The Mosh Retirement Fest didn’t start the way its organizers intended. Nic Misita spent the first hour shooing guests away from the entrance, wary of being busted by cops. Nate Glyn, who left the stage in a rush, scrambled to recover after the first act, only performing half a set and blowing out an amp in the process.

There were eight more bands to play that first night.

Each night of the two-day festival was five straight hours of thumping rock and punk music, with just enough time between sets for audience members to save their breath. The blue tarp-lined basement, with enough room for about 100 people, turned into a sauna as the audience created chaotic mosh pits.

“Shout out to this sweaty box because these places are sacred,” rapper Chango4 of the hyperpop duo C4W2 called out in the middle of their set.

Misita and Glyn have put on house shows from The Blue Room since September 2021. With both of them graduating from Syracuse University, the two shut down the venue after they hosted a two-day, 17-band festival last weekend. It was their last and largest show.

For most weekends this year, Misita has spent an evening standing out in front of a house in the Westcott neighborhood. With a grin on his face even when it’s cold, he checks names off of a list and draws a smiley face on people’s hands.

Misita runs the door, memorizing every guests’ name, before guiding them around the back of the house where rickety steps go down to the weed smoke-filled venue. At the same time, Glyn, who lives in the house, helps artists get settled in the small space behind the house’s furnace which has become a makeshift green room.

The Syracuse house show scene is a cycle, they said. Most house venues last one or two years before organizers graduate or move on, but Misita is an exception to that rule. Since he decided to stay at SU for graduate school, he’s been around the DIY house scene and promoting shows for five years, despite a break due to the pandemic.

For the two Syracuse natives, The Blue Room was a culmination of their experiences in the city’s underground scene. The venue that inspired them was Space Camp — where they saw their first house show together in 2017 — an alternative music venue which served as the model for how Misita books artists today.

“They booked what they liked, and it didn’t matter if 20 people showed up, if 10 people showed up or if 100 people showed up,” Misita said. “When The Blue Room started it was, ‘How can we bring in the value system of Space Camp?’”

• • •

When Glyn first saw his new house’s basement, the blue tarps were already on the walls and floor. It sparked an idea, so he reached out to his former manager and high school friend.

“I want to do something and I don’t know what yet,” Glyn recalled telling Misita. “But this place is going to be interesting.”

That’s all Misita needed to hear. Within a few days of deciding to have a show, dozens of students and locals packed into the basement of that new house for The Blue Room’s inaugural concert.

Setting up was easy, Glyn said. He added a few more tarps, used a leftover couch to make a green room and a band sticker-covered desk to hold sound equipment. A week before the show, Misita came up with the name “The Blue Room” because “it had the vibes,” he said.

Glyn, an artist himself, was the first musician to take the stage. Later, two of his local artist friends followed. The show wasn’t full — about 40 people showed up — but they knew they had something special.

“The atmosphere was right,” Glyn said. “It was the perfect way to start the venue.”

That first show was a special moment for Misita as well, finally having his own space with Glyn to hold shows. Under the moniker Mosh Retirement, Misita booked and promoted shows at other venues as an undergraduate student at spots such as the Spark Art Space, but he wanted to do something different.

“I used to go to DIY shows for years beforehand and never really felt included,” Misita said. “I felt like it was always an insider’s club.”

Misita envisioned The Blue Room as a safe space for alternative music and its fans. He and Glyn noticed an opening in the scene for a venue tailored towards hardcore music, punk, shoegaze, hyperpop and other alternative genres, and they wanted to fill that gap.

It was always a dream of Misita’s to put on a festival, but personal mental health challenges and a pandemic ruined the opportunity — now is a “second chance to do things right,” he said.

Most of the artists who played the sold-out Mosh Retirement Fest returned to The Blue Room, and most are professional touring musicians. For Misita, it’s all about leveraging the connections he’s made by promoting local shows and about focusing on the music first, and artists can feel that focus, he said.

The atmosphere of fans enjoying music is what drives Misita and Glyn to host shows. They envisioned a welcoming space where the music came first and brought people together, both college students and locals.

With Misita’s experience promoting shows away from campus and Glyn’s background as a former student at Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College before he came to SU, crowds are often less than half SU students despite the proximity, the organizers said.

“It’s the people and the atmosphere which make this place so special. Nowhere else is like it,” said local fan Connor Knight. “Every time I come here, I leave with two new friends.”

• • •

The second day of the festival began as chaotic as the first. The first act, hardcore band Misfire, broke a bass string and a guitar strap during their performance, ending their set short like the first act a day earlier. After that, they broke a window in their car while packing up their gear. Glyn dubbed it the “first act curse,” but the seven remaining bands went as smoothly as the other eight the night before.

The early problems only added to the organizers’ stress. Not only did they sell out about 100 tickets for each night, but a local police crackdown on house music venues kept Misita on his toes.

Two campus-area house venues were shut down by police in the week leading up to the festival. No cops stopped by The Blue Room on its final weekend, although a lurking police cruiser sent Misita into crisis mode on the festival’s second day. It’s one reason he wants to move on to legitimate, legal venues.

“I can’t put all this energy into a show and risk having the cops come through,” he said.

The audience waxed and waned over the course of the night as different artists played and people stepped outside for fresh air and drinks from a nearby corner store. Each band had merchandise for sale on a table in the back of the tarp-lined basement, with the space providing a reprieve from the mosh pits in front of the bands.

Before hardcore band Flicker played a cover of “Theme Song for a Syracuse Basement Show,” singer Lukas Reed addressed the crowd and the city’s underground scene.

“The university does its damnedest to keep students separate from the community, but this basement is a bridge to make a greater Syracuse scene,” he said. “It’s sad to see this one go, but we have to take this energy to the next basement and the one after that.”

Even with The Blue Room closing this year, Misita said he isn’t done in Syracuse. He plans on sticking around after he graduates, continuing to manage bands, book tours and work to organize shows at legal, local venues like Funk ‘n Waffles. Mosh Retirement Fest isn’t done either. Misita said he wants to bring it back every semester at a larger venue for locals and students to enjoy his signature alternative music lineups.

“The goal is that Syracuse becomes a legit scene to see smaller bands on a consistent basis,” he said.

Glyn is headed to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time, mostly as a sound mixer and producer for Dan Konopka, the drummer and producer for rock band OK Go.

After ska-pop punk band Keep Flying finished their last song just after midnight, people started filing out of the venue for the final time. Misita spent time taking photos with regular attendees and wishing them well, while Glyn helped the band break down equipment.

“I’m going to miss this,” Glyn said once everyone left. “This is something I’m going to tell my kids about.”

Glyn is moving out in June, but the tarps are staying on the walls and ceiling of the basement.

A fire damaged the upper levels of two homes on Ackerman Avenue on Sunday night.

The fire started in the attic of 955 Ackerman Ave. and spread next door to the upper level of 959 Ackerman Ave., according to fire officials on the scene. No injuries have been reported.

The building of 955 Ackerman Ave. suffered extensive fire and water damage while the damage at 959 Ackerman Ave. was minimal, said Syracuse Fire Department Executive Deputy Chief Rick Kisselstein. The cause of the fire is currently unknown and under investigation, he said.

A SUNY-ESF student who only identified himself as Bob said that he called 911 after noticing a fire above his apartment. He lives on the second floor of 955 Ackerman Ave.

“The fire alarm went off and we checked the downstairs apartment when we noticed the attic was on fire. I opened the door and saw smoke billowing out,” he said.

The student said that a dog in the attic apartment had died, which fire officials could not confirm. He also said the resident of the attic apartment was not home at the time of the fire.

Syracuse University junior Aidan Harrington, who lives on the first floor of 955 Ackerman Ave., returned home after the fire had started to see six fire trucks in front of his house.

“I’m confused about where I’m going to live now, because I won’t be able to live here anymore,” he said.

The Red Cross was on scene to help residents locate their possessions and find a place to stay.

Onondaga County Legislators voted 9-8 on Tuesday to table a proposed law that could extend legislators’ terms from two years to four and put term limits on their seats as well as on the county executive and comptroller.

The resolution, which was proposed by Legislator Ken Bush, would place a referendum on the ballot this November for voters to decide whether county legislators, the county executive and the comptroller would be limited to three terms.

Bush and fellow Republican Cody Kelly joined Democrats in voting against tabling the measure, but a nine-vote majority of all the remaining Republicans took the resolution off the agenda after lengthy debate in the session.

Bush did not discuss the measure with fellow legislators or pass it through a committee before bringing it to a vote, which is not the normal procedure for a local law, Majority Leader Brian May said. That choice left too many unanswered questions for him and fellow Republicans to vote on it Tuesday, he said.

“This is not how you make a very significant decision,” May said.

Bush also chose not to speak extensively in favor of his proposal, instead opting to let its words do the convincing, he said. May wasn’t happy with the process Bush chose to pursue.

“In my world we call that half-assed,” May said. “If any individual here has something that’s important to him, then that individual should be ready, willing and prepared to step up, represent the issue they’re trying to advance and see to it that it passes.”

Bush said he chose not to loop in either the Democratic or Republican caucus to ensure that there was no appearance of partisan intent with the law. That’s one reason he wanted to pass it now, he said.

“Timing is important. I don’t want this to be a political football for the election,” Bush said.

If the resolution is brought up again next month and passed, it would not affect legislators immediately as none are up for election in 2022. For Bush, it’s all about giving voters the choice.

“If you vote no on this, you’re saying to your constituents that they’re not going to have a say,” Bush said. “People are already so damn cynical of government already, why wouldn’t you give the voter an opportunity to have some say on how their government is structured?”

Bush views himself outside of the party caucus system, opting to represent his constituents first over the Republican leadership, he said. Bush is no stranger to going against party leadership: he was one of three Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to oust former legislature Chairman Dave Knapp in January.

The process surrounding this vote, coming into session with little discussion at all, points to some larger issues in the legislature, Legislator Julie Abbott, a Republican, said. Abbott was surprised to read about the resolution for the first time in syracuse.com last week and never received a phone call from Bush directly, she said.

“I am here because I actually care about the people I serve. This is nothing but pure politics, and it’s a waste of our good time,” Abbott said. “There clearly are rifts within the (Republican) caucus right now.”

May echoed Abbott’s sentiment that the legislature often disagrees.

“We don’t get along much. We don’t collaborate or cooperate in many instances, and we don’t bother educating our colleagues on what issues are important to us,” May said.

Some legislators disagreed with the resolution on principle, either believing that term limits are ineffective or that legislator terms should be kept at two years. But they wanted voters to decide anyway.

“I’m probably the longest-serving person sitting here now, and I’m not crazy about term limits particularly, but I think we should let the public have the decision on this,” said Legislator Linda Ervin, who was first elected to the legislature in 2009. “Last time I petitioned, one of my constituents said to me, ‘You’re back again? Didn’t you just run for office?’”

Knapp responded that short terms serve a purpose and must be preserved.

“A long time ago, some great folks got together and wrote the Constitution and the New York State Constitution, and they said that elected representatives have two-year terms,” he said. “They knew that a two-year term would keep you accountable to the voter. Yeah, it’s not fun. It’s brutal to run for reelection every two years, but they saw that it was the most effective way to keep representatives representing.”

The resolution is an issue that Bush plans to continue pushing for, even though he believes it will likely never pass in this legislature, he said. The resolution is tabled indefinitely, however, it is unlikely that it will get proper discussion or a vote in a future meeting, Minority Leader Chris Ryan said.

“These people aren’t changing their minds. There’s nothing I could have done,” Bush said. “The only thing that will change their minds is when enough people in the public decide to tell their legislators that they want term limits.”

Syracuse Common Council approved $550,000 to create a plan for what the city needs to do to better integrate the Interstate 81 community grid plan into Syracuse’s neighborhoods during its meeting Monday.

The council unanimously approved the resolution, which hired town planning firm Dover, Kohl & Partners to execute a three-phase study centering on creating a “Vision Master Plan.” The master plan would analyze state and federal plans for I-81 and make recommendations for what the city should do in surrounding neighborhoods, the city’s budget director, Tim Rudd, said.

“We don’t have a huge urban planning division, so this is our attempt at having our own consultant to give us our own perspective, which will be a unique and different perspective from the state and the feds,” Rudd said. “It’s about having a city-centric voice.”

In 2019, the New York State Department of Transportation announced it would recommend a plan to remove the I-81 viaduct and replace it with a community grid alternative.

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud announced the university’s endorsement of the plan in 2019. Syracuse community members have advocated for more local hiring opportunities in the project to reconnect the communities that had been displaced by the construction of the viaduct decades ago.

The study, which the firm estimates will take eight months, will focus on the community grid plan’s effects on traffic, the pedestrian experience and community economic development, said Owen Kerney, the city’s assistant director of city planning.

“The vision plan will visualize and facilitate the community’s ambition for I-81 and the city of Syracuse for generations,” he said. “The vision plan will ultimately include proposals for a reconnected street network, including … pedestrian and bike infrastructure … coordination with public transit … affordable housing, as well as implementation strategies.”

Phase one of the firm’s work will analyze the state and federal plans and reach out to community leaders, especially those who may be skeptical of the community grid plan, according to the resolution. Phase two creates the vision plan, focusing on the Almond Street corridor, the intersections of Harrison and Adams streets where I-81 passes the university neighborhood and other key intersections along the viaduct. The final phase creates a strategic plan to implement the recommendations generated by phase two’s master plan, the resolution states.

“(This study) is looking at the I-81 project footprint in the city … and developing a plan for how this will not only impact the city, but how the city and this community should react to that huge investment and what strategies there are to do that equitably and effectively,” Kerney said.

The firm will also conduct outreach in the communities surrounding the I-81 viaduct to garner their input. Councilor Rasheada Caldwell wants to make sure the firm also includes community members beyond directly near the viaduct as well.

“The priority has to be to get the community involved,” she said. “This project is going to affect the entire city, all the way from the valley to the west, north, south and east.”

The study will be funded by a portion of the $123 million in American Rescue Plan funds the city received from the federal government.

“I think this is what American Rescue Plan money is for, to look ahead and plan for the future,” Councilor Pat Hogan said. “Obviously, there was no plan when they went through the 15th Ward in the 1960s.”

The community grid replacement plan for the I-81 viaduct will tear down the overpass of the interstate, which separates Syracuse’s Southside from the Eastside, redirecting all non-local traffic around the city via an improved Interstate 481. In the viaduct’s place will be a ground-level and tree-lined street. City officials hope to annex the extra real estate space created by the viaduct’s destruction as well and use it to revitalize the old 15th Ward, which was destroyed when I-81 was built, in collaboration with local nonprofit Blueprint 15.

The community grid plan has received near-universal praise from city and state officials. The 2022 New York state budget contains $800,000 to fund the first phase of construction.

Based in Coral Gables, Florida, Dover, Kohl & Partners has worked on similar projects throughout the country. In New York, the firm has been involved in Rochester’s plans to replace the inner loop section of Interstate 490, Rudd said. The firm was also responsible for the downtown development plan of Richmond, Virginia, in 2008, which also included significant outreach in the community like the Syracuse plan.

Three firms submitted bids for the Syracuse project. Dover, Kohl & Partners was chosen unanimously by the city’s proposals committee, according to city engineer Mary Robison.

“The goal of this project is to ensure that the NYSDOT’s overall community grid alternative project will facilitate the redevelopment of strong neighborhoods that are sustainable and walkable and allow for equitable development within the city once the viaduct is removed,” Robison said in a letter to council.

The Museum of Science and Technology is putting the final touches on a $2.6 million renovation of its theater facility, adding new digital projectors and planetarium shows.

The end of the year-long project is part of a return to the hands-on learning the museum has had to avoid since the beginning of the pandemic, said Stephanie Herbert, the director of marketing.

“It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling (to be hands-on again) after working so hard to accommodate the health guidelines,” she said.

The museum’s aging IMAX theater was becoming too expensive to maintain, Herbert said, and the museum decided to go ahead with the renovation despite being in the middle of a pandemic, which severely limited its income. The new facility, named the National Grid ExploraDome, uses digital projectors instead of the old analog IMAX technology, making maintenance easier and freeing up an entire room of space behind the theater itself, Herbert said.

“A real difference is just the quality of the sound and the visuals. Going from analog to digital in of itself is a huge leap,” President Lauren Kochian, the president of the MOST, said at a press conference earlier this month. “You add in the most up-to-date sound, the most up-to-date lighting, projectors. It’s really like nothing you’ve ever seen.”

The complete renovation goes beyond the theater, with a full concession stand and a media lab where the IMAX equipment used to be stored. The media lab will be focused on giving students additional educational experiences after they visit the theater, Herbert said.

“It’s a huge educational component which aligns with our mission. It’ll be great to have this extra space to fulfill more of what our organization is headed toward, which is more hands-on accommodations,” she said.

The MOST was closed between March and October of 2020 due to the pandemic. Herbert said that when it reopened they had to change its entire philosophy in order to still serve the community while following health guidelines.

The museum brought in a live animal exhibit and other displays which were still entertaining while also following social distancing. The MOST also launched the STEAM Explorers program, which allowed students attending school online to work from the museum rather than at home.

Pursuing an expensive renovation during the pandemic was a difficult decision, Herbert said, but is ultimately a testament to the community’s support and the reduced staff’s efforts. Much of the $2.6 million came from private donations, with $250,000 coming from state funds.

“Despite losing all of the income we did during the pandemic, we’re able to open a $2.6 million theater with the shortest staff we’ve ever had. So I’d say that we’ve come out on top,” Herbert said. “We’re still feeling the effects of the pandemic, obviously, but our February break (attendance) numbers for the entire week were higher than they ever have been.”

National Grid sponsored the theater, providing $300,000 as part of its STEM education initiatives, the utility’s regional director Al Bianchetti said.

“National Grid and the MOST are moving on parallel paths, marked by technology-led transformations that require an even greater commitment to STEM education,” he said. “We believe the MOST and this project can help light a spark around the joy of discovery in every field.”

The MOST expansion also fits into the county’s efforts to increase local tourism. County Executive Ryan McMahon emphasized tourism as part of his State of the County speech last week and was present at a press conference for the project earlier this month. Additionally, Herbert said the theater’s modern technology and dome shape makes it a unique draw for visitors.

“This is going to be a staple for tourism in Onondaga County, which is great for our community, as well as for the students we serve,” she said. “The students that are here otherwise maybe wouldn’t experience something this grand in their lifetime.”

The theater will open on April 9, just in time for the Syracuse City School District’s spring break. It will feature a new documentary film and planetarium show every quarter. The opening film will be “Dinosaurs of Antarctica,” and the planetarium show is titled “Dark Universe.”

The Syracuse Jazz Fest is one step closer to returning to Clinton Square this summer for the first time in over 20 years. Onondaga County Legislators allocated $125,000 for the festival at their meeting on March 1, matching the amount Syracuse Common Council promised last month.

Jazz Fest has been held at Onondaga Community College since it left downtown in 2000, but it has not been held at all since 2017. The two funding pledges account for half of the festival’s estimated $500,000 cost, which means it’s about three-quarters funded, according to organizer Frank Malfitano. He has asked for the last quarter of funding from the state, and he hopes to find out whether they received the funding by the end of the month.

The festival isn’t completely finalized yet, Malfitano said, but he and his team of 10 people are busy organizing what they can as they work to gather the last of the money needed to put on the show. Malfitano said he’s talking with city officials about securing Clinton Square for a one-stage festival June 24-26.

“We had 10 great years downtown in the ‘90s from 1991 to 2000. And it was amazing,” he said. “It was everybody’s feeling that this would be of tremendous benefit to the city. I think that a lot of people will come downtown and a lot of people will take advantage of what downtown has to offer.”

The county and city funding measures faced some pushback from officials and some members of the public who wanted money more equally spread out to other arts festivals and projects. The county measure passed 16-1 with Legislator Mary Kuhn in opposition. Kuhn said she believes that the festival won’t have the economic impact needed to justify the expenditure and is being planned too last-minute.

“We’re still recovering from a pandemic,” Kuhn said. “It’s last-minute. I don’t know who’s going to be performing. I don’t know how you get a big name that can be advertised to fill hotel rooms when it’s March and this is happening in June. So it’s kind of a nostalgic thing, it seems to me.”

However, Malfitano is confident that a good show can still be put on, even with a shorter timeline than he would like.

“If we start on April 1 can we still put on a show that’s happening at the end of June? We absolutely can,” he said. “Our team is in place, the same people that have been producing the show for years and years are all still here. Planning is an ongoing conversation.”

Malfitano said he has gotten interest from artists and managers about playing the festival but is still waiting on the last piece of funding before booking them. The festival’s estimated budget of $500,000 also makes finding artists more difficult as good acts are getting more expensive, Malfitano said.

Comparable jazz festivals usually have budgets starting at $1 million, according to an unpublished analysis by the Syracuse Jazz Fest. The Rochester International Jazz Festival, for example, has a $2 million budget with $1 million set aside to book artists alone. The Freihofer’s Jazz Festival in Saratoga has a $1 million budget with $400,000 allocated for artists, according to the analysis.

Peter Svoboda, who owned CNY Artists in the Shoppingtown Mall until its closure, spoke against the county measure at the legislature meeting. He said that money spent on the festival wouldn’t have much impact.

“I feel about Jazz Fest the same way I feel about giving everyone in Onondaga County free pizza next Tuesday,” Svoboda said. “Everyone will feel good about it for a day but there will be no long-term effect. And many people believe as I do that the money could be better spent somewhere else.”

The county funding is coming from room occupancy tax revenues, which are collected on hotel room bookings in the county. It made sense to use tourism-generated money to fund a tourism event, Legislator Julie Abbott said.

City funding is coming from a federal stimulus package and was passed alongside another $250,000 set aside for other arts festivals and events in the city. Kuhn said she plans to propose a resolution at the county level to match that $250,000 expenditure as well.

While she’s a big fan of the Jazz Fest, Kuhn said she would rather have funding go towards the struggling arts venues which had to close their doors during the worst of the pandemic and instead have a larger, more planned out Jazz Fest in 2023.

“Let’s bring people back to downtown, but what benefit is it other than saying Jazz Fest is back? I don’t know,” Kuhn said. “If we had another year that Frank was really working on it … let’s line up someone big. Let’s fill the hotel beds. This is too fast, and I don’t think it’s going to have the effect that it’s supposed to have. We are still coming back, but we’re not there.”

The festival has brought massive names to Syracuse since its inception in 1982, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck and Dizzy Gillespie. Malfitano said he thinks that history, in addition to the isolating pandemic, is driving the enthusiasm behind this year’s festival.

“It’s part nostalgic because all the festivals downtown were so great. Downtown was alive, businesses were doing really really well. We want to turn back the clock and do it all over again,” he said. “People have missed Jazz Fest and because of COVID I think the anticipation factor is even greater. People have been waiting for its return, so that’s why we’re fighting so hard.”

Jim Rowley now sits in an office he never imagined he would call his own. With bare walls and computer monitors yet to be plugged in, Rowley has an agenda to set just weeks into his new role as the chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature.

Last month, Rowley, a Republican, led an unlikely coalition of all six Democrats and two other Republicans to oust the previous Republican chairman, Dave Knapp. Many coalition members said they were fed up with Knapp’s inaction over County Executive Ryan McMahon spending American Rescue Plan stimulus funds without consulting the legislature first.

“I told anybody that wanted to listen that this was a hill I was going to die on because it spoke to the essence of the legislature, which is that we control the power of the purse,” Rowley said. “From my perspective, it’s Government 101.”

Rowley even threatened legal action against the county if changes weren’t made, something which gained little support, he said. He warned he would be forced to team up with Democrats to make change, and that’s exactly what happened.

Now in the chairman seat, Rowley — along with the new Minority Leader Chris Ryan of Syracuse — plan to bring pressure on McMahon themselves, potentially spelling trouble for proposals like the $85 million Inner Harbor aquarium.

Rowley said he prides himself on not having a lengthy agenda, instead relying on fellow legislators to fill much of the monthly meetings. He’s hoping that the unprecedented way he came into power can also kick-start bipartisanship in a legislative body, which has seen less and less of it in recent years, he said.

“I’m not going to take marching orders from the Republican Party, and I’m not going to take marching orders from the county executive,” Rowley said. “I’m going to take marching orders from the legislators. And I truly believe that’s my role: to be an honest broker to everyone.”

One of the issues Rowley wants to tackle now is an overhaul of the county ethics policy. The county policy has gone untouched since 1990 and is due for a makeover, he said. Rowley also sits on the Board of Ethics for the town of Clay and was on the team that rewrote Clay’s ethics policies after a state audit called the town’s old policies deficient in 2018.

Rowley plans to form a special committee of five members — two members each nominated by the majority and minority leaders and one by himself — to review and rewrite the county policies. Ryan said the idea has his full support.

To reign in McMahon’s spending, the issue that launched him into the chairmanship in the first place, Rowley has a two-pronged plan which will put unchecked spending to bed for good, he said. He’s already asked McMahon to write a letter acknowledging that the spending was against the county charter, to not set future precedent, he said. He is also working on legislation which would retroactively appropriate funds which were spent, which he hopes to have finished for the March meeting.

In the meantime, Rowley understands that the way he became chairman is unique and is now focused on mending bridges with his Republican colleagues, as well as advancing his policy goals. He never even had a conversation with Knapp about McMahon’s spending, he said.

“This coalition will probably never happen again.” Rowley said. “I’m going to give it my best shot and if it doesn’t work out, if I get beat, I’m okay with it. As long as I hold true to my principles so that I can sleep at night.”

Both Rowley and Ryan are skeptical about McMahon’s aquarium proposal, which the executive wanted to break ground on late this year.

“There’s many questions still unanswered,” Ryan said. “Until we find different ways to fund it and get answers to those questions, I don’t see where there’s a path to (the aquarium)”

Rowley and Ryan, who are both on the legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, believe the estimated 490,000 visitors and $800,000 in revenue projected for the aquarium may be optimistic, they said. They also questioned the need for a new tourist attraction in the county given the cost.

On the Democratic side, Ryan is now settling into a role as minority leader that he’s been doing more and more of in recent months, even before the title became official. He’s replacing Linda Ervin of Syracuse, a Democrat who said that it’s time for a new leader after nearly a decade leading the caucus.

“Chris has been right by my side the last couple of years. I had some health challenges last year and he stepped forward and really was doing a lot of the work that I should have been doing,” Ervin said. “At this point, I just decided that there needs to be some new leadership. And I think he was the right person to be the new leader.”

A union man — he is the president of the Communications Workers of America, Local 1123 — Ryan is eager to get down to business and is not shy to share his opinions. He also has a longer list of legislation goals than Rowley.

Ryan wants to focus on advancing legislation out of the Health Committee, he said, especially on filling vacancies in the Health and Human Services and Social Services departments. Additionally, he plans to propose a comprehensive study of sewer infrastructure in the county as well as continue oversight of the implementation of the county’s Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative efforts last year.

Outside of new legislation, Ryan is also leading Democrats’ fight against new district maps passed by the legislature along partisan lines. Ryan is bringing a lawsuit against the county to challenge the maps in court.

“Political appointees drew maps that I believe to be illegal,” Ryan said. “We had a state law that was passed regarding communities of interest and there were various additional stipulations within that law that these district boundaries, in our opinion, violate. So we’re going to bring forth the law and we’re going to challenge it in court. Because it needs to be challenged in court.”

The district maps, approved by the legislature on Dec. 21, 2021, divide the majority-Black District 16 into three separate districts, something which advocates say is illegal. Ryan is currently preparing the lawsuit and hopes to file it “sooner rather than later,” he said.

But even with the many challenges Ryan faces at the start of his tenure, something Ervin said she half-jokingly apologized for, she is confident that he is the man for the job.

“He knows the community. He grew up here, he knows a lot of people in the community here, he’s willing to listen and he’s willing to admit when he’s on the wrong side of something. But he’s not willing to be put down,” Ervin said. “So if someone is challenging him, they better be challenging him on the right facts, because he’ll have his facts. He won’t accept anything halfway. I think that he’s going to be a good leader.”

The Onondaga County Legislature passed a resolution Tuesday, the first day of Black History Month, condemning the racist conduct of the county’s past leaders.

In 1795, the county Board of Supervisors, the legislature’s predecessor organization, assessed a property tax on Black people in the county, affirming that the board viewed Black people as property to be taxed.

Linda Ervin, a Democrat in the legislature, introduced the measure late Monday after learning about the Board of Supervisors’ past actions. Ervin, who was the Democratic leader until she stepped down last month, is one of two Black members of the 17-member county legislature.

“We knew there was slavery; we understood that. But because it was on the record, I felt like we should do something now to repudiate that and to condemn racism,” she said. “I thought it was just an easy thing to do, but it turns out not to be so easy.”

The measure passed unanimously, 16-0, but only after lengthy debate between the legislature’s Democrats and Republicans.

The original language of Ervin’s proposal included condemning systemic racist practices which continue today in addition to condemning the racist acts of the past. Some Republicans showed reluctance toward it.

“I’m not going to paint my community or my children or yours or his or anyone else’s with a broad brush when I don’t know them and I don’t know what they do,” Majority Leader Brian May, a Republican, told syracuse.com. “I just don’t think that’s fair.”

The word “systemic” was removed from the resolution, to the dismay of Ervin and other Democrats. May and recently elected Chairman Jim Rowley also noted that the vote was made more difficult due to its short notice, something Ervin admitted was unfortunate.

The Feb. 1 vote, while condemning the past, also acknowledges Black history, Ervin said.

“Black History Month is about celebrating and educating. That’s what I was doing — educating, correcting and improving,” she said. “It’s not all about the positives of what we’ve done in this county, we do that also … but denying there were problems then, as well as now, in this county is wrong.”

Tim Burtis, a Republican legislator, chose to leave the room right before the vote began. He returned to his seat after all remaining legislators voted in favor of the measure. Burtis later told syracuse.com that he would have abstained from the vote, something which is not possible for non-binding resolutions.

Charles Garland, the legislature’s other Black member and a Democrat, was dismayed that Burtis chose not to vote on the resolution.

“It was uncomfortable, for sure, but it’s a good reflection of what’s going on in our country,” Garland said. “It’s a reluctance to recognize our history,”

Though the resolution did pass, Ervin was let down by her colleagues’ debate on the topic, making the victory less than what it should have been, she said.

“The fact that we got something passed is a victory, yes. We have to compromise to get things done — half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all,” Ervin said. “I got half a loaf of bread yesterday, but that’s OK.”

In 2014, New Yorkers voted to amend the state constitution to end partisan gerrymandering. The independent redistricting commission that constitutional amendment created failed to pass one bipartisan map, instead leaving the task of redistricting to the Democratic-led state legislature. Now, gerrymandering appears imminent.

The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission is made up of 10 members, four Democrats, four Republicans and two independents. The group was tasked with creating a single, nonpartisan proposal for how to adapt the state’s congressional districts according to new data from the 2020 U.S. Census.

New York state will lose a representative in Congress in 2022 due to the new census information, going from 27 to 26 representatives.

The commission failed, instead submitting two maps — one proposed by the commission’s Democrats and the other by its Republicans. The two independents within the commission voted along with the party that nominated them.

Now, the state legislature will step in and draw the maps itself. It will likely result in maps gerrymandered to favor Democrats, which may have been the plan of state Democrats all along, said David Bateman, associate professor of government at Cornell University.

“The way the commission was set up, it allowed the legislature to go around the commission’s recommendations,” Bateman said. “The commission that was established was not necessarily toothless, but more within arms length of political control than something that would be truly independent.”

This outcome was fairly predictable, he said.

Chair David Imamura, a Democrat, claimed that Republicans refused to cooperate with his side’s recommendations and consigned the group to failure.

“Throughout this process, what has disappointed me most about my Republican colleagues is their seeming indifference to public input and an unwillingness to put pen to paper and modify their maps,” Imamura said in the commission’s final meeting on Jan. 3.

Vice Chair Jack Martins, a Republican, denied Imamura’s allegations, instead claiming that Democrats cut off negotiations over maps at the last minute, acting in bad faith.

Despite its independent commission, New York’s redistricting will now head for the same partisan redistricting process that will help Republicans in most of the country, according to Steven White, assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University.

White said Democrats have to gerrymander in their own favor in order to keep up with Republican gerrymanders. If they don’t, the Democrats would be putting themselves at a large disadvantage, he said.

“Ultimately, even if Republicans are made worse off in New York state, nationally, the redistricting process for (the 2020 census) is going to help Republicans on net, even if in New York state it’s the opposite direction,” White said.

The legislature’s redistricting could play a large role in the fate of the U.S. House majority in 2022 as well, both Bateman and White said. Republicans are projected to gain seats from redistricting nationwide, and combined with long-term trends that the non-presidential party does better in midterm elections, Democrats will need all the help they can get in order to hold on to their current nine-seat advantage, White said.

“There’s every reason to expect Democrats will do badly in 2022, not because of any political thing they’re doing in current politics, but just generally that tends to happen. The Republicans did very badly in 2018 with Trump, and Democrats very badly in 2010 with Obama,” White said.

Nationally, Democrats are caught in a difficult situation, Bateman said. Democrats will have to either follow what the party believes and not gerrymander while Republicans continue to — costing them seats — or go against the party’s stated platform, Bateman said. While Democrats would prefer not to gerrymander, it’s a necessity of the current political situation. But a solution to the gerrymandering problem is also hard to execute, he said.

“What the Democrats should be doing is passing national voting rights legislation that would require all states to draw congressional districts on the basis of a genuinely independent commission, in some form or another,” Bateman said. “That would be, from a democratic perspective, a good thing, but that’s not likely to happen. It’s not going to happen because of the anti-democratic institution of the filibuster in the Senate.”

Democrats proposed national voting rights legislation in October, known as the Freedom to Vote Act, which would provide federal oversight to changes in state election law and make partisan gerrymandering more difficult. The bill failed earlier this month, however, due to opposition from Senate Republicans and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., to remove the filibuster rule in the Senate. The voting rights legislation would require the bill to get 60 votes to pass. Sinema was denounced by her own state’s Democratic Party for her vote against changing the rule.

The 24th District, which includes Syracuse, could see major changes after new maps are drawn. Both proposals from the independent commission moved Syracuse into the neighboring 22nd District, bending from Ithaca through Syracuse and east to Utica. It’s difficult to project how this new shape will affect the district’s representation, but it does unify multiple cities that tend to vote for Democrats, Bateman said.

“(The proposed district) concentrates liberals in many ways. It puts together different communities with relatively similar interests. Syracuse, Ithaca and Utica each have as an anchor for their regional economies, major universities. They’re each varied, once-industrial towns that are making the transition to a knowledge economy,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to me to be an implausible district.”

Incumbent Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, is not running for reelection in the 24th District, leaving the race to Democratic challengers Francis Conole and Steven Holden, who will face each other in a primary this summer, and a yet-unknown Republican candidate.

The state legislature voted down both of the commission’s maps earlier this month and took over the process Wednesday after the commission failed to submit an amended map by the Jan. 25 deadline.

The candidate filing deadline for New York congressional races is April 4, meaning any map the legislature makes should be finalized by that date.

Dustin Czarny has worked in local politics since 2002. In that time, he said, he’s never seen a meeting as poorly run as Republicans’ attempts to redistrict the Onondaga County Legislature in their favor.

As a commissioner of the county Board of Elections, Czarny, a Democrat, was one of six people assigned with creating proposals to redraw County Legislature districts after the 2020 U.S. Census.

The county commission consisted of Czarny, his Republican counterpart Michele Sardo, then-Legislature Majority Leader David Knapp and three other members, two of whom were appointed by Republicans and one appointed by Democrats. Knapp and another Republican member of the commission did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, in the city of Syracuse, redistricting has gone on nearly without a hitch, according to Czarny. Syracuse Common Council created a citizen-led independent redistricting commission last summer to redraw its council districts. The 15-member commission was randomly selected from a pool of qualified applicants starting in July, none of whom were affiliated with local politics.

Syracuse University math professor Graham Leuschke is one of the committee’s randomly selected members.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” he said. “When I was chosen as one of the first eight members … City Auditor Nader Maroun explained the problems with the county system and how the desire is for the city to be different, to be citizen-led and without politics.”

The city took inspiration from Austin, Texas, which used a similar citizen-led commission to finish its new city council maps in October. City officials wanted to avoid the inherent conflict of interest which comes with politicians drawing the borders of their own districts, Common Councilor Michael Greene said.

“We wanted it to be driven by regular citizens that were engaged in the political process,” Greene said. “They’re independent people that are not directly involved in the political process. And that’s balanced from a political ideological perspective and from a demographic perspective. It’s a true cross section of the city as it exists today.”

The county commission, though, has rushed the redistricting process, Czarny said.

“They took things that could have taken a year and put it together within 28 days,” Czarny said. “By doing so, they ignored all input from community members, myself and others about what the map should look like.”

Republicans, who led the commission, ignored the maps proposed by Czarny and other Democrats and made no attempts to include their feedback, Czarny said. Even public feedback, most of which focuses on the commission’s very fast timeline, was ignored, he said.

“There’s not one alteration that (Republicans) can point to on their map that is based on public input. It’s not just Democrats, the people who came to these meetings have been ignored too,” Czarny said.

The pandemic has only lengthened what is already a long process when compared to Onondaga County. While the county created maps in just over three weeks, the city process is expected to take an entire year, with maps ready around next summer, according to Leushke.

The public will get about 12 opportunities to have a say on district maps. There will be meetings in each of the five Common Council districts both before and after draft maps are made, and then two more public meetings before maps are finalized. That public input is key to the city’s model, Czarny said, and is what the county’s redistricting process is missing.

“(In the city of Syracuse) you are not seeing this vitriol, this rushed process. They are taking their time over the next year to get this done,” he said. “The county executive and the County Legislature GOP put in place a process that has now come to an outcome that we all said it would — partisan vitriol and partisan maps.”

It’s a success story that can pave the way for rolling out similar commissions statewide, said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause NY, who was consulted as the city legislation was being drafted.

“We view the City of Syracuse as a model for the rest of the state,” Lerner said, “It proves that there are really civic-minded and qualified citizens who want to do this and that there’s a genuine public interest in the idea. … Syracuse is way ahead of the curve.”

County Republicans’ efforts are part of a national trend of gerrymandering for partisan gain where possible, Greene said.

“It’s a party in control using its power to gerrymander maps that are favorable to them. This whole process has been very rushed and it’s just not best practice,” Greene said. “It’s a process that’s intended to end up with a partisan advantage for the Republicans in the County Legislature, and I think that’s what we’re seeing.”

The commission’s map was eventually passed by the County Legislature along party lines on Nov. 12. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, a Republican, vetoed that map on Nov. 23, saying that it could open the county to legal challenges.

If the map was signed by the executive, county Democrats and activist organizations like the New York Civil Liberties Union would have likely filed suit against the county, Czarny said. The map violated state law by creating districts which have too great a difference between their populations and by turning District 16 — the only district with a majority-Black population in the county — into a majority-white district.

McMahon’s veto sent county Republicans back to the drawing board to create maps which are not likely to break state laws. A revised map was passed by the legislature on Dec. 21 that splits District 16 into multiple majority-minority districts, but none that are majority-Black. Advocates, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, are now considering legal action against that map, according to District 16 Legislator Charles Garland.

With his background in math, Leuschke has attempted to bring statistical models into the conversation as the committee begins to consider redistricting, he said. However, progress has been slow. The pandemic has delayed meetings substantially, with the committee only beginning to schedule public hearings in December.

Even just replacing committee members with average citizens instead of politicians makes the process much more effective, Leuschke said.

“It’s been interesting to me, just as a city resident, to meet the 14 other people on the commission and to get a much better picture of who lives in Syracuse,” he said. “As an ivory tower professor who spends most of his time (on campus), I don’t have a lot of opportunities to just meet folks from all across the city, in all walks of life, and learn about what they think is important in this area.”

The city’s commission can serve as the direct inspiration for what Onondaga County should do next, Czarny said.

“One good thing we are getting out of this with the county is that we are getting a close look at what we should be doing, which is the Syracuse process, and exactly what we shouldn’t be doing, which is the county process now.”

An estimated 30% to 31% of Onondaga County voters turned in ballots during the 2021 elections, the lowest rate since 2015, Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny tweeted. Turnout had grown each year for the last four elections up until this point, he said.

A Flourish chart

Voters reelected Ben Walsh as Syracuse mayor and kept the current slate of County Legislators in power. One office that did change hands was the 1st District Common Council seat, as Democrat Jennifer Schultz won the seat that Republican Joe Carni — who did not run for re-election — formerly held. Two Democrats were also elected to vacant at-Large seats on the Common Council.

The 30% countywide turnout was about 5% less than in 2017, the last mayoral election. Despite lower overall turnout, early voting increased in recent years. This election, 9,727 people voted early, a 2.6% increase over the proportion of early votes in 2019, when 8,462 people voted early.

Czarny said he expects the early vote proportion to continue rising going forward, as absentee ballots will no longer be as easy to apply for as previous elections. In 2020 and 2021, New York state allowed voters to use the risk of COVID-19 as an excuse to vote absentee, which will likely not be the case going forward.

This year, 5,389 people voted absentee, according to the county board of elections. Those ballots will be counted starting Nov. 16.

Proposition Four, the New York Constitution amendment which would allow no-excuse absentee voting in New York, did not pass on Tuesday’s ballot. About 56% of voters statewide voted against the proposal.

The Democratic party launched an organized effort to flip seats on the legislature this year, putting up a candidate for every seat. But at the end of election night, no seats will change hands.

“This is substantially low turnout that had Republicans do well in the areas they had power and Democrats do well in Syracuse (except mayor), Dewitt and Manlius,” Czarny said on Twitter. “In many ways, this is a status quo election locally. However, these races continue and we will count every vote.”

Ben Walsh was reelected for Syracuse mayor Tuesday, setting him up for a second term as the city’s first independent mayor.

Walsh, 42, defeated Democratic challenger Khalid Bey with over 60% of the vote. Bey, who has served in Syracuse Common Council since 2011, fell more than 6,000 votes short of Walsh as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The victory confirms that Walsh’s 2017 election, when he became the city’s first independent mayor, wasn’t an outlier. His campaign and dozens of supporters celebrated with a watch party at the Persian Terrace of the Marriott Hotel downtown. He touted his bipartisan support in his victory speech.

“A lot of people, including the party establishment, tried to write off 2017 as a flash in the pan,” Walsh said. “It wasn’t. We once again proved that a broad, diverse coalition that puts people over politics and consistently chooses to rise above can win.”

“Syracuse, you picked hope and optimism for this great city. You rejected the division that has impacted politics elsewhere and had held us back for far too long, and you chose working together to solve the challenges we face.”

Walsh acknowledged his opponents in his speech, as well.

“Janet Burman’s relentless focus on public safety reflects our desire for safer neighborhoods. Janet, I want you to know that I will work tirelessly to keep our city safe,” Walsh said. “Khalid and I go a ways back and have always worked well together. Khalid has given a large portion of his life serving this community and has done so with dignity and a forceful commitment to ensuring the voice of the people is heard.

Khalid Bey conceded the mayoral race on Tuesday evening, but he seemed optimistic, saying there is more work to be done.

He described himself as a straightforward, practical and pragmatic person, and said his experience in the mayoral race has taught him a lot about how government is unattractive to voters, leading to low voter turnouts.

“We, politics and our government have to figure out what that is to try to reinvigorate the excitement about doing that civic duty to get more people involved,” Bey said.

Bey reiterated his stances on many important topics in his campaign: job security, stability in homes, the ability to feed families; safe neighborhoods and safe educational environments.

“These are the things everyday people think about. I’m hoping that those who continue on in government will make that a part of the effort next year,” Bey said.

Voters also selected three new Common Councilors, including an at-Large councilor to replace Bey, who left his position to run for mayor. Departing Councilor Joe Carni, Common Council’s only Republican, did not win an election for a County Legislature seat and will be replaced by a Democrat. Now, Democrats will hold all 10 seats on Council.

While Walsh and Bey have different political affiliations, their politics align on some major issues. Both supported the I-81 viaduct community grid plan, encouraged city investment in sidewalk infrastructure and pushed for increased code enforcement in homes and apartment buildings across the city.

The main issues of the campaign focused on police and public safety, where Bey takes a more progressive approach to the incumbent mayor. Bey said in March that the city’s police reform plan, proposed by Walsh and passed by Common Council, didn’t go far enough.

The candidates butted heads over the city’s relationship with the police union, specifically the newest contract awarded by an arbitrator in July which doled out $10,000 bonuses to veteran officers. Bey and other councilors spoke against the deal in 2019, claiming it is too expensive.

In his second term as mayor, Walsh plans to focus on infrastructure, neighborhood development and public safety, according to his campaign platform. His platform, announced last month, also reiterates his commitment to redevelopment of the I-81 viaduct in favor of the community grid alternative and expansion of his Syracuse Surge economic development policy.

“For me, the clock is already ticking, and I want to use every minute available to finish the work we started four years ago,” Walsh said.

Specific policy goals include a bus rapid transit public transportation system, the early stages of municipal broadband service and a complete update of city zoning laws. The platform also pledges an expansion to the city’s sidewalk paving program and significant increases in road reconstruction.

Walsh had a fundraising advantage throughout the entire race. He entered 2021 with nearly $300,000 in his campaign accounts and raised another $400,000 this year. Bey raised just over $100,000 during the entire campaign. Walsh used his fundraising advantage to spend nearly $200,000 on advertisements during the race.

About 93,000 people voted in this election, a turnout of about 30%, Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said on Twitter. This marks a decrease of 5% from the 2017 turnout, the last mayoral election.

“I never feel good about low turnout. We wanted to get everybody out; we felt it would be good for the campaign. It’s disappointing,” Walsh said. “That’s something we need to continue to focus on — meet people where they are.”

Democrats will hold all 10 seats on Syracuse Common Council after three new councilors were elected Tuesday evening.

Rasheada Caldwell and Amir Gethers will take the two vacant at-Large seats. Jennifer Schultz will take over the 1st District seat formerly held by Republican Joe Carni, who is leaving council this year.

Caldwell, 45, is the youth community planning coordinator at the Allyn Foundation, a local nonprofit. She previously spent 14 years working with children and families at People’s Equal Action and Community Effort, another nonprofit. She won the seat with about 35% of the vote.

Gethers, 27, is a contract compliance officer for Onondaga County. He won the seat with just over 28% of the vote.

Caldwell and Gethers will fill the seats of Khalid Bey, who lost his race for mayor, and Ronnie White, who placed third in the Democratic primary in June.

Schultz, a community health planner and medical researcher, defeated Republican Josh Davis. With Davis’ defeat, Republicans’ only seat on the Common Council was taken by a Democrat.

Schultz beat Davis with over 64% of the vote after defeating the Democratic Party’s choice for the seat, council clerk John Copanas, in the June primary.

Carni decided not to run for reelection, instead opting to run for the District 7 Onondaga County Legislature seat which he lost against incumbent Democrat Mary Kuhn.

Common Council President Helen Hudson and 2nd District Councilor Pat Hogan also won their elections for council seats. Councilors Latoya Allen, Joe Driscoll and Chol Majok ran unopposed.

Democrats Twiggy Billue, Nyatwa Bullock and Karen Cordano were elected to the Syracuse City School District Board of Education. Three Democrats and three Republicans were on the ballot for three vacant positions on the board.

In the Onondaga County Legislature, Republicans help on to their majority, despite a large organized effort by Democrats to flip seats. All 11 Republican seats of the 17 on the Legislature were retained by the party.

About 93,000 people voted in this election, a turnout of about 30%, Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said on Twitter. This marks a decrease of 5% from the 2017 turnout, the last mayoral election.

Two of the five New York Constitutional amendments on the ballot passed. The right to clean air and water will become part of the state constitution after Proposal Two was passed with 67% of the vote, the largest margin of any of the proposals.

“This amendment would put the same protections for our right to live in a healthy environment that we currently have for our rights to free speech, religion and due process,” said Rhea Jezer, political chair of the local Sierra Club chapter.

Proposal One, which changes the redistricting process, did not pass, with about 60% of voters going against the measure. Proposals Three and Four, which would enable the state to use same-day voter registration and permanently allow no-excuse absentee voting, were also voted down by similar margins. Proposal Five, which expands the jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court, passed.

On the back of the ballot this fall are five New York constitutional amendments. Three affect voting and the redistricting process, one aims to expand New Yorkers’ constitutional rights, and one regulates New York City courts.

If a proposal is approved by a simple majority of voters, it will be added into the New York State Constitution in January 2022.

Proposal One: Amending the Apportionment and Redistricting Process

The proposal would freeze the number of State Senate seats at 63 and change how they are apportioned to ensure that all districts are equal in population, including non-citizens and Native Americans if they are not counted in the U.S. Census.

Incarcerated individuals would be counted at their place of previous residence instead of in the place of incarceration. The process for drawing congressional districts would also be revised and amended.

Proposal Two: Right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment

The second proposal would enshrine the right to clean air and water into the constitution. New York would be the seventh state to include a similar measure in its constitution, with Pennsylvania being the first in 1971. Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana and Rhode Island also passed similar amendments.

The proposal has garnered wide support from Democrats in state government and environmental groups. A Siena College poll from late June reported that 80% of polled registered voters would be in favor of the measure.

“Only the Grinch wouldn’t vote for clean air, clean water and a healthy environment,” said Rhea Jezer, political chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club. “This amendment would put the same protections for our right to live in a healthy environment that we currently have for our rights to free speech, religion and due process.”

Opposition against the proposal claims that it could cause undue legal troubles for businesses and industry in New York due to the short length of the proposal’s language that some perceive as vague.

But Jezer said the brevity makes the proposal easy to understand.

“In New York we do have legislation protecting the ambient air, but this will strengthen and codify it,” she said. “Having this in the constitution will provide a legal foundation preventing damage to our environment, which I think is very important.”

Proposal Three: Eliminating 10-Day-Advance Voter Registration Requirement

Proposal three would remove Article II, section 5 of the New York Constitution, which requires voters to be registered for an election at least 10 days in advance. With this section removed, the state would move to same-day voter registration, according to Onondaga County Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny.

“It would allow people who moved or forgot to register in time to be able to register to vote on the day of the election and vote,” Czarny said. “Now, that may be in the form of affidavit ballots. It may be in the form of another method, but first, the constitution has to be changed. And then (the state legislature can) put in enabling legislation.”

Same-day registration is the law in some form in 20 states and Washington, D.C. It can ensure that many people who would otherwise be turned away from the polls on Election Day or during early voting get their votes counted, Czarny said.

Proposal Four: Authorizing No-Excuse Absentee Ballot Voting

No-excuse absentee voting means any eligible voter can request a mail-in ballot. Under current New York law, only voters who plan to be away from their home counties, are hospitalized in some form or are detained before conviction can apply for an absentee ballot.

In 2020, risk of COVID-19 was added as a reason to request a ballot, allowing any New Yorker to request an absentee ballot. Five times as many people requested mail-in ballots for the 2020 presidential election than four years before.

This proposal would eliminate all requirements, letting any eligible voter request a mail-in ballot with no questions asked.

More mail-in ballots were requested this year than in 2019, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections. This amendment would only increase that number going forward, he said.

“I think that we’re going to definitely see more mail-in ballots over time,” Czarny said. “I envision an electoral system that will be evenly balanced between early voting, in-person voting and absentee.”

Proposal Five: Increasing the Jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court

Even though the fifth proposal only affects New York City courts, it is on the statewide ballot because it requires a state constitutional amendment. The proposal would increase the claims limit of the New York City Civil Court from $25,000 to $50,000.

Early voting began on Oct. 23 and runs through Oct. 31 at six locations throughout Onondaga County. While absentee voting has increased since 2019, early voting is at similar rates so far, Czarny said.

Election Day is Nov. 2, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Mayor Ben Walsh has raised more than four times as much money than his Democratic opponent Khalid Bey since January, according to state campaign finance records updated on Oct. 22.

The Independent incumbent entered 2021 with nearly $300,000 in his campaign’s accounts, and he has since raised an additional $428,000. Bey has raised $103,000 after starting the year with empty accounts.

The financial lead signals what potential voters think about the candidates, said Aarick Knighton, Walsh’s campaign manager.

“Our campaign leans on donations and contributions from those who believe in the mayor and his vision,” he said. “Fundraising has been an equalizer allowing our nonpartisan message to break through the political environment.”

As an Independent, Walsh does not receive funding from the county’s Democratic or Republican committees, Knighton said.

Walsh has been endorsed by 10 union organizations, while Bey has not been endorsed by any. Those labor organizations account for a total of at least $10,000 of Walsh’s fundraising. The mayor recently announced his detailed campaign platform, the “Plan to Keep Rising,” at Westcott Theater last week.

Despite having significantly less funding to work with, this is not the first time Bey has neared Election Day with a fraction of his opponent’s fundraising totals. By the date of the primary election in June, his opponent, Common Councilor Michael Greene, had raised just over $100,000 — almost triple Bey’s $37,000 of funds. Bey won that race by 34 votes.

The smaller fundraising isn’t a disadvantage, according to Erik Eure, Bey’s campaign manager.

“The people of Syracuse who are supporting Councilor Bey are tired of failed promises and ready for change to a better Syracuse,” he said. “Money doesn’t vote, people do, and the Khalid Bey campaign for mayor is reaching people.”

Greene out-fundraised Bey up until October even though Bey won the primary and campaigned for an additional four months. Eure said it’s a sign that Bey’s priority is on the community.

“Our campaign strategies have always been about reaching the people of Syracuse with a message of change,” Eure said. “Our strategy is what it has always been, take our appeal to the people of Syracuse. From our vantage point, we have been doing just that.”

In recent months, donations to Walsh’s campaign have come in at a higher rate and in greater amounts, according to state disclosures. After bringing in just over $200,000 in the first half of the year, he raised nearly $135,000 between July and October alone. Bey raised $57,000 in the same four-month period.

The Walsh campaign has spent nearly $300,000 in the past four months, more than three times the amount Bey has raised all year. Much of that money has gone to campaign expenses such as staff, signs and advertisements.

“A strategic fundraising plan was set back in January that would allow the mayor to run a strong reelection campaign,” Knighton said. “That plan is being executed, and we are confident that Syracuse voters will once again put collaboration and progress over partisanship.”

The Republican candidate, Janet Burman, has raised just under $12,000 since the year began. More than $3,000 of those funds are personal loans from Burman or her husband, according to the state records.

A number of county Republicans discouraged Burman from running for mayor back in January, fearing that she could take votes away from the less-progressive Walsh and hand the Democratic opponent a victory, according to syracuse.com.

Burman chose to run anyway, though she has raised a tenth of Bey’s total funding. Walsh raised almost 30 times more funding than Burman between July and September, and the money she raised in October has not yet been disclosed.

Libertarian Tom Babilon raised $1,300 during his primary campaign against Burman.

Walsh, Bey and Burman will face off at the ballot box on Nov. 2. Early voting began Oct. 23 and will run through Oct. 31.

Common Councilor Joe Driscoll has had enough of Republicans running the Onondaga County Legislature, like they have for over 40 years. The county’s budget is over five times larger than Syracuse’s, and it is responsible for county social services and the health department.

“If we had a Democratic majority, or could at least break the Republican supermajority, so (County Executive) Ryan McMahon would have to negotiate with the Democrats, we can get some more leverage and get some more resources to make the region more equitable,” Driscoll said.

This election cycle, Legislature Minority Leader Linda Ervin asked Driscoll to lead the Democratic Party’s effort to win seats in November. He agreed and decided to take a different approach to previous efforts and create a centralized organization to help candidates. Flip the Leg brings together a board of progressive and moderate Democrats from the city and county to work together, despite policy differences.

The Flip the Leg board is drawn from Driscoll’s experience organizing for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign where he made inroads in local progressive politics. Driscoll’s experience as a politician, both in Syracuse Common Council and as a notable member of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, also gave him connections in establishment circles.

“We’ve never had all the sides that disagree with each other in the same room,” Driscoll said. “This time, it’s the progressives and the party elders all pulling the rope in the same direction.”

Republicans currently hold 11 of the legislature’s 17 seats, a supermajority. That advantage means that if the 11 Republicans vote together, they can pass legislation without even consulting Democrats. While legislation usually needs to go through a committee where all members could comment on it, members can also introduce legislation during a voting session with a party-line vote. That’s become common practice, said Democratic County Legislator Peggy Chase of the 9th District, which includes the Syracuse University campus.

“(Democrats’) hands are tied with pretty much anything that we want to get through,” Chase said. “Frequently, we do not hear about projects or resolutions that (Republicans are) trying to bring up until practically a minute before we have to deal with them. It’s not how the process is supposed to be.”

Flip the Leg, with more candidates and a larger social media presence, has brought significantly more attention to candidates than previous elections, Driscoll said.

“The number of volunteers that the candidates have is, by a long shot, stronger than we’ve ever seen,” he said. “We’re hitting the doors, and people are excited about the message. About more accountability, more transparency, focusing more on services. We’re seeing a lot of excitement, a lot of progress.”

That support is being felt by candidates as well, according to 3rd District candidate Matt Johnson. Johnson, who is 20 years old, is making his first run at elected office after managing Rita Paniagua’s successful Common Council campaign in 2019.

“The (Democratic) Party has been very supportive,” Johnson said. “When one party is in power in a certain branch of government for so long, it’s valid to make the case that maybe it’s time for a different party to take control.”

Flip the Leg creates an organizing space for candidates to coordinate campaigns, Driscoll said, allowing them to better use their resources, gain more volunteers and donations and make their fight for elected office easier. Now the group’s weekly meetings are about 15 people, with many volunteers coming in and out over time. They help volunteers knock on doors, send out mailers and pass out flyers to support candidates.

“We’ve got the old, traditional wisdom and the new wisdom all conferring together and meeting once a week to talk about ideas,” Driscoll said. “I’m really glad that all the people that we have on the squad are really just putting so much time and effort and work in. It’s been inspiring.”

While Chase and Driscoll have doubts about taking back the majority, they said they believe Democrats have a shot at at least ensuring that Republicans no longer have a supermajority in the legislature. Driscoll has his eyes on four seats which could flip this year, he said. Those seats would ensure that Republicans would need to negotiate with Democrats on policy instead of being able to vote on items without Democrats even seeing the legislation, Chase said.

“Government should be transparent. This isn’t a secret clan where all the decisions are made,” she said. “To truly be a productive government, we have to be transparent. We have to be able to bring in the interests of our constituents and discuss them as a group.”

Mayor Ben Walsh announced a new detailed campaign platform at a press conference in front of Westcott Theater on Friday.

The “Plan to Keep Rising” provides details on policy proposals he has mentioned throughout his campaign and makes more specific promises on what a second term would look like if he is re-elected as mayor.

“Make no mistake, this plan does not represent what we’re going to do for the next four years. We are just getting started,” Walsh said. “This provides an opportunity to get a glimpse of the work that we’re going to do if I’m lucky enough to have another four years in office.”

Walsh was joined at Westcott Theater by a number of his supporters including Syracuse Common Council President Helen Hudson, Councilor Rita Paniagua, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens and representatives from some of the unions that have endorsed him.

Beyond expanding previous policy proposals like municipal broadband and expanded city trash services, which Walsh announced at a sustainability forum last week, the plan reiterates Walsh’s commitment to infrastructure investments in the city. The plan commits to the community grid replacement plan for the Interstate 81 viaduct and pledges additional investment into the city’s municipal sidewalk program, which was approved in June.

During the press conference, Walsh emphasized housing and lead remediation policy, as well as police reform, as priorities of a potential second term in office.

“I know how much of a challenge we have with violence in the city,” he said. “I spend far too much time out in the streets in the middle of the night in crime scenes, in the emergency room and in people’s living rooms grieving the loss of their loved ones. And I know so many of us here as well. We’re sick of it. We’re tired of it. We are not going to stop until our city is safer for everyone.”

The “Public Safety” section of the plan outlines Walsh’s commitment to the Syracuse Police Reform and Reinvention Plan, which the Common Council passed in March, and pledges to commit federal relief funds to investigate “alternative policing strategies” for the city.

The plan also outlines a rapid transit bus public transportation system and the expansion of Syracuse Surge, the mayor’s economic development policy.

“We are not satisfied with where we are. We are making progress. It’s undeniable, but we have so much more to do,” Walsh said. “With the coalition that we have behind us and with us, I have no doubt that we’re going to accomplish it. … If we continue to work together and continue to rise above, I promise you, Syracuse will keep rising.”

During a meeting on Tuesday, the Onondaga County Legislature approved a redistricting plan that would give power to a Republican-led panel. The vote was along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of the panel and all Democrats against.

Democrats from around the county said the resolution goes against the pledges all six Democrats and 9 of the 11 Republicans made in 2019 and 2020 to create a nonpartisan redistricting process. The vote started the process to create new legislative district maps for the 2023 election.

“This is the opposite of good government,” said Joe Driscoll, a Syracuse Common Councilor and the chair of the Democratic Party’s effort to flip the county legislature. “(Republicans) are not including anybody else in the conversation, just rolling it out and saying, ‘This is how it’s going to go.’”

The redistricting plan created a six member panel that will draw new legislative district boundaries. The legislature must approve the panel’s proposal for the map to be implemented.

Starting the process now ensures that Republicans will control four of the six seats, said Dustin Czarny, a county elections commissioner, Democrat and automatic appointee to the commission.

“The current last-minute push that seems to be happening now is meant to get this done before the end of the year. So, if the Democrats take control of the legislature, the Republicans can saddle them with partisan maps,” Czarny said. “They seem to be acting like what we’ve seen with the national Republican Party, using redistricting as a tool to empower minority rule.”

Legislator Chris Ryan, a Democrat, proposed an alternative redistricting plan in July, but it was voted down along party lines, 6-11. The plan would’ve implemented a 17-member nonpartisan commission of citizens not associated with politicians. The city of Syracuse passed a similar independent redistricting system in 2019. The process of redrawing Common Council maps began in January.

Democrats called the current maps — which were drawn in 2011 by a Republican-led group — gerrymandered. Peggy Chase, a representative of Syracuse’s 9th district, said her own district was gerrymandered to favor Republicans in 2011.

“Part of my district looks like a finger into the Sedgwick (Drive) area. Now, the Sedgwick area was carved out for the person at the time because it was Republican,” Chase said. “It’s like the representatives pick who they want to represent, rather than the people picking who they want to represent them.”

Chase, who represents parts of Syracuse University’s campus, noted that Syracuse’s Northside neighborhood is split among five different legislators, including her.

“Northside is a nightmare the way it’s carved up,” Chase said. “Now, the reasonable thing would be that a person that looks like and understands Northside would represent them. That’s how good redistricting would go, that they would be together and be represented by somebody who was among them.”

That fracturing of Northside has made it very difficult for residents there to get proper representation and help with community issues, she said. Two of the five legislators in Northside represent mostly suburban districts and are less inclined to spend effort on that part of their constituency, Chase said.

“With the county maps, if you were to teach a class on gerrymandering, this would be a good case study,” Driscoll said. “Some of the districts look like lobsters, these weird animals made out of the district maps to ensure (Republicans) have the best shot at maintaining control.”

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the county by 33,000 as of September, and data from the 2020 census may have encouraged Republicans to change the maps now instead of in 2022, Czarny said. Voters who are not aligned with a party nearly outnumber Republicans in the county, as well.

“This is the suburban shift that we saw under Trump, where the suburbs that used to be bright red have now turned purple, if not blue, as voters reject the national (Republican) Party,” Czarny said.

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

The redistricting panel will have six members: three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent:

• Legislature Chairman David Knapp, a Republican

• County elections commissioner Michele Sardo, a Republican

• Lawyer Kevin Hulslander, a Republican, appointed by County Executive Ryan McMahon

• County elections commissioner Dustin Czarny, a Democrat

• SUNY-ESF Associate Professor Sharon Moran, a Democrat, appointed by legislature minority leader Linda Ervin

• Bar owner Joseph Rainone III, an independent, appointed by legislature majority leader Brian May

The group’s first meeting is Wednesday.

Syracuse candidates for mayor came together at a forum at the City Hall Atrium on Friday to discuss sustainable environmental and economic policy. Democratic candidate and Common Councilor Khalid Bey, Mayor Ben Walsh and Republican candidate Janet Burman gave their policy ideas for an audience of dozens in person and over a hundred people online.

All three candidates agreed that sustainability is critical for a prosperous city. Walsh leaned on his achievements for environmental sustainability during his time as mayor when pitching his candidacy for reelection.

Walsh mentioned Syracuse’s certification as a Clean Energy Community in 2018 and the city’s efforts to reduce power usage by installing LED lights in city infrastructure. The latter saves the city $1.5 million per year and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 5,000 pounds per year, Walsh said. He also emphasized recent commitments to the city’s $2 million urban forest plan and to update the city’s 2040 sustainability plan.

Sustainability is more than just air and water quality, Bey said. He noted that sustainability policy must also combat environmental racism, like the health impact of the Interstate 81 viaduct. Bey also emphasized the importance of community-oriented redevelopment for the community grid plan which is slated to replace the interstate.

“I have a respiratory issue as a result of living in close proximity to the viaduct. I’m one of those children who grew up with the issue,” Bey said. “In other areas around the city, we’ve duplicated this problem. Anything that we can do to build neighborhoods and revitalize neighborhoods will ensure cleaner air.”

Walsh agreed that the community grid plan is necessary.

“There is no greater example of environmental racism in the city of Syracuse than the elevated viaduct of I-81,” Walsh said.

Burman is the only candidate not to explicitly support tearing down the I-81 viaduct and replacing it with a community grid plan. Burman believes a new viaduct should be built to replace the current one, she told syracuse.com.

“It would be a mistake to say that we’re solving the problem of environmental racism by taking down the viaduct,” Burman said. “What’s going to happen after the viaduct is there will still be a very busy, highly traveled corridor there … We need to assist people in living somewhere other than right next to that continued high travel area that’s going to exist.”

Both Bey and Walsh advocated for Blueprint 15, a nonprofit which is creating an economic redevelopment plan for the I-81 viaduct which would construct mixed-income housing. The non-profit is named for the 15th Ward, which was largely destroyed when the viaduct was built.

“When the Blueprint 15 conversation first started, I texted the mayor and told him that there can’t be another 15th Ward. There can’t be another Harrison Street like 1839,” Bey said. In 1839, the Syracuse government ordered demolition of a Black neighborhood on Harrison Street which forced residents to move into the 15th Ward. “It’s all about attracting businesses which do not disrupt the community. Zoning is a key element to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Bey said.

Moderator Chris Bolt also asked candidates about specific programs they would implement as mayor in order to foster sustainable development in the city.

Bey mentioned a municipal broadband program, which he discussed with Stephanie Miner, the former mayor of Syracuse. Municipal broadband is a city-owned internet service, providing internet access at lower cost than private carriers. Miner considered the idea, but no substantive progress was made. Walsh allocated $5 million towards a pilot program this summer, though Bey said he asked for $20 million from City Hall.

“Municipal broadband is one of the most attractive benefits we can make,” Bey said. “It’s something that would be obviously beneficial for every business and every household, especially considering the circumstances we just experienced in the pandemic with no guarantee that we won’t be back there again.”

Walsh wants to revamp the city’s waste collection system. The city set aside relief funds to buy trash and recycle cans for every resident in the city, and there are plans to retrofit hydraulic arms onto all city trash trucks in order to make collection easier.

“One of the problems we have in Onondaga Lake is the number of floatables in the water, and that’s because the way we collect trash in the city is inherently unsustainable,” Walsh said. “That will make a significant difference, aesthetically, in our city environmentally and do a lot to increase quality of life.”

Ten unions have made endorsements so far in the Syracuse mayor race, and all ten support Mayor Ben Walsh. It’s an encouraging sign for his campaign, Walsh said, and shows support for his economic policies which have come under fire from opponents.

Walsh credits the endorsements to his own background as a union member and administrator.

“I’m a former union member, one of my first jobs was working at a grocery store, and I was a member of UFCW,” said Walsh, who is running as an independent candidate. During college, I was labor with Local 633 and immediately after college I went and worked for the New York State AFL-CIO. Labor has played a big role in my life and in my career. And so to have the support of my brothers and sisters in labor means a lot.”

Walsh has received endorsements from ten major unions, including locals representing engineers, carpenters, food workers, healthcare workers and painters, among others. The incumbent’s Democratic opponent, Khalid Bey, has not received any endorsements from unions. But that is not a worry going into the last month of the campaign, said Caly Givens, the press secretary for Bey’s campaign.

“It’s not something we’ve talked about as a concern,” Givens said. “We’re going to continue to reach out to the community to share who Khalid is and get the votes that are needed.”

Union endorsements can have a huge impact on campaigns in terms of support, manpower and funding, said union politics expert Laura Bucci, an assistant professor at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Endorsements not only make it more likely that union members will vote for the endorsed candidate, but also bring in money, she said.

“That can be money in terms of a contribution to the campaign itself, or it could be money in terms of not having to hire staff or finding volunteers to do work. And so that can be really beneficial too,” Bucci said.

Although it is somewhat common for all unions to endorse a single candidate in local races, Bucci said, it usually shows which candidate labor perceives as the front runner and which one they have the most hope for in policy negotiations.

Beyond campaign support, the union support is also an endorsement for Walsh’s economic and development policies like Syracuse Surge and Syracuse Build’s Pathways to Apprenticeship program, Walsh said.

“Those are programs that we developed in partnership with the trades,” Walsh said. “So that supports my assertion that our partnership with labor is helping fuel Syracuse Surge.”

Economic development is one of Walsh’s main focuses for his reelection campaign, something that goes hand-in-hand with labor support, he said.

“Oftentimes when people are looking at traditional economic development, they assume that it’s at odds with the interests of labor, but I couldn’t disagree with that more,” Walsh said. “The only way we are going to truly grow in an inclusive way in our community is by making sure that labor has a seat at the table and that the jobs that we are incentivizing and creating here are good-paying, living-wage jobs.”

Unions generally endorse Democrats, said Bucci, but the support comes as no surprise to the city’s first independent mayor in Walsh, who was endorsed by a number of unions in his first run for mayor in 2017.

“Four years ago, when I made my pitch to labor, I think there was a certain level of wariness around the fact that I was an independent,” he said. “When my friends in labor have called, I’ve always tried to answer, and I think that the fact that they’re supporting me now shows that I’ve delivered on those promises.”

Outside of unions, endorsements have been more equitable between the two campaigns.

Bey has gathered endorsements from five of his colleagues on the Common Council, while council president Helen Hudson, a Democrat, endorsed Walsh. Bey is also expecting endorsements this week from local New York Assembly members Bill Magnarelli and Pam Hunter, Givens said.

For the past decade, Khalid Bey has served as a member of Syracuse Common Council, both representing his native Southside neighborhood as a Common Councilor for District 4 and as an at-large councilor. After losing the Democratic Party endorsement in February but still going on to win a closely contested primary this summer, Bey hopes to become Syracuse’s first Black mayor.

Bey has recruited a staff of community activists, three of whom said they were inspired by his message of hope for a better city, and has created a trusted inner circle of diverse viewpoints as counsel.

The Daily Orange spoke with three members of Bey’s staff for his mayoral campaign. Each has their own story — some balancing multiple jobs to work for him — as they hope to lift Bey to office in November.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Nitch Jones, scheduler:

“Years ago, when there were a lot of shootings in the city, I spearheaded some of the protests and began reaching out to Common Council members to garner support. I remember Khalid (Bey) was always right with me, and he was an important piece in motivating people in the city then.

After that, about five years ago, there was a tragic death in my family, and I learned through a relative that Khalid is actually my cousin. That he is my family. It’s surreal. I just sit back and think, ‘Wow, I am really connected to this man.’ Many people think of him as a colleague, as a friend, as I did, but for me I’m linked to this man by blood. It’s huge for me and my son.

That’s what this campaign is all about, people like my 7-year-old son. I want him to have options. Options to stay in Syracuse or to go. And if he’s going to stay, I want him to have the ability to raise a family here — that when he opens his door he is not judged by the color of his skin and that nothing happens to him because of the color of his skin.

What this campaign means for the Black community is like when Barack Obama became president or when Kamala Harris was elected. That we, as African Americans, can say that we did this. That we can reach and conquer something like being mayor of Syracuse. For those on the Southside, it means that you don’t have to be a product of your environment, of poverty and violence.

I’m looking forward to the next month between now and the election because it’s when people will really learn who Khalid is. I remember when we elected an independent in Ben Walsh and how groundbreaking and jaw-dropping that was. How ecstatic we were that we could do something different. I believe we will have even more of that feeling when we elect Khalid Bey as our next mayor.

It’s history in the making, and I get to watch it every day.”

Yaschia Kinsey, volunteer coordinator:

“In 2009, when I was attending the University at Buffalo, a student was shot and killed outside a bar just hours after he had graduated. His name was Javon Jackson. It was devastating.

I had a criminology teacher who was Black, and I went to him crying. I told him that we needed to do something, and he said we should set up a rally. So we did. Over 150 people came, including students, professors and the mayor. I left there feeling empowered. Feeling that things matter when you speak up and you don’t let them get brushed under the rug.

I continued being involved in community activism when I came to Syracuse, and that’s how I met Khalid during his 2011 Common Council campaign. With his leadership skills, I knew the position of mayor would always be the next thing for him. It was all about timing.

So when he announced his campaign and I was still in Syracuse, I had to get involved, but I could only volunteer because I had to balance being a mother to my 5-year-old and working as a mental health therapist. When he won the primary, I sent him a message on Facebook congratulating him and offering help, and he asked me to take a bigger role coordinating volunteers.

Working with volunteers and interacting with the community is what makes this campaign enjoyable. Even just teaching people who want to volunteer what to say and why Khalid is the best choice for Syracuse is so rewarding.

It would be so nice to have a mayor that looks like me. A mayor that is intelligent, that knows what he’s talking about, and that’s going to address the needs of my community. Someone that can be a mayor for the whole city but not forget about the inner city. A lot of people see Khalid as a beacon of light, as hope for change in Syracuse.

There’s only a month or so left in this campaign, and it’s all about being visible in the community, being present. Going out in the neighborhoods is almost like a rally itself.”

Caly Givens, press secretary:

“Not long after I first met Khalid 12 or 13 years ago, I thought to myself that he would make a good mayor. He’s always been so active in the community and is very intelligent and great at working with legislation. When I found out he was running this year, I said, ‘Wow, It’s about time.’ I feel like he’s a perfect candidate, which is why I got involved.

I’m an actress by trade. I split my time living between Syracuse and New York City. And surprisingly, I’ve learned that acting is more similar to campaigning than you might think. That’s because it’s all interviews. Every time you knock on doors, every time you talk to constituents, you’re constantly interviewing. It’s a really interesting perspective that has given me even more respect for Khalid.

Growing up in the Southside, I was surrounded by violence in the community. I know that’s so important to Khalid, being from the Southside himself, and that understanding is a reason I like him so much as a candidate.

Even just having a Black candidate in this city is so important. I’m a first-generation college student, and when I attended an HBCU (historically Black college or university), Howard University, I saw for the first time Black and brown people in leadership positions, and that was so important for me then. I know that seeing Khalid as mayor will be just as big for people here too.

And even inside the office, he’s surrounded himself with a group of people that he trusts to give advice. We’re all from different backgrounds and have known him for different amounts of time, and it’s very normal for him to ask, ‘What do you think, Caly?’ to me or anyone else. He’s confident and really knows what he’s doing, and that’s relaxed us all through this process. It’s very positive. He believes in himself, so it makes it easy for us to believe in him.

One of my favorite quotes is from Michael Jordan, and I think Khalid Bey embodies this very well. ‘Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.’”

Syracuse University has not communicated with residents how their purchase of The Marshall apartment building will affect its operations next year, residents said.

In July, SU announced its purchase of The Marshall, the luxury apartment building that looms over Marshall Street. The university hopes to turn the building into student-only housing after this school year, it said in a statement.

Communication from the university and the building’s current management to residents has been limited, said junior and resident Vincenzo Hid Arida Suarez. The building’s management company sent one physical letter explaining that the change would not affect the 2021-22 school year. Before that, Hid Arida Suarez heard the news of SU’s plans through social media, he said.

“But that’s all they really told us,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “They didn’t really tell us anything else. Even if you further inquire they don’t know what’s going on, even people within The Marshall."

SU spent $69.4 million on the eight-story, 168,000-square-foot building, according to city records. The building’s managing partner did not intend to sell before he was approached by the university, he told syracuse.com. Men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim was also a minority investor in the property, according to the article.

Hid Arida Suarez and other residents are concerned by the lack of communication from the university and the building’s management. It’s unclear if residents will be able to stay in their apartments next year. Hid Arida Suarez likes the building and location, and he said he wishes to stay. But he’s now worried about finding off-campus housing as fewer and fewer units become available over time.

“I would like to have more details regarding (staying) because the whole reason I decided to live here and pay nearly $2,000 is because I was going to invest in staying in one place for two years and just re-sign my lease,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “But the university coming in and buying this just adds an unexpected new issue because I put all this effort into moving in just for the possibility of me being kicked out to be on the table.”

Hid Arida Suarez has attempted to reach out to both the building’s management company and SU for more details but has not had his concerns addressed, he said.

“I’m hoping the university, for those of us that were intending to re-sign, allows us to, or at least give us priority for housing here,” he said.

SU is forming a task force of campus members — including students — to determine what housing in The Marshall will look like in the 2022-23 school year, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications.

“We recognize and are mindful that students will be preparing for the on-campus housing selection process and off-campus housing leasing period over the next few months,” Scalese said. “We hope to finalize plans for student housing in The Marshall later this fall and communicate those plans with current and prospective residents just as soon as that happens.”

The task force will determine what will happen with current residents, what the role of staff in the Office of Student Living will be, the costs of housing and other important issues, Scalese said.

In a July news release, SU did not provide many details on how the building would be used going forward. The purchase was made in response to a set of recommendations from its housing review. The review process began in 2019, and committee members collected perspectives of more than 7,000 community members, according to the university.

Recommendations from the review include expanding the types of available housing, expanding community building initiatives, investing in South Campus and improving the guaranteed mortgage program for neighborhoods near the university.

The committee recommended SU provides more housing options for students by expanding the university’s apartment and suite-style units. The Marshall met many of the committee’s goals for university housing, such as better aligning on-campus housing with “student preferences,” according to the news release.

The release notes that The Marshall housing would be intended for upper-level undergraduate students. Hid Arida Suarez is worried that SU may treat The Marshall like a dorm, with resident advisors on floors and more strict rules. SU has not determined if it will, Scalese said.

“I don’t want to be treated like a child. I’m going to be 21 coming into my senior year, I’m a grown adult, and I don’t want to be limited,” Hid Arida Suarez said. “Dorm policy like having an RA on my floor looking over me. It’s like they’re trying to treat us like children.”

The housing review also noted that South Campus is an attractive option for students. SU has been considering reducing or removing South Campus housing, even though there’s been disagreement among students. SU will explore options for additional housing in the location, according to the June news release.

Even though he wants to stay at The Marshall, Hid Arida Suarez isn’t sure if he would if the university chooses to run it like a more traditional dorm.

“I would love to be in this space. Again, it’s a great building, and I understand why the university bought it. But if they are going to impose their dorm policies into an apartment complex, they’re really sorely mistaken about what that looks like,” he said.

David Bruen, president of Syracuse University’s Student Association, would be the first person to tell you that his campaign platform is ambitious. It’s supposed to be, he said.

But even so, Bruen, along with SA Vice President Darnelle Stinfort, is having more trouble than expected getting SU administrators to take their ideas into consideration.

“In talking to administrators, with our ambitious goals, they are quick to say no,” Stinfort said. “It’s a give and take because we don’t have unlimited resources.”

Upon launching their presidential campaign last spring, Bruen and Stinfort proposed a 26-point platform which outlines a number of promises including advocating for freezing tuition. While they have been able to make progress on smaller parts of the platform over the summer break, they are less hopeful about their marquee issues, which Bruen said will be harder to accomplish.

Bruen and Stinfort have had productive discussions with administrators on issues such as the Department of Public Safety reform, especially with Chief Bobby Maldonado, the SA leaders said. But Bruen feels like the university is not taking climate issues seriously.

Their “Green New Deal for Syracuse University” plan encourages the university to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2026 instead of the already promised date of 2040. It also calls on the university to expand community service requirements for graduation, make changes to food services to make foods more sustainable and promote transparency of sustainability policies and actions.

“The university doesn’t want to recognize that they have the biggest responsibility here (for sustainability),” Bruen said. “Giving us reusable bags is not enough to save the environment. The climate crisis is not an issue of personal responsibility. Large institutions and organizations, like universities across America, have to be putting in the work to address the crisis, not just individuals.”

The platform also proposes a fixed tuition program, locking in tuition for students when they enroll so it will not increase over time. Bruen and Stinfort intended for the proposal to be a built-in compromise, but they have also seen little-to-no consideration from administrators and the Board of Trustees, Bruen said.

Bruen has not been able to discuss policy with the Board of Trustees since he became SA president, he said. As the most visible student leader, he wants a say in board meetings to ensure that students’ opinions are heard.

“They don’t want a real student voice on the Board of Trustees,” Bruen said. “It’s very delineated what your role is (as a student) on the Board of Trustees. … They don’t even want a half of a vote of a student to be involved, and it’s really disappointing.”

The university denied Bruen and Stinfort’s allegations of uncooperation. SA leadership is scheduled to meet with both representatives of the Board of Trustees and newly hired student experience administrators this upcoming week, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications, in an email statement.

While discouraged, Bruen and Stinfort still hope that future meetings with administrators can be more productive. Proposing a large and ambitious platform is the best strategy to start discussions and create compromise on a wide range of issues, Bruen said.

“Compromise is our main goal because at the end of the day, we’re only here for four years,” Bruen said. “Ultimately, we have to be outcome-oriented, so the whole year is working to start as many conversations as we can and hopefully get as many accomplishments as possible.”

Francis Conole, the Navy veteran and Syracuse native who first ran for congress last year, announced Tuesday that he will run again in an attempt to unseat Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus. Conole lost the 2020 Democratic primary to former Syracuse University professor Dana Balter, who was unable to defeat Katko.

Conole, 43, is the second Democrat and veteran to announce candidacy for the NY-24 seat after Army veteran and SU alum Steven Holden launched his campaign in June.

Conole graduated from the Naval Academy and served in the Iraq War before becoming a policy advisor at the Pentagon. He is also currently a commander in the Navy Reserves.

According to his campaign site, Conole pledges support for a universal public option for healthcare, a $15 minimum wage and expansion of the recently passed Child Tax Credit. He also backs a large investment into clean energy resources as well as investment in election cybersecurity measures.

Other issues Conole advocates for include affirming the right for women to receive abortion care, new campaign finance regulation, investing in the Black community to confront systemic racism and support for re-instating the assault weapons ban and other firearms reforms.

In the 2020 primary, Conole raised over $830,000 for his campaign, and he received $12,000 from SU employees. Yet, he lost the primary to Balter by a 12,000 vote margin despite receiving the endorsement of the Onondaga County Democratic Party.

In his announcement, he embraced his local roots as a fourth-generation central New Yorker. His grandfather, Patrick Corbett, was the first and only Democrat elected to be Onondaga County Sheriff.

Conole received an MBA from the University of Maryland using the GI Bill after returning from Iraq and an MA in National Security Studies from the Naval War College.

Katko filed for reelection in January. The House Homeland Security Committee ranking member will be seeking a fifth term in office. He has received pushback from former President Donald Trump after Katko was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach him. Trump sent a letter to the Onondaga County Republican Party seeking a challenger candidate in June.

Holden, Conole’s opponent for the Democratic primary, is a Retired Army Lt. Col. His 2022 campaign is his first foray into politics. He is a descendant of E.F. Holden, the namesake of SU’s Holden Observatory.

A native Oklahoman, Holden, 48, moved to Syracuse in 2006 to attend SU, where he earned a dual master’s degree in business and public administration.

The date of the 2022 primary has not been announced.

Darnelle Stinfort, vice president of Syracuse University’s Student Association, believes SA has an image problem.

Most students aren’t aware of what SA does, and those who do don’t care enough to participate, Stinfort said. Stinfort, along with SA President David Bruen, were elected last spring with only 10.2% of the student body voting for them, just 0.2% above the required amount for the election to be valid.

As in-person meetings start again this school year, Stinfort and Bruen are looking to increase visibility within the student body by emphasizing SA’s role as a student organization. While SA controls funding for clubs and organizations through its comptroller, most people don’t realize it’s also an organization itself, Stinfort said.

Stinfort hopes that SA can collaborate with other organizations on campus to raise its image profile by expanding its newsletters. But she’s worried students are not going to read them.Bruen helped the effort to write a new SA constitution, passed in March, which adds two new cabinet positions — an internal affairs member and a student advocate. Those positions will allow him and Stinfort to focus more on engaging with and advocating for students, he said.

“SA is just as much, if not more, of a student advocacy organization than it is a government,” Bruen said. “If we pass something in SA, it doesn’t do a whole lot in the grand scheme of things except make our position very clear for administration.”

Internally, Bruen has also relied on his previous experience as the SA’s speaker of the assembly to reform the SA’s cabinet, a group of policy-minded members who work with the president and vice president.

While Bruen has served as the speaker, Stinfort is coming into her new role without prior SA experience. It’s a perspective that she said allows her to see the problems in the organization from a new lens.

While Bruen and Stinfort have emphasized SA’s role in advocacy, that has not stopped the duo from making some progress on their broad campaign platform. Last spring, they proposed a 26-point platform, which includes a tuition freeze and implementing what they call the “Green New Deal for Syracuse University.”

Over the summer, SU implemented free laundry services in residence halls, announced by the university a month after Bruen and Stinfort were elected, checking off a campaign goal. Bruen expected a fight over that issue, he said.

SA has also compromised with SU’s administration to create an online portal for sexual assault survivors to gain easy access to helpful resources. Bruen and Stinfort wanted an in-person office, something they are still hopeful to implement.

While they have seen slow progress towards bigger initiatives like their climate sustainability plan when talking to administrators, Bruen said staff and faculty seem open to making changes to help their cause. He had productive talks with SU food services staff this summer on sourcing more sustainable food, he said.

The best cooperation from SU officials has been from outgoing DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado, Bruen said. SA openly supported #NotAgainSU protesters in fall 2019 and their demands for DPS reform.

Bruen has been pleased with Maldonado’s willingness to speak with SA and believes his promises of reform are genuine. But current reform efforts have not gone far enough, Bruen said.

“The Loretta Lynch report is good at attacking 60% of the issues. There was a lot that it included but was not clear on how to address, like hiring for example,” Bruen said.

Khalid Bey has won the Democratic primary for Syracuse mayor. The Syracuse Common Council member will face the city’s current mayor, Ben Walsh, and Republican candidate Janet Burman at the ballot box on Nov. 2.

Bey defeated his fellow council member Michael Greene by only 34 votes. The win wasn’t confirmed until a week after election day, as Bey had a 40 vote lead after in-person votes were counted. Greene needed 54% of all absentee votes to win, but only received 50%, confirming Bey’s victory.

In February, the Onondaga County Democratic Committee selected Greene over Bey for the Democratic Party endorsement. The Syracuse native currently serves as an at-large councilor and has represented the Southside in the council from 2011 to 2018.

“I want to sincerely thank all those involved in our campaign and all those who supported our movement.” Bey said in a statement Tuesday.

Greene conceded the race in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

“The absentee ballots have been counted, and unfortunately our campaign came up 34 votes short. I am not going to sugarcoat it, to lose by that slim of a margin is excruciating,” he said. “It’s imperative that the party come together for the general election. Councilor Bey has my full support.”

Both Bey and Greene emphasized the need for unity following the primary in order to defeat incumbent Walsh.

“Syracuse deserves a mayor whose passion and authenticity delivers informed, principled, results that will empower everyone,” Bey said. “I will continue to work on behalf of our city’s residents to bring the change and reform our city needs.”

During his primary campaign, Bey emphasized his Southside roots and experience in the community.

“I have a more of an intimate understanding of what’s going on, and I think my catalogue of work speaks to that,” Bey said to The Daily Orange in May. “I’ve written more legislation than anybody in the past 25 years and all of my work has been organic. It has been people-driven.”

For both Bey and Greene, the future of the I-81 viaduct has been an important issue in the primary election. Bey emphasized his relationship with Southside during his campaign and said that the community must have a say in what happens to the land after the viaduct is demolished.

“As a person who grew up adjacent to that viaduct, I’m more intimately aware of its impact. I have respiratory issues that I’ll never get rid of because of breathing in … leaded gasoline,” he said to The D.O. in May.

Another issue Bey stressed during his campaign was delinquent landlords. The topic rose to the top of public conversation after an elderly woman was murdered in the Skyline Apartments on James Street in March.

“I already wrote the law to deal with that, and what you need to do is enforce it,” he said to The D.O. in May. “We have to put action where our words are. We have to do the job so that people know that we are for real about improving our housing stock and making landlords responsible.”

Although Bey is running against only Greene in the primaries, Bey hasn’t held back from criticizing Mayor Walsh. Bey expressed doubts in the police reform plan proposed by the Walsh administration and passed by the council in February.

“I don’t constitute restating what’s already in the rules as police reform. It seems to be more ceremonial than anything,” he said to The D.O. in May. “It really takes a mayor who understands what needs to happen in terms of police reform. You need a top-down approach to policing to assure that we are making a valiant effort to make our neighborhoods safe.”

Bey will run against Walsh and Burman on Nov. 2, and eligible voters can register to vote for the elections by Oct. 8 by mailing an application or registering in person at the Onondaga County Board of Elections office. Early voting for the general election will be open from Oct. 23-31.

Janet Burman has won the Republican primary for Syracuse mayor. The community activist will face the city’s current mayor, Ben Walsh, and a Democratic challenger at the ballot box on Nov. 2.

Burman defeated attorney Thomas Babilon by about 35 percentage points. Burman received the Republican Party endorsement for the seat over Babilon, who was endorsed by the Libertarian Party.

Burman ran against Democratic candidate Rachel May for the New York State Senate’s 53rd District in 2018, which May won.

Burman has spent nearly 40 years operating in the private sector, state government and community groups, including working as a district administrator on the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and leading the Republican Women of Central New York since 2018.

She uses her experience serving the community as a selling point for her candidacy.

“When you go beyond the basic functions of city government to tackle the really difficult problems we face … that requires that we bring together everyone in our community, all levels of government and businesses to effectively address those problems,” Burman told The Daily Orange in May.

Burman has brought attention to city public safety, making it her key issue as a mayoral candidate.

“My first priority is what government’s first priority should be: the safety of its citizens,” Burman said. “I feel that the current city leadership has failed us in that they have not made it their first priority.”

She has also proposed using the city’s federal pandemic funding to increase the budgets of law enforcement and invest in infrastructure.

“First, you have to recognize the role of city government in public safety and in providing basic city services. Our water system has been woefully neglected. Our response to the problems within the aging system are entirely reactive,” Burman said. “I think this boost of federal funds should be used first to restore the necessary funding for police and fire, and secondly to address our infrastructure issues with water.”