Linda Ervin

Linda Ervin in a 2013 photo.

(Marie Morelli)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Linda Ervin had been a known "no" vote on the controversial Onondaga Lake amphitheater project from the start.

But she cast the deciding "yes" vote today, clearing the way for Onondaga County to borrow $49.5 million for a 15,000-seat amphitheater on the waste beds at Onondaga Lake. The vote was 12 to five in favor of the project. (Because the county is borrowing money, the measure needed approval by two-thirds of the Legislature).

Ervin still wasn't convinced that the project would bring the returns its backers promised.

But the push from the other side, and the promise of extra help to get her pet projects done, was too much to overcome, she said.

"I had projects I wanted to see happen, but I had to do this for that to happen," Ervin said following the vote this afternoon. She declined to elaborate on what those projects were.

"As the minority, you don't have a lot of power," said Ervin, a Democrat who represents Jamesville. "This was a lever that gave me power."

Ervin said she was lobbied by "everyone and their brother" to change her mind. She didn't want to name names, but said the list included the trade unions, the state Democratic delegation, and County Executive Joanie Mahoney's office.

She said the project labor agreement that the Legislature passed helped her decision, as well. That agreement will ensure that minority- and women-owned businesses get a larger share of the work on the amphitheater. Ervin said she's hopeful that similar agreements can be worked out for future construction costs in the county.

"I had to look for what's good," Ervin said.

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