On Improving Syracuse
Mayoral candidates debate ways to arrive at better city
Thursday, September 29, 2005
By Pam Greene
Staff writer
Syracuse needs diversity in civic leadership positions. The schools need more funding and opportunities for students of color. The city needs to do more for the environment.
Three mayoral candidates agree with these general principles, but differ on how to accomplish them. They hashed out their views Wednesday at a debate organized by Professionals of Color at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology theater in Armory Square. The debate was led by Mark Rupprecht from the League of Women Voters.
Republican challenger Joanie Mahoney said there are no people of color in decision-making jobs at City Hall, and that needs to change. Mayor Matt Driscoll said he hired the most diverse class of fire and police recruits in the history of Syracuse, people who are being groomed for leadership positions in the city.
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins said the economic gap between the rich and poor needs to be stabilized. The rich pay 7 percent of their income in taxes while the poor pay 14 percent, he said.
By creating a public power system and getting rid of Niagara Mohawk, poor people would have better access to high-speed Internet and phones, as well as lower utility bills. There should be neighborhoods with actual power in the decision-making process, not just as advisers to the politicians, he said. And there should be more publicly owned prosperous business opportunities, such as a city-owned bank, he said.
Mahoney suggested that City Hall tap into community resources to create educational opportunities as well as retain young talent. Mentors from the business community could be better utilized in the public schools. Syracuse University and State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry students could get four-year internships at City Hall. Those young people could also help create the job opportunities that would keep them in Syracuse after graduation, she said.
"I'm going to fill City Hall with the best and the brightest, regardless of affiliation," she said.
Driscoll said he intends to make downtown a better neighborhood, with pedestrian walkways from Clinton Square to the Hotel Syracuse and Little Italy to South Salina Street. There should be more indoor public transportation stations so that residents aren't freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. More residential housing should be created downtown, he said. The city is also leading the way environmentally with a "green" City Hall, he said.
After the debate, audience members differed on which candidate did the better job.
"Everything Joanie Mahoney said was right on as far as diversifying the seats in City Hall," said computer consultant Eric Glover. The city should lead by example to encourage private business to diversify, he said. "Until corporations here try to take a chance on people of color, people will pack their bags and move out."
SU sophomore N. Bennison Ntsakey said he's seen the city improve under Driscoll's leadership in the two years he's lived here.
"When I first came downtown, it was very different than it is now. More people have jobs," he said. "He (Driscoll) started something and he should finish it."
Posted by syracusegreens at September 28, 2005 02:39 AM