The six remaining candidates in the 2017 Syracuse mayoral race gathered Tuesday night to discuss their platforms at a public forum on Syracuse’s North Side.

About 80 people packed the basement of Westminster Presbyterian Church to hear the candidates’ positions on topics including city rezoning, police services, the Syracuse-Onondaga County merger proposal and housing.

Juanita Perez Williams, Joe Nicoletti and Marty Masterpole are the three remaining Democratic candidates.

Ben Walsh is the Upstate Jobs Party candidate, Howie Hawkins is the Green Party candidate and Laura Lavine is both the Republican and Independence Party candidate.

Alfonso Davis, who was disqualified from the race earlier this summer, attended the forum as an audience member. He said he was continuing to run for mayor while disputing the Onondaga County Board of Election’s decision to boot him from the race.

Here are some takeaways from the forum:

Laura Lavine

Lavine, a former LaFayette School District superintendent, said she would seek mayoral control over the Syracuse City School District.

Under her plan, Lavine would select the city’s school board with the advice and consent of the Syracuse Common Council. Currently, there are seven school board members. Every two years, three or four school board members go up for election.

Lavine said the school board cannot do consistent work if board members are up for election every two years.

“Mayoral control sends the message to the city that schools are of paramount importance and that I as mayor will ultimately be accountable to the community for what happens in the schools,” Lavine said.

The Republican candidate said she would increase the number of police officers to deal with understaffing and overtime pay issues in the Syracuse Police Department.

Lavine also said she does not support the proposed city-county merger that would combine the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County governments. The Consensus report detailing the merger, compiled by a group of legislators and community members, “avoided dealing with the Syracuse City School District,” Lavine said.

Juanita Perez Williams

The Democratic candidate spent most of her allotted time describing her plans to tackle issues related to vacant housing.

“We need to focus on the 1,800 blighted houses on the South Side of the city that sit and contribute to horrendous things in communities,” Perez Williams said. Houses left vacant in the city are an “eyesore” that cause crime and lower property values, she said.

Perez Williams said her administration would focus on code enforcement and property owners would be cited and held accountable for properties that are not maintained.

The Democratic candidate plans to continue Syracuse’s sanctuary city status, she said. Under her administration, she will not have policies where law enforcement would ask where people are from, she said.

Perez Williams also said she would not support city-county consolidation.

Paul Schlesinger | Asst. Photo Editor

Joe Nicoletti

Nicoletti said the SPD will need to fill the vacancies in staffing. He would rather see the police department expand to “reflect the diversity” of the Syracuse community than pay officers for overtime, he said.

On the city-county merger, Nicoletti said he is opposed to the plan.

“It never works when you try to consolidate from the top-down,” Nicoletti said. “If the county wants to help us and we want to work with them to share services, let’s start at the bottom-up.”

Nicoletti would support help from the county on revitalizing parks and streets but said that the city should retain ultimate control.

Ben Walsh

Walsh, an independent, said he supports increased police hiring to fill vacancies in the police department. Putting more police officers into the city will help build relationships with the community, he said.

In addition to increasing police numbers, Walsh said he supports installing security cameras in city neighborhoods to help reduce crime.

“We need to put more cameras where they are needed and where they are wanted,” Walsh said.

Security cameras operated by SPD are currently being installed in off-campus neighborhoods near Syracuse University.

Walsh also said he would propose creating a “quality of life commission” that would engage the community, department heads and elected officials to focus on topics such as beautification and litter in the city.

Paul Schlesinger | Asst. Photo Editor

Marty Masterpole

Like many of the other candidates, Masterpole supported filling SPD vacancies. Filling vacancies, Masterpole said, would give the police chief the ability to run a good department.

Masterpole also said the Land Bank was “a great thing,” and should be funded appropriately.

During the forum, candidates were allowed to yield time to answer audience questions if they wanted. Masterpole was the first candidate to take questions from the audience. One attendee asked Masterpole about his relationship with New York  Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York Legislature.

Masterpole said his relationship with Cuomo and the Legislature is “neutral.” But as mayor, he said he wants to have a good relationship with the governor.

Howie Hawkins

Hawkins said a community hiring hall — where people could come and sign up for employment — would help increase employment in the city.

Hawkins said the SPD has failed to diversify and that a new police chief should be selected from outside the city.

A police chief from outside the city would help the police force become more diverse and manage overtime issues, Hawkins said.

To reduce crime, he said the city should invest in reducing poverty.

Hawkins also said he is opposed to the city-county merger proposal.

Published on September 6, 2017 at 12:37 am

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18