Tearing down Interstate 81, improving education and making the city vibrant culturally and economically reflect the views some key issues by Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner.
Miner, a Democrat, is seeking her second term for mayor. She faces Green Party candidate Kevin Bott, who runs a political theater group called D.R.E.A.M. Freedom Revival; and Ian Hunter, a Republican businessman running on the Conservative Party line.
The election is Nov. 5.
Democracywise posed two questions on key issues to the candidates in the Syracuse mayoral race. Miner’s campaign manager, Kyle Madden, gave these responses for Miner in an email:
The future of Interstate 81
What should be done with I-81 and why?
On behalf of Miner, Madden told Democracywise: “The mayor supports tearing down Route-81 through the city. It is a physical and psychological barrier to Syracuse and Mayor Miner believes in its removal.”
In a Sept. 4 Q-and-A with Syracuse.com, Miner added: “I am not in favor of having an elevated highway divide our city in any way.”
Improving the local economy and eliminating poverty
In September, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Syracuse and Onondaga County have not yet recovered from the 2008 recession. In the city, unemployment was 14 percent and in 2012 more than a third of city residents lived in poverty. For children, 55 percent were living in poverty. Those figures are a four-year high, according to the Census Bureau. And in Onondaga County, median family income in 2012 was $64,324. That’s compares to $67,661 in 2008 and $65,666 in 2011.
What specifically would you like local government – the County Legislature and/or the Common Council—do to improve the local economy and help reduce poverty? Why do you think your proposal would help?
On behalf of Miner, Madden responded: “The Mayor has aggressively supported policies that would pull Syracusans out of poverty and provide good-paying jobs. At the local level, the mayor has promoted Say Yes to Education, making Syracuse the first Say Yes city in the nation, and has advanced policies to bring affordable housing to the city. At the national level, she has worked with our federal delegation to increase aid to Syracuse so that we can fund programs of all sorts. She would like to see the Council, the County Legislature and our partners at the State and Federal level to continue funding and supporting her initiatives on these issues because they have shown results.”
(Marwa Eltagouri is a senior with dual majors in political science and magazine journalism.)
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