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Syracuse Common Councilor Michael Greene admitted defeat in the Democratic primary for Syracuse’s mayoral election on June 29. After the ballots were counted, he trailed by just 36 votes.

While the Onondaga County Democratic Committee endorsed Greene for the candidacy in February, fellow Common Councilor Khalid Bey will face Janet Burman and incumbent Mayor Ben Walsh on election day.

Just over 6,000 Syracuse residents voted in the Democratic primary, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections. Greene and Bey each received just under 3,000 votes, with Bey barely coming out on top.

Mark Brockway, a professor in Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said local elections should be held in the same or higher regard as national elections, but because of the lack of turnout, several races are predicted to be decided by a small number of votes.

“Local elections have more of a direct impact on people’s lives,” Brockway said. “Because in off years, voting is rare — or at least turnout isn’t as high — the impact of each vote is higher.”

One of the classes Brockway teaches is PSC 121, American National Government and Politics, which is primarily geared towards freshmen. The class has an average enrollment of 150, Brockway said. 

While the difference in voter totals for the Democratic primary was just 36, the difference in the Republican primary was larger — 269 votes, with Burman coming out on top. Still, just one SU class section could sway the entire Syracuse mayoral election in a major way,which students aren’t taking advantage of at the moment, Brockway said.

“The people right now that are taking advantage are older. They’re more economically well-off. They’re people like me, frankly, who have the time to do it,” Brockway said. “If students are concerned about social justice, and they can really throw their weight behind candidates in a way that’s extremely meaningful, the next mayor of Syracuse is going to pay attention to what SU students want.”

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Though Brockway said politics is accessible for students, the mayoral primaries in Syracuse were historically low. During the summer, a time when students weren’t on campus, only 14% of registered Syracuse Democrats and 9% of Republicans cast early or in-person ballots, according to syracuse.com’s election night coverage — the lowest turnout in 36 years.

Just over 18,000 registered voters in Syracuse are not affiliated with a party, syracuse.com reported. Walsh is running as an independent candidate.

The mayoral election is not the only race on the ballot in Syracuse. All 17 seats of the Onondaga County Legislature are up for election, with a contested race in every seat, as well as a number of Syracuse Common Council seats and suburban municipal offices. 

SU’s chapter of College Republicans focused more on supporting specific candidates than registering students to vote this year, said Dustin Hall, the chapter’s president.

Hall said that students at SU aren’t as engaged with local politics because they don’t have to live in and interact with the community on a permanent basis.

“It’s not as trendy in the grand scheme of things,” Hall said. “Students aren’t going to wonder what’s going on at the town level because they don’t create, they don’t pay property tax.”

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As an alternative to voter registration efforts, College Republicans have been helping candidates who have a connection to SU or are in a hotly contested race. Specifically, College Republicans have been endorsing Danielle Fogel, a candidate for the New York State Supreme Court, and Rebecca Shiroff, who is running for Town of Manlius Town Board councilor. 

The average student doesn’t necessarily know that Manlius exists, let alone that an election is happening, Hall said. But the town is only about 10 miles away from campus.

“No matter where you go in life, you’re always going to be some sort of taxpayer,” Hall said. “Local politics are just as important (as national politics). That’s where that stuff gets done.”

Fogel is competing with former Representative Anthony Brindisi, a Democrat, for the justice seat in the court’s Fifth Judicial District. Hall said Fogel’s time at SU’s College of Law — where she graduated in 2004 — gave her the experience and connection to the community needed for the job.

Noah Estling, president of College Democrats, said the issue in voter turnout in the primaries this year could be because many SU students are disconnected from the community they live in.

“The university is a system within itself,” Estling said. “Because of that, students don’t want or don’t care as much about trying to interact with the city.”

But apathy isn’t the only way SU has a negative effect on the community, Estling said. Some of SU’s spending has perpetuated the gentrification of the area surrounding the university, which contributes to the difficulty of having property for low-income community members, he said. 

In July, SU spent nearly $70 million to acquire The Marshall, an apartment complex that rises next to Marshall Street. The university plans to convert the building into student housing. Many SU students live in other apartment complexes near campus, including Theory Syracuse and The 505 on Walnut.

It’s important for SU students to get involved in elections in which they have a vested interest, Brockway said. While students may not recognize the names on the ballot, Brockway said students should try to understand the issues at stake and how it may affect them both during their time at SU and for the future of the community. 

Five constitutional amendments are on the ballot this year, focusing on correcting issues in the state government in areas such as voting rights and environmental protection.

Early voting for this year’s election began on Oct. 23 and ran through Oct. 31. Election day is Nov. 2, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Published on November 1, 2021 at 12:41 am

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2