Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Democracywise, an SU-based website with stories from political reporting students.

When freshly elected Mayor Stephanie Miner wanted to change the split between city and county taxes, representatives of anti-urban coalitions told her she wouldn’t get her way.

But the opposition was no match for her, said Thomas Buckel, a former Democratic county legislator and long-time friend of Miner who sat in on a meeting between the mayor and the coalitions.

“Without raising her voice, Miner dominated,” recalled Buckel. “Not only did they say ‘Fine,’ but they adopted her plan.”

It was a classic example of Miner’s style and successes, say Buckel and others who know her well.

For the Tuesday election, Miner is seeking her second term as mayor. She faces Green Party candidate Kevin Bott and Ian Hunter, a Republican businessman running on the Conservative Party line.

Miner has many advantages: She has high name recognition as the incumbent. Voter enrollment heavily favors her. Of the city’s 71,014 voters, 38, 813 registered voters — 54 percent — are Democrats. Fifteen percent, or 11,256 voters, are Republicans; Twenty-two percent, or 16,278, are unaffiliated with a political party.

She has a reputation as a formidable fighter for her goals. She has built coalitions across party lines and challenged her own party’s leaders. For example, she’s developed a close relationship with County Executive Joanie Mahoney, a Republican, but regularly clashes with other Democrats on the Common Council. Earlier this year, she publicly criticized her party’s statewide leader, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for what she called too little help from the state to struggling cities and towns.

Miner was unavailable for interviews for this story, said her campaign manager, Kyle Madden. Madden characterizes her as tough and effective. “She’s a fighter for the city. She asks the tough questions dealing with the problems Syracuse faces,” he said. “The voters recognize that. She’s looking forward to another four years and to making the tough decisions.”

In her first term, Miner gained praise for promoting Say Yes to Education, a nonprofit organization that provides free college tuition to any Syracuse City School District graduate at a participating school. In August, the program won praise by President Barack Obama, who called Say Yes a national model.

As she seeks re-election, Miner is calling for the expansion of Say Yes further and bringing more universities into the program. Her other goals, according to her campaign website, include: the renovation of city schools; the revitalization of downtown neighborhoods such as along the Syracuse Inner Harbor and adding more surveillance cameras to combat crime in the city.

She graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political science. In 1994, she earned her law degree from the University of Buffalo, and in the early 1990s, began working for then-Gov. Mario Cuomo. In 1999, she joined labor law firm Blitman and King.

In 2001, Miner kicked off her city political career by winning a tight race for a Councilor-at-Large seat. In 2005, she retained her spot.

“She fights for the city,” said Richard Ravitch, a former lieutenant governor and mentor of Miner. “She expressed her unhappiness for the governor not sitting down. She was looking for a dialogue.”

In her re-election bid, Miner highlights these issues:

Education:

Miner hopes to expand the Say Yes to Education program. She wants to ensure free tuition and increase the services available to students, such as counseling and tutoring, said Madden, her campaign manager.

Miner also wants to begin the second phase of the Joint Schools Construction Board project to renovate the city’s schools. During Miner’s first term, the project renovated four city schools. The project’s second phase, which awaits the governor’s signature, would renovate several additional schools.

Economic development:

During her first term, Miner streamlined the business development process at City Hall, Madden said. Previously, new businesses had to jump from one office or department to another. Too many eventually become bogged down by the complicated process, he said.

Miner also targeted the redevelopment of downtown neighborhoods such as the Inner Harbor, Madden said. Another goal is the refurbishing of The Hotel Syracuse into a usable property. The hotel has been closed for nearly a decade and saw stalled progress from out-of-county developers.  Miner is now looking for a developer who can give the hotel a modern twist, he said.

Crime and violence:

Miner supported the installation of crime cameras in some city neighborhoods. Those have helped reduce crime by 25 percent, Madden said.

In late September, she worked with Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D-Syracuse) to secure $100,000 from the state to install seven more cameras in the Butternut Street corridor.  The cameras were criticized as intrusive at first, Madden said, but their success as deterrents has inspired Miner to continue expanding the surveillance cameras.

Published on November 5, 2013 at 12:59 am

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