CLARIFICATION: The number of Syracuse common councilor-at-large seats that are up for re-election was not clear. There are four councilors-at-large that serve for four years, and two of the seats are up for re-election this year. 

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, Dan Cowen’s hometown was misspelled. He was born in Wayland, Mass. 

It was a newspaper that Dan Cowen picked up in Hancock International Airport in Syracuse that sparked his decision.

On his way to a fair labor conference in Washington, D.C., Cowen stopped to pick up a copy of The Post-Standard. On the cover was Mayor Stephanie Miner with a headline boldly proclaiming her announcement that she would run for re-election.

Cowen still has the newspaper. He carries it in his briefcase everywhere he goes. This is the newspaper that made him pursue his dream. This is the newspaper that encouraged him to run for public office.

“I read the article and it really got me thinking, ‘If I think that I can make a difference in the city, why should I wait to make that difference?’” Cowen said.

Cowen, a senior political science and policy studies major and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises minor at Syracuse University, is running for Syracuse common councilor-at-large. His experience teaching inner-city students in Washington, D.C., connections with various groups in Syracuse and energetic nature all contributed to Cowen’s desire to run for council and create change.

There are four common councilors-at-large in Syracuse that serve for four years on the Syracuse Common Council. The council’s main responsibility is to determine the city’s budget.

Cowen is running as a Democrat, and will face four other Democrats in the September primary.

Though he originally considered running for mayor, Cowen said he decided it would make more sense to contribute to the efforts of Miner, rather than disrupt them by running against her.

Running for office was always something Cowen had in the back of his mind, though he always thought of it as something he would accomplish later in life.

But after reading that newspaper and talking about possibilities for the future with friends over drinks during a New England Patriots game in January, Cowen realized there was no good reason to wait.

There is urgency in the city right now, and it’s something he wants to be a part of.

Cowen hopes running for a seat on the Common Council will give him the ability to continue making changes and help Syracuse become the “model city” he believes it can be. He wants to encourage SU students to stay in Syracuse and take advantage of the opportunities here, giving back to the community at the same time.

Though some might say running for public office at such a young age is unexpected, it’s something Cowen is used to.

After applying early decision to SU and being accepted to his program of choice, Cowen did the unexpected: He decided to defer his acceptance for the 2008-2009 school year to be a part of City Year, an organization in which an individual dedicates a year to serving at an inner-city school. Cowen lived in Washington, D.C., for a year and assisted in teaching a second-grade class.

While in D.C., Cowen took on several additional projects and roles. He took the commuter bus to school at 5:35 a.m., assisted in the classroom all day, stayed late to run the after-school program and started a theater program. Peter Pan, one of the plays he assisted with, drew the largest crowd in the school’s history.

His work didn’t go unnoticed. Cowen won City Year’s Long Walk Award, which recognized him for earning the most volunteer hours out of every City Year participant in Washington, D.C.

City Year made Cowen excited about education reform. Even though he got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the commuter bus every morning, he didn’t spend his time on the bus sleeping. He spent that time thinking about all of the changes he wanted to see in the world.

He talked about his ideas with Jim Buie, a fellow commuter in D.C. Cowen approached Buie one day and struck up a conversation. After that, they spent every day talking about the problems Cowen saw first-hand while teaching in D.C., and what should be done to fix them.

“Dan has seen first-hand a bankrupt school in the shadow of the capital,” Buie said. “Bankrupt in terms of its values, its resources, its capability of solving the problems in the urban center.”

Anki Cowen said City Year changed her son’s life. It made Cowen realize the differences he could make when he engaged in a community.

“The way that he grew up in Wayland (Mass.) is way different than the kids that he was working with in D.C.,” she said. “It just made him appreciate so much where he came from, but also it really made him think that he could do something to change and help to improve things.”

When he arrived at SU, Cowen’s momentum only picked up. He joined STAND, an anti-genocide group, which eventually led to his involvement with the Congolese refugee community in Syracuse.

Cowen became fast friends with the president of the Congolese community, Cyprien Mihigo. One night during his sophomore year, Cowen visited Mihigo’s home, where he ate the traditional Congolese food “fufu” and listened to stories about the atrocities Mihigo and friends faced in their country.

“You talk about turning points in your life and points when you get really inspired and you know that you need to do something about something – this was one of those experiences,” Cowen said.

He has been involved in the creation of a cultural and language exchange program where members of the Syracuse community can meet with Congolese refugees, share traditions of their culture and work on their English.

Cowen is now in the process of creating an incubation agency to help empower Congolese refugees and find them work for which they are qualified and paid fairly.

If elected as councilman, many of Cowen’s goals, like the incubation agency and having SU students stay in Syracuse after graduation, will aim to serve specific groups while benefitting the community at the same time.

In addition to running for public office, Cowen is a dual major, a member of the Renée Crown University Honors program and SU Ambulance, and a Remembrance Scholar. He also works at Knowledge Systems & Research Inc. in Syracuse.

“When we speak to him on the phone, we can hardly keep up with him with everything that he’s doing. We’re always wondering, ‘Does he ever sleep?’” his mother asked, laughing.

But Cowen isn’t tired. He’s full of energy, as he always has been. And he’s not worried about being a younger candidate.

“I benefit from a receding hairline and a beard, so I feel a little bit older when I look in the mirror,” he said jokingly.

In fact, Cowen sees his youth as something that will benefit him in the election, because with that youth comes relentless energy.

Said Cowen: “I’m young, and that’s good because I’m energetic and I have the energy now to kind of push things forward and really be out there.”

Published on March 19, 2013 at 12:49 am

Contact Casey: [email protected] | @caseyfabris