Grains of Salt (v27): Rise Above

Grains of Salt

Today, inside the Landmark Theater instead of on the steps of City Hall, Syracuse's new mayor had his public inauguration.

Independent Ben Walsh's inauguration marks a change for the city of Syracuse: we have a non-major party mayor for the first time in a century or so. Walsh, the son of a Republican congressman, grandson of a Republican mayor, got elected with a lot of Democratic support.

He also had the support of many local developers, with whom he worked as deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development and executive director of the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency in the administration of Stephanie Miner, our term-limited former mayor.

Walsh ran as a collaborator, someone who can and will work with his local, state and federal counterparts to advance the interests of city and her residents. We've seen that before, when Miner first got elected and immediately began working with County Executive Joanie Mahoney. That relationship soured, irrevocably, but that did not sour the voters on the prospects of someone new who was willing to do the same thing. 

In his inaugural comments, Walsh highlighted his optimism, because "Syracuse is a strong city that stands on a solid foundation... a diverse community that only weeks ago voted to set its differences aside and work together to create an even better future...(and) because we have strong support for our city across the region and the state."

After challenging everyone to participate in our city and our government, he shared some information about his transition team, which focused on four areas: poverty and economic opportunity, education, safety and neighborhoods, and city finances.

Lifting people out of poverty will be the single biggest challenge we confront together, and it will be central to our agenda over these next four years.  A segregated city that concentrates wealth in some places and poverty in others is not a modern, progressive city. We must rise together...

 Education and the condition of our schools is another critical issue facing our community. Together we will push our graduation rate from just over 60 percent today to 70 percent, then 80 percent and beyond until we can be counted among the best urban school districts in America... 

We must also improve our neighborhoods and make our streets safer for all of our citizens...(my Quality of Life Commission) will be...focused on beautification of our streets, gateways and business districts; addressing nuisance crimes that destabilize our neighborhoods; and enforcement of ordinances using data and metrics to prioritize neighborhood services.

And he specifically talked about policing, which was a hot issue during the campaign.

...we will put more officers on the street. But we must go beyond policing. We need to build relationships between our officers and our neighbors and we need a police force that reflects the rich diversity of our community. 

Walsh admitted during the campaign that, if needed, he would consider a tax increase. He didn't mention that today, but he did talk about a few things we can anticipate.

...I will hold a Fiscal Summit in partnership with the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. We will convene our city's anchor institutions, business leaders, the banking community, as well as county, state and national leaders - and we will tackle our challenges head on..

My administration will partner with business owners and developers...encourage investment and new jobs in the city... be intentional and work together to ensure success is enjoyed in neighborhoods throughout our city.

He closed his remarks on the same theme with which he began - optimism.

The challenges we face are not different than those faced by other cities, big and small, in America... we will follow an inclusive and engaged approach to government. We will think and act independently and in non-partisan ways. We will operate a city government that is humble and aware of its responsibility to serve. And every day, we will work to earn and maintain your trust. 

There is no problem too big to solve as long as we Rise Above. No reason to stop us from fulfilling the promise that Syracuse's best days are still ahead of us.  

Rise above is exactly what our city needs to do. I'm excited by the prospect of this new administration, and hope that Walsh and his team can get us back on track. We'll have a lot to talk about, I'm sure, as his administration gets its legs and starts to really dig in.