In an undramatic victory, Democrat Stephanie Miner has swept into a second term as mayor of Syracuse.
“I want you to all know that tonight when the poll closed at 9:01 I got a phone call from an honorary Syracusan,” she told a roaring crowd. It was U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, calling to remind Miner how much he loved Syracuse.
“I told him Syracuse was in safe hands,” she said.
As of 11 p.m., with 100 percent of the vote counted, Miner had about 68 percent of the vote with 10,312, votes, according to the unofficial results from the New York State Board of Elections. Bott had 15.2 percent or 2,305 votes. Miner’s other challenger, Conservative candidate Ian Hunter, also had about 15.5 percent of the vote with 2,352 votes.
Miner had the advantages of high name recognition, incumbent status and fundraising. Voter registration also strongly favored her: Of the city’s 71,014 voters, 38,813 registered voters — or 54 percent — are Democrats. About 381 voters — or less than one percent — belong to the Green Party, while 655 voters — also less than one percent — belong to the Conservative party.
In fundraising, Miner had a sizeable advantage. As of Oct. 25, she had $166,144 on hand, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
At the Democratic celebration at Pensabene’s Casa Grande, off State Fair Boulevard, about 250 Democrats and supporters chatted loudly against the booming 90’s hip-hop blaring from the speakers. Candidates were greeted with loud applause every ten minutes with the announcement of new results.
When Miner walked in, the crowd in the banquet hall stood up forming two even lines around the center aisle– many holding ‘Miner for Mayor’ signs — to catch a glimpse of the reelected mayor. Miner strode in with a wide smile as the chorus of Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind” played, hugging several supporters.
She thanked them, and credited them for all her success. “Any problem can be solved by people coming together with good will,” she said.
At the polls Tuesday, voters still turned out to show their support for Miner, even though she was the overwhelming favorite. At George Fowler High School, Pat Driscoll, director of Say Yes to Education, said Miner was an easy choice for him. “She’s really been able to meet some of the challenges in our community,” Driscoll said.
At Ed Smith School, Lynda and Jeffrey Fuchs voted for Miner even though her race was what Jeffrey Fuchs called “no contest.” But, he added, “We came to show our support because we were afraid everyone would stay home because they assumed she’d win.”
(Marwa Eltagouri is a senior with dual majors in magazine journalism and political science.)
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