“Phil Dwarfman, 67. I’m a computer systems analyst. I’m paying very high taxes. They’re spending my money and it’s not their money so they don’t care what they spend it on. There are a lot of things they can cut out of the budget and choose not to.”
(Phil Dwarfman, 67, of Manlius, computer systems analyst, Republican)
“My first name’s Carla, last name’s Hodge. I’m 33 years old and I’m a registered nurse. Our violence rate is out of this world. It’s like our rate has been up, in the last four year, at least 25 percent. We really need to try to stop the violence and get more programs for children, especially the teenage group. Try to get them into more programs that keep them out of trouble and keep them off the streets.”
(Carla Hodge, 33, of Syracuse, registered nurse, Democrat)
“Peter O’Connell. I’m 59 and I own my own company. I remember when we lived on the South Side of Syracuse. It was a neighborhood, not a shooting zone. If you drive around, you see homes that are empty, businesses that have left the city. They have to bring them back and restore the neighborhoods in order to make this city a vibrant community again.”
(Peter O’Connell, 59, of Syracuse, owner of a janitorial supply company, independent)
“Roger Paolini, 67 years old and I’m retired. Without manufacturing you don’t have anything. You can only have so many service jobs and pretty soon there’s nobody to serve because manufacturing is what’s driving the country. If everything we made, we use, is made in a foreign country — if we ever go to war with this foreign country, we’re going to go barefoot and naked.”
(Roger Paolini, 67, of Brewerton, retired, registered Republican)
“I’m Kim Larock and I’m a waitress at Uno. I use to be Democratic. I guess nowadays with how the economy is, you have to go with what’s best for the people. You’re never going to get a mayor, or person for that matter, that’s going to break down and stop every violence. That’s just the way life is. But if he gets out there and goes door to door and gets more people involved with what’s he’s going to do, and parents, and children, and gun violence, and drugs — more people would get involved.”
(Kim Larock, 27, of Liverpool, waitress, independent)
(Jessica Shaw is a senior in finance and broadcast journalism.)
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