[5] Her father, Bernie Mahoney, was a member of the Syracuse Common Council and then the New York State Assembly.
[8] She left the position in 1997 to become a full-time, stay-at-home mother, but decided to run for a seat on the Syracuse Common Council.
[6] Mahoney decided against running for re-election to the Common Council, choosing to spend more time with her children.
During the general election, Mahoney was pitted against New York State Assemblyman, William "Bill" Magnarelli.
[14] On November 19, 2007, Mahoney announced the names of her transition team that would ease the switch from Pirro's administration to hers.
The honorary co-chairs of her transition team were Republican County Executive Nick Pirro and former Syracuse Mayor Thomas Ganley Young, a Democrat.
In September 2018, Mahoney announced her resignation as county executive, midway through her third term, to take a position as chief operating officer with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).