,465 in 2026. PagPol could not find how Weatherup voted on the raises or on the 2026 budget.
On Jan. 6, 2026, the legislature re-elected Weatherup chairman “unanimously by voice vote, to his eighth term,” as six new Democratic members were sworn in, according to the Palladium-Times. John Martino of West Monroe is majority leader and Schadt of Minetto is minority leader.
THE 2026 ASSEMBLY RACE
On Feb. 5, 2026, Barclay, who had recently stepped down as Assembly minority leader, said he would not seek re-election. On Feb. 17 Weatherup launched his campaign in Fulton, according to Spectrum News, and the county Republican Committee endorsed him at Tavern on the Lock. Barclay also endorsed him.
In March, Maurice Waldron, a 21-year-old West Monroe college student, announced a Republican challenge, according to the Palladium-Times. “We need fresh leadership, youth, a non-career politician to run that has the best chance to beat the Democrats,” he said. PagPol could not confirm whether that challenge reached the June ballot.
On June 23 Allers, 49, of Mexico, a 20-year construction veteran, led Jim Cannon in the Democratic primary 1,082 to 1,050 on election night with 111 of 116 districts reporting, according to CNYCentral, and won 1,116 to 1,088 in the certified count reported by the Palladium-Times.
THE DISTRICT AND THE PARTY MATH
The 120th Assembly District covers all of Oswego County plus parts of northern Cayuga and Jefferson counties. Barclay ran unopposed in 2024 with 48,550 votes and in 2022 with 37,663, according to certified state results. Oswego County had 34,610 active Republicans and 16,279 Democrats out of 75,179 active voters in February 2026.
More than 19,000 Oswego voters belong to no party, according to state enrollment figures in PagPol’s Data Spine. PagPol could not find enrollment for the full district or any public poll of the race. The county itself reports low fiscal stress, scoring 6.7 out of 100 in the comptroller’s 2025 fiscal stress report.
2025 state comptroller fiscal stress scores, Oswego and nearby counties
Oswego County (Weatherup)Nearby counties
Fiscal stress scores out of 100, where lower means less stress. All seven counties received no stress designation. Source: Office of the State Comptroller, 2025 Fiscal Stress Monitoring System.
Among the seven Central and Northern New York counties PagPol compared, Oswego had the third-highest score, behind Cayuga and Oneida, and all seven received no stress designation. For another neighboring county leader, see PagPol’s profile of William Johnson, chairman of the Jefferson County board.
LEADERSHIP ROLES
As chairman, Weatherup presides over the 25-member legislature and announces standing committee assignments. Minority Leader Schadt said Weatherup consulted her on the 2026 committee assignments, adding, “All in all, I feel encouraged,” according to the Palladium-Times. Before becoming chairman he served as majority leader in 2018.
Because he presides, roll calls in the meeting minutes PagPol reviewed generally do not list his individual votes, and no interest groups rate county legislators. Earlier leadership teams included Vice Chair Marc Greco in 2023. See also PagPol’s profile of Mike Hill, Niagara County’s legislature chair.
The Oswego pierhead light on Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Oswego River. (Photo: Tomrobertsphoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHY HE RAN AND WHAT HE BELIEVES
Weatherup has framed his campaign as continuing Barclay’s work. “I’ve got big shoes to fill,” he told the Palladium-Times, and said his campaign would focus on affordability, support for local governments, agriculture and making sure rural upstate New York is heard in Albany. PagPol could not find a campaign website or debate coverage.
In a State of the County address, Weatherup stressed fiscal stability, infrastructure, broadband and the Micron plant, according to the Palladium-Times. He declared that “the state of Oswego County is strong” and said, “In 2026, we will expand high-speed internet service to previously underserved communities across our county.”
Supporters cite his experience. County Republican Chairman Terry Wilbur said Weatherup leads with “steady judgment,” according to the Palladium-Times, and Barclay said he wanted to make sure whoever follows him can “continue on the fight.” Allers, his Democratic opponent, has said the district has been “taken for granted.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Weatherup’s committee, Friends of Jim Weatherup, received $181,050.54 in public matching funds across six distributions from May 19 to Oct. 5, 2026, according to the state Public Campaign Finance Board’s May 19 distribution and later reports. The first payment, $87,500 on May 19, was the largest, followed by $2,624.59 on July 30 and $20,976.87 on Aug. 21.
2026 public matching funds in the 120th Assembly District race
WeatherupDemocratic nominee
Public matching funds paid to each nominee in 2026: Weatherup across six distributions from May 19 to Oct. 5, Allers across five from Aug. 21 to Oct. 13. Cannon received no matching funds PagPol found. Source: New York State Public Campaign Finance Board.
Allers received $86,310.50 across five payments from Aug. 21 to Oct. 13, beginning with his first payment in the board’s Aug. 21 report. Cannon received no matching funds that PagPol found. Any payments after mid-October would add to both totals.
PagPol could not find Weatherup’s total raised, spending, cash on hand or top donors in state Board of Elections filings, because the state’s data service was unavailable to its researchers. Matching fund totals may also change before Election Day as the board makes further distributions to qualifying candidates.
CONTROVERSIES AND CRITICISM
PagPol found no ethics complaints, lawsuits or personal scandals involving Weatherup. The sharpest criticism concerns pay raises. Legislator Christine Novak, an Oswego Democrat, criticized the raises in December 2025, saying “there is one area of the budget that appears completely unaffected by these raises,” according to the Palladium-Times.
At one meeting Weatherup interrupted a public commenter with a point of order, saying “That’s not on a resolution.” The commenter objected, the audience applauded, and his microphone was later turned off, according to the Palladium-Times. Sheriff Don Hilton then said he would add security, citing requests from legislative staff and an increase in threats.
In early February 2026 a committee rejected a measure barring sheriff’s office cooperation with ICE, 4 to 3 along party lines, with Republicans in the majority voting no, according to WRVO. PagPol could not find Weatherup’s position or a public response from him to the criticism of the raises.
CLAIMS VERSUS THE RECORD
Weatherup says the county manages tax dollars with care. The comptroller’s 2025 fiscal stress review found total fund balance at 31.28 percent of spending, no short-term debt and a score of 6.7, indicating no stress. The county’s tax rate has fallen more than 30 percent since 2005, as Weatherup said, and dropped to $5.14 for 2026.
The rate tells only part of the story. The property tax levy has risen even as the rate fell: the 2026 budget’s combined levy of $58.2 million grew 5.9 percent and exceeded the state tax cap, requiring an override, according to the Palladium-Times. PagPol could not find the final override vote or how Weatherup voted.
Change in county property tax levy, 2021 to 2025
Oswego County (Weatherup)Nearby counties, increaseDecrease
Percent change in each county’s property tax levy from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025. Oswego’s generic tax rate fell from $7.48 to $5.15 per $1,000 over the same years as assessed values rose. Source: county budget figures compiled in PagPol’s Data Spine.
STATE COMPTROLLER AUDITS IN THE DISTRICT
PagPol found no comptroller audit of Oswego County government itself from 2019 through 2026. A December 2025 follow-up review found the City of Fulton made “minimal progress” on a 2022 capital projects audit, implementing 1 of 12 recommendations, partially implementing 2, leaving 8 undone and 1 undetermined, according to the comptroller’s Fulton follow-up review.
The Town of Schroeppel’s stress score improved from 51.7 in 2024 to 36.3 in 2025, moving it out of the susceptible category, according to FingerLakes1. The comptroller also audited claims at Oswego County BOCES in 2022, though PagPol did not review its findings.
A street in the village of Pulaski in northern Oswego County, part of the 120th Assembly District Weatherup hopes to represent. (Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
LOOKING AHEAD
Weatherup faces Allers on Nov. 3 for a seat held by a Republican for more than two decades, while remaining county chairman during the campaign. If he wins, the legislature, where Democrats now hold seven of 25 seats, would need to choose a new chairman. For more, visit PagPol’s Oswego County page or subscribe to the Oswego County newsletter.
