Think of him as a Republican.
That’s how Syracuse mayoral candidate Ian Hunter is pitching himself to voters. Never mind him being on the ballot as the Conservative Party candidate. Never mind him being thrown off the Republican line by a court order. And never mind the fact that the head of the Republican Party in Onondaga County doesn’t take him seriously.
“I’m the only Republican on the ballot in this fall’s election,” Hunter said.
But Hunter says he’s not necessarily running to promote Republican values. “I want people to understand that Conservative thought turned into good public policy will enrich their lives,” he said.
Hunter faces incumbent Democratic Mayor Stephanie Miner and Green Party nominee Kevin Bott in the Nov. 5 election. The winner will serve for a four-year term and be paid a salary of $115,000.
County GOP chair Tom Dadey announced in September that the Republican Party would forego running a candidate. He dismissed Hunter as the party’s nominee. “I never considered Ian Hunter a serious candidate,” Dadey said in September. “And I think as things progress in the coming weeks, I think you’ll understand why that is.”
Grant Reeher, a political scientist and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University, says Hunter faces an uphill battle. “I do not think there is much enthusiasm around the Republican Party for his candidacy,” Reeher said. “I don’t think he’s got a very good chance of being successful.”
Hunter says he hopes to tap into the Republican voter pool, but the numbers are still against him. Of the 70,696 registered voters in the city of Syracuse, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a total of 38,799 to 11,362. A mere 670 are registered with the Conservative Party.
In his campaign, Hunter points to his lifelong Syracuse residency, his local political involvement and his promises to tackle key issues as qualifications for his candidacy. Those who know him well — family members and political colleagues — describe him as energetic, dedicated to conservative principles and deeply rooted in Syracuse politics.
Conservative Party member Paul Bertan has known Hunter since 1964. “Ian Hunter is extremely capable,” Bertan said. “People don’t seem to realize this. He’s a very conservative, money-saving alternative to the current Democratic administration.”
Hunter’s oldest daughter Cheri Sciccitano says her dad isn’t a typical politician and cares a lot about the future of the city. Politics is a passion that keeps him going, she said. “He’s a very young 71 year-old,” she said. “He’s got a lot of spunk.”
Hunter, 71, grew up on Westcott Street and has lived in the same Candee Avenue residence for the past 44 years. There, Hunter and his wife of 30 years raised eight children who now range in age from 18 to 49.
Four of Hunter’s children still live in Onondaga County. That has given Hunter some connections to major players in the local political scene. His daughter Cheri Sciccitano recently sold U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei’s house in DeWitt to county GOP chair Tom Dadey. This occurred at the same time that Dadey was suing her father to kick him off the ballot. “It wasn’t a comfortable situation,” Sciccitano said. “I avoided everyone involved.”
Also, one of his daughters-in-law is Pamela Hunter, a Democratic nominee for Syracuse Common Council this fall. He and his daughter-in-law agree on issues of economics, Ian Hunter says. But they’re far apart on other topics. “It’s interesting at Thanksgiving dinners,” Ian Hunter said.
Hunter joined the local Conservative Party in 1966. He remained in the Conservative Party until 1979, he said, when he joined the Republican Party to help support Ronald Reagan’s candidacy for the Oval Office.
But voters should not read too much into that party change, Hunter insisted. “I haven’t changed my Conservative views at all,” he said. He describes that ideology as supporting a free market system, the right to life, and the right to bear arms.
Hunter has a long political history in the city and county. He ran for and lost races for Syracuse Common Council in the late 70s and for a seat on the Onondaga County Legislature in 1995.
In his non-political life, Hunter works as project manager for Last Chance Recycling, owned by his wife Joy, in DeWitt. He also is a roofer. He’s completed work on 2,000 buildings in 20 years’ time, Hunter says.
Hunter cites all of these things as proof that he can handle being mayor. “I’ve run two successful businesses, raised eight kids successfully, have employees, pay the taxes, survived the regulations, and have seen the impact regulations have on business,” he said.
If elected, he said, three of his major initiatives would be to privatize the pickup of garbage and yard waste, persuade Time Warner to offer a-la-carte cable TV and fix up or knock down vacant buildings.
On privatizing waste removal, Hunter says he aims to shoot down the flow control laws in Syracuse. Those laws allow the city government to mandate where municipal solid waste is taken to be processed, treated and disposed of. Now, the city’s waste is processed through the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, or OCCRA. But Hunter says his calculations show that Syracuse would save $18,000 per day if private company Seneca Meadows in Waterloo were to handle the city’s waste.
Time Warner Cable is another service provider that Hunter seeks to change. Hunter argues that Time Warner charges its viewers for channels that they don’t watch or agree with. He’ll fight to convince the city council not to renew Time Warner’s contract next year, he says, unless the company provides a-la-carte cable TV. A-la-carte cable means that customers have the power to choose what cable channels they want to pay for.
“It’s a matter of choice,” Hunter said. “When people have dollars to spend, shouldn’t they spend it on the things they want?”
Hunter expresses concern about vacant homes in the city. “You can’t have a building that doesn’t pay for itself,” Hunter said. “And every time the city builds subsidized or public housing, you end up with another vacant building.”
To stop this, Hunter pledges to pursue a moratorium on public and subsidized housing. He will demolish vacant homes that are beyond repair and pose a danger to the community, he says.
The public will be able to hold him accountable for his campaign promises for his family’s sake, he says. “If I do stupid things, I would embarrass my family,” Hunter said. “And I don’t want to embarrass my family.”
For now, Hunter says, he has a victory in simply being on the ballot.
“Someone has to speak out for Conservative-Republican positions,” he said. “I consider it a duty to carry on this message when no one else is willing to stand up and do so. Conservative-Republican voters in this city deserve a voice, and I am here to be that voice.”
(John Tummino is a junior with dual majors in broadcast and digital journalism and political science.)
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