Green Party candidate Eric Graf, 25, announced he is running for the Syracuse Common Council. Graf works for the Syracuse City School District and said he wants more funding for schools and smaller class sizes. He said he supports a $15-an-hour minimum wage, more bike lanes and more worker-owned businesses.
To pay for their progressive platform, Green Party candidates, including Graf, say they want a progressive income tax on city workers and residents.
"I think that's small enough that they won't notice it so much coming out of their paychecks but in terms of what we could do with that, I think they would notice positive results," Graf said.
Graf said more Green candidates are running locally this year because they are fueled by voter dissatisfaction with the economy and the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in 2016.
“I think folks are recognizing that the Democrats are part of the reason that we ended up with Trump," Graf said. "The recovery, if you will, has been more of a recovery for folks at the top and not for folks at the bottom. Folks are recognizing that Hillary Clinton was an example of more of the same.”
Graf is running against Democrat Chad Ryan in Syracuse's 2nd district.
