(Jason Tarr)
Stephanie Miner will be the Democratic mayoral candidate when voters turn out for the November election in Syracuse.
“I have never felt more satisfied about where are than today,” Miner told a group of elated supporters who gathered at Nibsy’s Pub on primary night, Sept. 15. “The stake for us and our children and our neighborhoods is very high. And we all know that, and that’s why we’re here. Because we believe that we can put our shoulders to the grindstones, and working together, we can have a brighter future for all of Syracuse.”
Stephanie Miner defeated three other candidates to win the Democratic nomination Sept. 15. Miner, a common councilor, won approximately 44 percent of the vote, getting 4,040 total votes, according to the unofficial tally by the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
The other candidates and their unofficial vote totals were Joe Nicoletti, a former state representative, with 3,240 votes; Alfonso Davis, a political consultant, with 1,021 votes; and Carmen Harlow, a former Department of Public Works deputy commissioner, with 793 votes.
The general election is Nov. 3.
For the mayor’s job, Miner will face Republican nominee Steve Kimatian, a lawyer for Newport Television. She also has the Working Families Party nomination. If she wins on Nov. 3, she would be Syracuse’s first woman mayor.
Miner, 38, first won a seat to the common council in 2001 and was reelected in 2005. She was a lawyer at Blitman & King until March when she quit to campaign full time. She is married to Jack F.X. Mannion, an insurance executive.
While serving as common councilor, Miner earned the reputation for independence, a maverick willing to break from party lines and sometimes challenge Mayor Matt Driscoll. For example, she led dissent among the councilors to oppose Driscoll’s support of the Destiny USA project to expand the Carousel Center mall.
On the council, she is also known for her emphasis on city education. She spearheaded the drive for Say Yes, a kindergarten through 12th grade program in the city school district that stresses higher education. Under Say Yes, high school seniors who have been in the school district for at least three years can receive free college tuition.
For the rest of the mayoral campaign, Miner said after winning the Democratic nomination, she will continue to stress three of her key issues: developing the Say Yes to Education program, stimulating Syracuse’s economy and combating crime.
On her education plans, Miner has promised to expand the Say Yes program into city schools in Syracuse’s Northside and Eastside. The program now is in the Westside and Southside schools.
“I think our biggest opportunity is that we must seize is that we must fully implement the Say Yes to Education initiative in all that it can do for city families,” Miner said in a phone interview on Sept. 13.
On strengthening Syracuse’s economy, Miner has promised to move towards green technology. The rural area around Syracuse will be help the city invest in biofuel research and development, she has said. She also has promised to partner with Syracuse University to develop the green technology.
.As another spark to the economy, she has also proposed a campaign with local colleges and institutions to keep young graduates in Syracuse and Central New York, according to her Web site.
On combating crime, Miner acknowledges that Syracuse has a high crime rate. Miner has pledged to hire 14 new police officers using federal stimulus funds. She also would try to improve diversity in the Syracuse Police Department, she has said.
“We need to reestablish relationships between the community and the police so that all neighborhoods feel that police are public servants not part of the problem,” Miner said in a phone interview Sept. 13.
(Abram Brown is a junior with dual majors in magazine journalism and history)
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