Post-Standard Editorial
Driscoll is not entitled to more time to deliver on promises of his administration
Congratulations to Matthew J. Driscoll, the winner of Tuesday's mayoral election. The voters have spoken and chosen to keep the Driscoll administration at the helm for four more years. The citywide victory signals a broad base of support for the mayor.
Still, Driscoll can't call the results an overwhelming vote of confidence. Here's a Democrat with a 2-1 edge in enrollments, an incumbent with four years of exposure, a fair-haired candidate with more than sufficient resources at his disposal. His showing against Republican Joanie Mahoney can only be considered a narrow escape.
Preliminary results show that the majority of voters in Syracuse chose someone other than Driscoll. Those dissenters might hope that this is a humbling victory for the mayor. An incumbent winning re-election with less than 50 percent of the vote might take the opportunity to reflect on what caused that dissatisfaction. He might take stock of the criticisms that contributed to his negative ratings.
He might consider why Mahoney's results-oriented campaign nearly overcame his built-in advantages. Or which of Howie Hawkins' ideas led 5 percent of the voters to pull the Green Party lever.
One of the mayor's final campaign ads was of the family man, humbled by the opportunity to serve his city, sharing the viewers' concerns and promising to improve schools and neighborhoods. He won just enough support for another opportunity to deliver on those and other promises.
Posted by syracusegreens at November 9, 2005 10:39 PM