Incumbent Stephanie Miner won the Democrats’ mayoral nomination Tuesday, beating Common Councilor Patrick Hogan and citizen activist Alfonso Davis in the Democratic primary election.

“Four years ago, just about this very same week, the people of the Democratic party took a risk on me, and I said to them … ‘I will lead this city forward,’” Miner said to the crowd of supporters who filled a room of the Sheraton University Hotel and Conference Center on University Avenue. “And tonight, we saw that the people of the Democratic Party said ‘We are a city moving forward and we are going to continue to move forward together.’”

Miner will run as the Democratic candidate in the mayoral election on Nov. 5. Her Republican opponent has not yet been determined.

Her supporters, dressed in a mix of professional attire and T-shirts reading “Miner for Mayor,” began to gather shortly after 8:30 p.m. Chatting and eating, they watched the election results roll on several televisions throughout the room.

Early counts showed Miner leading the three-candidate race, and several supporters said they expected Miner to win the nomination. But this didn’t lessen the applause when she appeared in the ballroom shortly after 10:45 p.m.

“It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for,” said Councilor-at-Large Helen Hudson at a podium in front of patriotic balloons and campaign posters before introducing Miner to the crowd of approximately 60 people.

For those present at the gathering, the reputation Miner has built as a strong leader in her term as mayor makes her an ideal candidate for re-election.

For example, Lisa Daly, a Syracuse resident who said she has spent a few days campaigning both door to door and on the phone for Miner, said she admired Miner’s environmental initiatives and foresight regarding the city’s budget and general affairs.

“I think she’s doing a great job,” she said.

Daly added that Miner represents one of many strong female leaders in the city, along with county.

The other candidates who took the podium in the ballroom after winning their respective primary elections Tuesday night were also women: Mary Anne Doherty for city judge, Pam Hunter for councilor-at-large and Monica Williams for Onondaga County legislator. 

To Miner, this reflects the diversity she has promoted in her time in office, she said in an interview. 

“We have a better government when we have more diverse people at the table,” Miner said. “The people that you saw up there tonight are a reflection and testament to the work that we’ve been doing to encourage and support underrepresented people in leadership positions, and I’m going to continue to do that.”

Andrew Frasier, a senior geography major who has been working on Miner’s campaign since the spring, said Tuesday’s victory marked a major accomplishment in Miner’s path to mayor.

“Today’s a big step,” he said, adding before the results were tallied, “It all boils down to tonight.”

But it’s not the end, said campaign manager Kyle Madden.

“We’re going to get back to work tomorrow.”

Published on September 11, 2013 at 2:17 am