Syracuse voters will choose their next mayor on Tuesday.

Democrat Juanita Perez Williams, independent Ben Walsh, Republican Laura Lavine and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins are vying for office.

Perez Williams and Walsh were nearly tied in the most recent poll, released Sunday. Walsh led Perez Williams by two percentage points. In the last poll, released in October, Perez Williams led Walsh by seven percentage points.

History will be made no matter which candidate is elected. Walsh, an independent, would be the first mayor of Syracuse unaffiliated with any political party. Perez Williams would be the city’s first mayor of color. Lavine would be the first Republican woman elected and Hawkins would be the city’s first Green Party mayor.

Here is what you need to know about the candidates:

 

Annie Schwartz | Contributing Illustrator

Juanita Perez Williams

If elected, Perez Williams would be the first Latina mayor in New York state and the first woman of color elected mayor of Syracuse.

She won the Democratic primary in September, beating Common Councilor Joe Nicoletti and City Auditor Marty Masterpole. Nicoletti later endorsed her.

The California native is a veteran of the United States Navy, and she formerly worked for New York state and Syracuse University.

Perez Williams was endorsed by a number of lawmakers, including Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Vice President Joe Biden. Syracuse University’s College Democrats also endorsed her.

 

Annie Schwartz | Contributing Illustrator

Ben Walsh

Ben Walsh is the sole independent candidate for mayor. He is liked by both Republicans and Democrats and also swept the Independence Party ballot line from under its designee, Laura Lavine, during the primary election.

He has received more than $440,000 in campaign donations, and much of that money has come from real estate developers. His ethics have been questioned by Perez Williams, who said she would ban businesses that seek government contracts from donating money to candidates’ campaigns.

Though he is the son of a Republican congressman and grandson of a Republican mayor of Syracuse, Walsh stuck to his independence.

Walsh attended the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He has headed several local economic development programs and has also worked under Mayor Stephanie Miner as deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development.

 

Annie Schwartz | Contributing Illustrator

Laura Lavine

Lavine is the former superintendent of the LaFayette Central School District and has lived in Syracuse all her life. She has worked in school systems for more than 40 years, but her proposal for mayoral control of the school district barred her from being interviewed by the city school district’s teachers’ union.

She polls third behind Walsh and Perez Williams and is the only Republican running in the mayoral race. There are more than three times more Democrats in Syracuse than Republicans, she said.

She ran unopposed for the Republican line on the mayoral ballot, but lost the Independence Party and Reform Party lines to Ben Walsh in the primaries.

Lavine focused her campaign on education reform and decreasing crime. She said she supports hiring more police officers for the understaffed Syracuse Police Department.

She has been endorsed by Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway, along with other prominent New York Republicans. She has also been endorsed by the Syracuse University College Republicans.

 

Annie Schwartz | Contributing Illustrator

Howie Hawkins

Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, has lost more than 20 elections since the 1990s. He has run on a “Sustainable Syracuse” campaign, which promotes public ownership of utilities, community hiring initiatives and sustainable energy.

He moved to Syracuse in 1991 and has lived on the South Side since then. He prides himself on living in one of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods and being a longtime advocate for progressive initiatives.

He has run for mayor of Syracuse twice, governor of New York once and other local positions multiple times. He said he keeps running because constituents keep encouraging him.

The Green Party candidate attended Dartmouth University and joined the United States Marine Corps, but never saw combat.

Hawkins, like Perez Williams, is also from California. He is the secretary and treasurer for the Eat to Live Food Cooperative on the South Side and unloads trucks for UPS in the evenings.      

Published on November 7, 2017 at 12:35 am

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001