Miner speaks to supporters on election night. (Silvia Milanova)
In an historic victory, Democratic Stephanie Miner will be the 53rd mayor of Syracuse.
“I have learned firsthand that anything worth doing you can’t do alone,” Miner told a jubilant crowd of Democrats celebrating at the Sheraton Hotel by Syracuse University on Tuesday night. Miner gave a special thanks to the female role models in her life, including her grandmother Betty Cooney — a political legend in Syracuse. “Without people like you in my life, I would not be standing here.”
Miner is the first woman to be the mayor of Syracuse. In 2005,Republican Joanie Mahoney, now the Onondaga County executive, ran for mayor but lost to Democratic incumbent Matt Driscoll, who is now finishing his second term as mayor of Syracuse. Driscoll could not seek reelection because of term limits.
Miner steps up to the mayor’s office after eight years as an at-large Common Councilor. In Tuesday’s election, she beat two other candidates. Political newcomer and TV executive Steve Kimatian ran as the Republican and Independence Party candidate. And Otis Jennings, longtime city parks director, ran as the Conservative Party nominee. In September, Jennings lost the GOP primary to Kimatian.
By 11:27 p.m. Tuesday night, with 100 percent of the vote counted, the vote count showed Miner won with 50.1 Jennings had 2,314 or 10 percent of the votes.
In her victory speech Tuesday night, Miner pledged that “real campaign” starts the day after election day. That campaign, she said, will “make Syracuse a city of justice, a city of peace, and a city of hope for all its residents.”
Miner’s win was expected, as Democrats outnumber Republicans in Syracuse by a 3 to 1 ratio.
Miner began serving as a Councilor At-Large in 2001. She could not run for re-election to that seat because of term limits. In her time on the Common Council, Miner became well-known for supporting education and later for leading initiatives with Say Yes to Education. She developed a reputation as a maverick, challenging politicians who wanted to grant a tax break to theDestiny USA mall expansion. Of the three mayoral candidates, Miner offered the most detailed agenda, with a 54-page plan on her Web site.
At the polls on Tuesday, voters gave a hint of Miner’s likely win.
At the Drumlins Country Club polling station, Sue Freeman, a Unity Mutual Life Insurance Company employee, used to work with Miner’s husband. Despite being a Republican, Freeman voted for Miner. “I know Stephanie personally. She’s a lot more reserved.” Added Freeman: “A lot of people think she’s a — I don’t know how to say this right — a barking dog. But she has kindness in her heart. She barks for the right reasons.”
At St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Jamie Bouchard, 44, a nurse in Syracuse, also voted for Miner. She respects Miner’s strong character and willingness to stand up for taxpayers, Bouchard said. “I wanted to vote to see some changes in the city from someone who has been here a long time- someone like Stephanie Miner who knows what needs to be done,” Bouchard said.
At the Democrats’ party at the Sheraton, Miner praised her supporters and voters. “I promise you tonight,” sje said, “that I will work hard every day that you have a mayor and a City Hall that you will be proud of every single day.”
(Michelle San Miguel is a senior dual major in broadcast journalism and international relations.)
(Democracywise reporters Brian Amaral and Steve Doane contributed to this report.)
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