Stephanie Miner

Syracuse and Onondaga County's local political landscape remains pretty much intact after yesterday's election. Republicans rule the suburbs and County government; while democrats maintain a stranglehold over Syracuse city hall. Mayor Stephanie Miner won re-election easily with 68 percent of the vote against two third-party challengers, and got a surprise congratulations call from Washington.

The Green Party candidate running for mayor of Syracuse says the that office needs more tools to deal with a homicide crisis in the city.  Kevin Bott says if he is elected, he would fully embrace the concept of community policing to get at the root of this year's rash of killings across the city.

The pool of affordable housing in Syracuse is growing with the development of four multi-family apartment buildings along the James Street corridor.

City neighborhood and development commissioner Paul Driscoll doesn't think there are any other housing projects like it in the city: a mix of market rate apartments with affordable apartments in one building. The city is opening these four new apartment buildings after major renovations, and Driscoll said the affordability factor is key.

A week before hoping to win re-election, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner hosted her first Twitter town hall, one of her few large public engagement efforts this campaign season.

Miner spent just under an hour Tuesday fielding questions on the social media site via the hashtag #AskMayorMiner and responded through the city's official account.

More than a quarter of all property in New York state is off the tax rolls, according to figures compiled by the state comptroller, who said it's a burden on local finances.

The 27 percent of un-taxed land in the state adds up to $680 billion in property value not being collected on, which is mostly concentrated in urban areas. The city with the most property off-limits is Rensselaer, with 65 percent.

Syracuse's Green Party mayoral candidate, Kevin Bott, met his opponent, current Mayor Stephanie Miner, for the first time Monday night and challenged her to a debate.

Miner said she was willing to listen to what he had to say and that her campaign manager would get back to him.

Bott says the people of Syracuse deserve to hear different viewpoints debate each other in a general election.

It's primary day in New York state, and city halls throughout the region are at the center of voting. Probably the highest profile mayoral race is in New York City, but voters will also be choosing candidates for mayor in Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Watertown and Syracuse.

While the polls give an edge to incumbents in these races, Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny says candidates can't afford to take anything for granted.

In this edition of the Campbell Conversations, we continue with the forum we first presented last week--a discussion among the three candidates vying for the Democratic Party line in the upcoming city of Syracuse mayoral election. Participating in the forum are Mayor Stephanie Miner, Common Councilor Pat Hogan and Alfonso Davis. The topic for this week's debate, moderated by host Grant Reeher, concerns public policy questions that bear on the city's future.

The three candidates vying for the Democratic Party line in the upcoming City of Syracuse mayoral election could only agree to two public forums.  What follows is one of them.  On this week’s edition of the Campbell Conversations, we present the first segment of a two-part series—the second part airing next Sunday, September 1.  The topic for this week, moderated by host Grant Reeher, is the political process and executive leadership.

The three candidates in the Democratic primary race for mayor of Syracuse squared off during a forum on WRVO's Campbell Conversations on Tuesday. Incumbent Stephanie Miner will face Common Councilor Pat Hogan, and challenger Alfonso Davis, to see who gets on the Democratic party line in November.

Syracuse Common Councilor Pat Hogan unveiled the final platform of his campaign challenge to unseat Mayor Stephanie Miner on Monday with his neighborhood agenda.

The Democratic challenger says he wants to put a new focus on the city’s diverse neighborhoods by promoting local businesses and supporting neighborhood associations.

Hogan is challenging current mayor Miner as well as Alfonso Davis in a party primary.

A recent case involving a disabled man tased by Syracuse Police on a CENTRO bus in May has Syracuse lawmakers looking into the police department's policy on using the electronic devices. In a meeting this week, common councilors heard from advocates who would like to see that policy updated.

Primary day is September 10 this year. In Syracuse, three Democrats will face off in a primary for mayor. Common Councilor Pat Hogan and Alfonso Davis are challenging incumbent Mayor Stephanie Miner. As of now, there is no Republican candidate on the ballot, so whoever wins the primary is likely to win the general election in November. 

Syracuse Common Councilor Pat Hogan has unveiled an equal rights plan as part of his campaign for mayor and criticized the city’s handling of police use of force on a bus patron in the spring.

Hogan is challenging fellow Democrat Mayor Stephanie Miner in a primary next month.

The councilor, from the Tipp Hill neighborhood, says he’s deeply troubled by the case of Brad Hulett. Hulett, who has a disability, was hit by a taser by city police officers in May while on a public bus after he refused to sit down.

Updated, 11:33 a.m.:

Surprise inspections of 10 corner markets in Syracuse on Tuesday uncovered numerous code violations, including fire safety, sewage and electrical violations. One was ordered to close immediately and the others were given 24 hour notices to shut down.

At the store ordered to close immediately, Delaware Market on the corner of South Geddes Street and Delaware Street, inspectors found a gas leak. S&R Market on South Avenue was running electrical wiring to an adjacent building, inspectors found.

While a Democratic primary in the race for mayor of Syracuse features a full field, Republicans in the city have yet to come up with a candidate. So they're buying themselves a little more time to find someone to run against the winner of the Democratic primary.

Well-known republicans like State Senator John DeFransisco and Onondaga County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon have turned down requests to run, retired firefighter Tom Sexton is considering it, and Onondaga County Republican Party Chairman Tom Dadey says he continues talking to prospective candidates, whose names he says he is not at liberty to share at this time.