(Julia Terruso)
Steve Kimatian wants to run Syracuse the company way.
“I’ve spent my entire career managing people, hiring people, being responsible for tens of millions of dollars and being a good communicator,” Kimatian said. “And that’s what we need in the mayor’s office.”
Kimatian, who spent 30 years as a TV executive, is the Republicancandidate for mayor. He is a political novice in Syracuse. But in the Sept. 15 primaries, Kimatian defeated Otis Jennings for the GOP mayoral nomination. He will face Democrat Stephanie Miner and Jennings, who is running on the Conservative Party ticket, in the general election Nov. 3.
In Syracuse, Kimatian, 68, is best known for his long career as a TV executive, lawyer and philanthropist. He worked as general counsel to Newport Television until he announced his candidacy for mayor in May 2009. From 1998 to 2008, Kimatian hosted “With Steve On Sunday” onWSYR-TV, Channel 9.
Kimatian grew up in Long Island, received his bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University and his law degree from Cornell University. His career has centered on broadcasting. He served as general manager for WJZ-TV in Baltimore, from 1974-78 and was president of Maryland Public Television from 1982-1986.
He’s a father of two who married his high school sweetheart, Janet. The family is, literally, close. His granddaughter, Sarah Rose, and her parents live next door in the Sedgwick neighborhood. Kimatian is building her a playhouse and, he says, he tries never to miss his son-in-law’s bike races.
Kimatian’s only other brush with politics was an unsuccessful bid 29 years ago for a seat in the Maryland State Legislature. He was the Republican candidate running in a predominantly Democratic city.
That’s much like Syracuse this time around. Syracuse Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections. And in the run for campaign money, as of October 23, Kimatian had raised only $84,334 compared to Miner’s $546,118, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
This time around, Kimatian says, he’ll beat the odds. Kimatian and those who know him well are pitching him as the candidate who understands key issues—such as development, crime and the economy — and who has leadership ability and a business-savvy background.
Many of his proposals and positions, Kimatian says, come straight from talks with voters. Others, he says, come from observing what has worked in nearby cities. He estimates he knocked on more than 2,500 doors campaigning in what he terms the “street race for mayor.”
The results of all that knocking? Proposals like a curfew for teenagers age 16 and younger. That’s part one of a six-part plan to cut down on crime in the city. The idea for the curfew, he says, initially came from people he talked with on porches and front lawns concerned about noise and violence after dark.
On the issue of development, Kimatian proposes to build up the Syracuse inner harbor much as Baltimore did in the late 1980s. He also calls for creating a wireless broadband network for the city to make Internet access free or affordable for all Syracuse residents and businesses.
On education, Kimatian supports the Say Yes to Education program. But he calls for more focus on counseling and teaching in elementary schools. He’s a proponent of charter and specialty schools and wants the school superintendent to sit on the mayor’s cabinet.
Kimatian’s had a long interest in education. He was board chairman of theCommunity College of Baltimore. In Syracuse, his wife, Janet, is principal of Roberts Elementary School. Janet, he says, frequently advises him on education issues confronting the city.
Those who worked with Kimatian, or know him well, speak mostly about his leadership, ethics and reputation as a problem solver.
In 1977, for example, Kimatian was the general manager at WJZ-TV, in Baltimore. A new reporter had just signed on to co-anchor the evening news. Soon after her hiring, the show’s ratings went into a steep slide. Kimatian switched her from the coveted nightly news spot and moved her to morning and noon anchor.
“She was upset,” Kimatian said. “She wanted to leave. She wanted me to tear up her contract and I wouldn’t do it. I said, ‘You should stay with it.’ I said, ‘You will have your day’—those were my words—I had no idea of course she’d go on to what she has.”
The young anchor: Oprah Winfrey.
Theresa Underwood is vice president and general manager of WSYR-TV NewsChannel 9. She worked with Kimatian for 14 years. Underwood calls Kimatian “the most ethical person” she’s every worked with in business. “Each and every day it was always about doing the right thing, whether it was for the viewer, the customer, or the staff –ethics and business was a top priority,” Underwood said.
David Rubin, former dean of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, has been interviewed by Kimatian numerous times over the years. Rubin called Kimatian “perhaps the brightest broadcaster to come through Syracuse.” Under Kimatian, Channel 9 broadcast the least sensational and least self-promoting newscasts in the market, he said.
Kimatian touts his experience with multi-million dollar companies and the management of hundreds of employees translates directly to the political arena. He compares the hierarchy of professionals in the business world to those in city government. “Just look at the organization chart of a city and the organization chart of a company,” he said. “They’re very similar.”
Business success is always measured in performance and results, Kimatian said. He questions whether politicians are held accountable for their promises in the same way.
When pressed for an example of how he’s achieved results, Kimatian cited the economic troubles that hit WSYR in 2000. Faced with massive layoffs and tight funding, Kimatian came up with a solution: What he calls “CentralCasting.” WSYR developed a central control hub for all the company’s stations so they could share video. The move saved time. It also saved the company 20-30 layoffs, Kimatian said.
Francis Fasuyi worked with Kimatian on the CentralCasting plan and for 15 years at WSYR. “He’s a leader who works 24/7 and we have to have someone with his business background, somebody who gets results as mayor,” Fasuyi said. “He’s a new name but I think that’s what we need. Someone new—a change of course.”
Kimatian also wins praise for management from a source closer to home—his daughter Ellen Eagen, now a lawyer in Syracuse and his campaign treasurer.
“He’s the type of dad where if you have some test to study for or some project and you’re running up against the 11th hour he’ll make time for you. He’ll just say, ‘Look, calm down. We can get this done.’ He never panics. He never stresses. Things could start falling a part he’ll just kind of pull them all together,” Eagen said.
For example, she and others cite, Kimatian pulled together much of the planning and funding for the Golisano Children’s Hospital in tight economic times. He chaired the Upstate Foundation during the Hospital’s $20 million fundraising drive.
In addition to the Upstate Foundation, Kimatian has served as a board member for the Everson Museum and a member of the United Way’s “Success by Six” program. In 2001, he won the Salvation Army’s Community Team Spirit Award.
In the mayoral campaign, Kimatian acknowledges he has his work cut out for him. He’ll keep knocking on doors and campaigning until Election Day, he says, expressing optimism about the outcome.
“They said I couldn’t win the primary and I did. They may say I can’t win the general but I will. When it comes down to it not many people vote pure party,” Kimatian said, “There’s no Democratic way to govern a city, no Republican way. There’s just a right way.”
(Julia Terruso is a junior newspaper journalism major.)
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