Progressive Platform for the Next Mayor

Progressive Platform for the Next Mayor

During the spring and summer of 2009, the The Greater Syracuse Progressive Coalition, representing over 20 community organizations and thousands of individuals committed to the betterment of Syracuse, created a comprehensive platform for the Next Mayor and sent it to the six mayoral candidates as a survey. Check out the final document with responses from the candidates (pdf file)

At our Coalition meeting on Monday, January 25 we'll look for an issue or two to select from the platform to focus on for implementation. Join us in the process or send your ideas via email.

Check out the final document with responses from the six candidates (pdf file)

The Greater Syracuse Progressive Coalition, representing over 20 community organizations and thousands of individuals committed to the betterment of Syracuse, has been working tirelessly to create a more just, sustainable, inclusive and peaceful community. Below you will find our proposals for concrete steps the next mayor can take to carry out such reforms. We submitted these proposals as a survey to the six announced candidates for Mayor on June 17 and requested their responses by July 15. Four candidates: Alfonso Davis, Carmen Harlow, Stephanie Miner and Joe Nicoletti submitted their responses on deadline. Otis Jennings and Steve Kimatian sent in their responses after the deadline but are included nonetheless.

The upcoming election affords us the opportunity to transform our city into a model of citizen participation in government and innovation to improve life for all in our community. This initiative is part of a larger community effort that seeks such changes as well as increased accountability for elected officials. Organizations that assisted in the development of this platform include: Alchemical Nursery Project, Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (ACTS), Alliance for Retired Americans, ARISE, Caribbean and Latin American Coalition, Citizen Action of New York, CNY Cat Coalition, Detainment Task Force, Naef Recycling, National Organization for Women (CNY NOW), NY Civil Liberties Union, Parents for Public Schools, Partnership for Onondaga Creek (POC), Peace Action of CNY, People for Animal Rights (PAR), Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region, Syracuse Alliance for a New Economy (SANE), Syracuse Cultural Workers, Syracuse Peace Council (SPC), Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN) and others. Organizations that provided leadership on specific sections are noted beside that section.
The candidate responses will be used as the basis for a report to the community and will serve as the basis for a series of educational forums in August and September to provide Syracuse residents an opportunity to question the candidates.

Below is the survey as submitted to the candidates. See their responses (pdf file) including comments with links. You can also download the comments pages (rtf files) from Alfonso Davis, Stephanie Miner, Joe Nicoletti, Otis Jennings and Steve Kimatian.

As Mayor, I will:

Building Democracy/Electoral Reform (SPC, SUN)

Reduce the role of money in elections and support increased participatory democracy, including the development of publicly funded, clean elections for the City.
Reform the Tomorrow’s Neighborhood Today (TNT) system to model it after the Neighborhood Assemblies (as developed in Binghamton). Give them a meaningful role and provide funding for the growth and development of grassroots leadership.
Support charter reform to increase democracy:

Replace the winner-take-all system in Common Council voting with proportional representation in order to give all political viewpoints representation,
Institute instant runoff voting for mayor and other citywide offices; voters list their preferred candidates to eliminate the problem of spoilers and voting for the lesser evil and
Eliminate the Council President, a vestigial organ unneeded since elimination of Board of Estimate.

Criminal Justice and Policing (ACTS, SPC, SUN)

Instruct the Chief of Police to develop a renewed emphasis on community policing—working with members of the community to adopt problem-solving techniques to reduce crime. The key to any community policing initiative is developing relationships of trust and respect between the police and the community. As Mayor, I will direct the Chief of Police to conduct a meeting in each of the city’s 26 neighborhoods during the first year of my administration. The meetings will introduce the chiefs and heads of key divisions—such as patrol, special investigations and crime reduction team—to the neighbors, as well as enable the police to begin to hear of the specific crime concerns in each neighborhood.

Instruct the police department to prepare a study on the feasibility of adopting some of the most promising community policing strategies from other cities, such as San Antonio’s Fear Free Environment Unit, Wichita’s neighborhood mediation initiative and New Haven’s officer training program that supplements traditional policing skills with a dynamic roster of additional skills and knowledge.
Establish a commission to analyze the findings of studies showing racial disparities through the system and recommend remedies.
Oversee and fund a major initiative to recruit, support and place officers of color on the police force.
Institute meaningful racial justice training for law enforcement personnel.
Develop a system of true police accountability (when they are wrong, call them to account). It’s ultimately up to the mayor to reign them in and force professional conduct and respect for citizen dignity to be the norm. This should include police respect for traffic laws.
Strengthen the effectiveness of Civilian Review Board by enhancing investigative powers and restoring subpoena power, as per legal case precedent in NYS courts that moot issues that have weakened our CRB.
Dedicate all stimulus funds for COPS program to fully staffing (and even increasing) patrol units—especially those on weekends.
Ensure that all city neighborhoods are effectively and fairly served by the SPD.
Clarify the role of SPD’s School Resource Officers (SROs) to address safety and crime issues in the schools, not enforce school rules. Create alternative and non-punitive methods for responding to defiant student behavior in schools, like voluntary programs, vocational education or apprenticeships in the community.
Instruct the Chief of Police to decline assistance to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to identify, seek or detain non-citizens for alleged non-criminal immigration violations. Develop policy for all requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency for cooperation or coordination with the Syracuse Police Department be personally assessed by the Chief of Police or designee.
Work with the County to ensure that a bail fund is available to indigent people such as Jail Ministry’s Bail Expediter Program.
Make enforcement of laws on possession and use of illegal drugs the lowest priority for law enforcement. Prioritize enforcement of crimes against people and property, including those involving illegal substances.
Do not commit resources of the Syracuse Police Department to participation in Drug Task Force activities.
Provide leadership to urge the U.S. Congress to initiate a comprehensive review of the federal War on Drugs, specifically the racist way that it is implemented, with the goal of ending this failing war in favor of a harm-reduction model.
Instruct the police that protecting free speech-related activities is an important part of their job and therefore community organizations should not be charged for police services for such events.
Maintain a clear distinction between the Syracuse Police Department and the military. The SPD should focus on community policing and not evolve into a military force using military equipment, military tactics and a military mindset.

Economic Development/Jobs (Naef Recycling, SANE, SUN)

Stipulate that any project which uses public funds for development, including Carousel/DestiNY, guarantee to institute the least restrictive "time, place, manner" regulations possible for any free speech related activity.
Create a "one-stop shop" attitude in the city’s Economic Development assistance operations. Information on all economic development funds and other county and regional agencies will be made available.
Focus the attention of the Economic Development Department on helping to create local businesses and helping existing local businesses expand. I will direct the Economic Development Department to work with SBDC, SSIC, Tech Garden and others to provide the kind of support that will grow our area’s small locally owned businesses.
Require that all financial assistance from the city of Syracuse for development projects be contingent upon the following actions of the developer: a) all jobs created pay a Living Wage, b) all development projects incorporate environmentally responsible and energy conservation design principles, c) all common space in the developments will be areas that respect constitutional free speech and assembly rights, and d) the developer will negotiate in good faith on a community benefits agreement.
Prepare a city department-wide report on procurement needs, detailing the costs and opportunities on purchasing from local businesses.
Use federal and state stimulus money to create a public job training corps to focus on such "green collar" jobs as environmental remediation, renewable energy manufacturing, deconstruction, weatherization and urban forestry.
Commit the city to the goal of using deconstruction on 50% of its home demolitions by the end of my first four-year term and 100% deconstruction at the end of my second term. Support the training and education infrastructure to support this sustainable building practice.
Pledge that all of my administration’s planning activities will reflect the priorities of the SDAT comprehensive plan for a sustainable Syracuse.
Direct the city’s Senior Planner to work with SMTC and Centro to develop a long-range plan for transit-oriented development and the growth of the city.
Work toward pay equity in the public and private sector.

Education/Youth Development (Citizen Action, Parents for Public Schools)

Recognize that good schools providing a quality education are crucial to a thriving city and are the responsibility of the whole community.
Mobilize the common council and the community to support our schools.
Provide leadership in working together with the Common Council, the School Board and the Superintendent of Schools to achieve the above goals.
Support "Say Yes to Education" funding as a permanent line in the budget.
Continue the push for city-wide all-day pre-k for all children.
Work with the School Board and Superintendent’s office to assure that Syracuse high school students have full access to balanced information regarding war and military service, recognizing that participation in war is a life-changing decision and that low-income youth are particularly targeted by military recruiters. Work to ensure that no Syracuse youth feels forced to join the military for economic reasons.
Expand quality and quantity of after school programming.
Lead the Joint Schools Construction Board to move ahead expeditiously on school renovation projects. Engage the whole community by providing accurate information and honestly responding to the community’s concerns and suggestions.
Support the Go Green Initiative in the schools, including gardens at schools.
Work with the business and labor communities to provide more vocational and hands-on education for young people, including summer jobs, internships, and job shadowing opportunities. Expand and support programs such as Syracuse as School (active at Nottingham High School).
Strengthen Parks and Recreation programming for youth and add additional family-friendly programming and activities in the parks.
Keep parks open later in the evenings, extend open times for pools and encourage use as a way to encourage positive park usage, bring people into the parks; and maintain safety.
Increase programs to provide transition from incarceration.

Sustainability/Environment (Partnership for Onondaga Creek, Naef Recycling and

Alchemical Nursery Project)

Support the creation of a municipal public power authority to provide affordable power to city residents and businesses.
Prioritize and implement a property tax rebate for renewable energy generation for homeowners and businesses. Revamp Codes & Zoning, and their enforcement policies, to become friendly to urban-scale energy generation (sun, wind, geothermal).
Direct Stimulus money to maximize the use of Green and Renewable Energy (sun, wind, geothermal) in Syracuse.
Provide leadership on Green Jobs for All programs which employ local and low income people. Use case studies like Green for All, the city of Chicago, and Sustainable South Bronx to incubate and launch green job training programs in collaboration with area community colleges, BOCES, CNY Works, and community-based workforce development groups in the following areas: a) deconstructions & green building practices, b) recycling, c) renewable energy installation, d) urban agriculture, e) landscaping and green infrastructure development.
Develop new efforts to reduce litter, including a public relations campaign.
Retrofit school buses with diesel filters.
Develop a campaign to stop engine idling of buses and cars in front of schools.
Push for a full and thorough cleanup of Onondaga Lake with the Onondaga Nation being a full partner in that process.
Create a public access waterfront from the city-side with development agencies and community partners. Use public land access and public good as development tool.
Appoint environmental and social justice advocates to the OCCRA Board in order to expand recycling and composting initiatives.
Prioritize recycling in all City offices and facilities, including SCSD. Provide recycling opportunities in all key public transit, park, and business development zones. Mandate commercial/industrial sector to report recycling/disposal figures.
Work with New York State to restrict sales of products that a) can’t be recycled or safely disposed of by OCCRA, and b) pull excessive amounts of energy and overburden our power grid.
Create a high-level Sustainability Coordinator to lead and coordinate the City’s efforts to a) reduce energy consumption, b) improve our environment, c) explore profitable avenues for carbon-neutral and zero-waste City initiatives, and d) reach the standards of sustainability envisioned in the Emerald City ideal.
Require landlords to repair lead paint hazards in rental properties using lead safe work practices and trained/certified contractors.
Work to secure funding, train, and employ youth and local job seekers as workers to eliminate environmental hazards from homes and businesses. Childhood lead poisoning is an entirely preventable environmental illness.
Retrofit the least energy efficient and/or poor Indoor Air Quality city-owned buildings. Syracuse should clean house, take care of public employees, and craft healthy public buildings.
Mandate the assessment of existing space and facilities for potential reuse before issuing permits or licenses for Greenfield or new development. Syracuse needs a vibrant urban core and to mitigate sprawl in order to preserve our quality of life.
Eliminate use of pesticides in all City Parks, including the Mills Rose Garden.
Support the establishment of a Park Conservancy that creates a partnership between the City and residents wanting to support city parks and green spaces.
Require groups using city parks to aim for zero waste resulting from their events.
Prioritize funding and space use for urban forestry and community gardens. Green space studies have demonstrated a correlation between increased green space and lowered crime. These spaces can generate revenue (carbon trading on the Chicago exchange), improve the air quality of our city, create beautiful public space, and fresh, local food sources.
Revamp Codes & Zoning regulations to become friendly to small-scale food producers, community garden produce sales and neighborhood farmer market development, and other entrepreneurial urban agriculture.
Implement policies to buy local, support growers, and assist local market development for Syracuse-made/grown products.

Housing/Community Development (SUN)

Support the establishment of city/county land bank. This authority will control all tax delinquent vacant houses, set the terms for area development and be overseen by a community advisory board.
Conduct a public, top-to-bottom restructuring of the Community Development department. The focus of the department should be helping to create and maintain safe and affordable housing. Every program and every employee needs to be scrutinized.
Eliminate the funding of all Technical Services budget lines in the Community Development Block Grant. This money will instead be used to fund existing programs of housing non-profits providing real housing outcomes—a rehabbed house, a newly built house, the demolition of unsafe houses or foreclosure prevention counseling.
Use CDBG funds to create a housing relocation agency for residents displaced from their homes due to foreclosure and utility shut-off.
Support passage of a new vacant house ordinance, requiring: owners to register homes vacant more than three months, an annual fee, proof of liability insurance coverage, HUD-style board-up procedures, a local contact for out-of-county residents, and a yearly code inspection.

Require all new houses constructed with government funding in Syracuse to be designed with basic visitability: a no-step entrance, 36 inch wide doorways, a first floor bathroom--so as not to exclude people with physical disabilities. Give CDBG funding preference to housing developers who are committed to renovating homes so they are visitable.
Conduct an assessment study on the effectiveness of the current Code Enforcement system. The study should focus on the delays from citation to court case, whether a fine system results in actual repairs and the adequacy of staffing in both Code Enforcement and the Law Department.
Support the development of city ordinances that protect renters from being overcharged in their rent and treated unfairly.

Racial/Social/Economic Justice (SPC, SANE, SUN)

Institute a city hiring plan that includes active recruitment of people of color.
Join with the Onondaga Nation in their call for justice and reconciliation and work with leaders of this sovereign nation to redress the injustices which have occurred.
Support the right of all people to be in the city and on the streets (including homeless people, youth and people of color).
Enforce the City’s living wage ordinance and expand it to cover additional contractors who work with the City .
Insist that prevailing wages be paid for all city projects.
Establish a non-partisan citizen panel to assess the dangers associated with the use of drones at Hancock Field including the effect on the safety in the civilian airspace and their related effect of making Syracuse a direct player in the U.S. Wars in the Middle East, and follow up on the findings of that panel.

Transportation and infrastructure (POC, SPC)

Assist Centro to develop stronger and broader bus service with input from businesses and workforce development.
Prioritize funding and assist Centro to receive State/Federal funds for the installation of covered bus shelters throughout most bus routes. This will include a rain/snow shelter, seating and LED signpost providing up-to-date information on arrival/departure times for each bus route.
Explore the use of light rail to expand public transportation options.
Work with local biking advocates, City, County, and State agencies to make biking around Syracuse easy and safe.
Extend the creek walk into the Southside.
Create pedestrian friendly streets and slow down traffic, particularly near schools, parks and in business districts.
Initiate a comprehensive City Plan in an open, inclusive, community-based format, including long-term analysis of infrastructure needs and problems.
Authorize funds for a technical and financial feasibility study to create a municipal broadband service, including a full audit of the Time Warner Cable system, as authorized by federal law, in order to determine its value (for possible purchase). If purchasing the system is not possible, re-negotiate the cable franchise agreement to provide increased Public, Educational and Government programming (with updated facilities/equipment for community organizations to use), and free wifi in public spaces.

Welfare of Animals (CNY Cat Coalition, PAR)

Support a proactive low-cost spay and neuter program to address the overpopulation crisis among cats and dogs. Seek additional funding for these programs, in conjunction with local clinics, veterinarians and animal welfare organizations, as a humane and cost-saving alternative to euthanasia of homeless cats and dogs.

If elected, will you commit to coming back to meet with us one year after the election to assess progress on carrying this agenda forward?

Submitted by

Name Date

Party Affiliation

Daytime Phone Evening Phone

Email address

Please return completed survey by July 15 to:

Greater Syracuse Progressive Coalition
c/o Syracuse Peace Council
2013 E. Genesee St.
Syracuse, NY 13210

Send suggestions for changes/additions to Andy Mager