Syracuse residents consider factors in choosing mayor
Sunday, October 23, 2005
By Greg Munno
Staff writer
"I have a lot of confidence in the city schools," she said. "The mayor has done well by the schools."
Joanne Garhartt has a similar view of Driscoll's performance, but finds Mahoney an enigma. A voter not enrolled in any party, Garhartt is strongly leaning toward Driscoll.
Garhartt, of Skyline Apartments on James Street, said she thinks basic city services such as trash pickup and road maintenance have improved.
"I thought the mayor was a bit slow to tackle crime, but I think he's more focused on that now," she said. "The 50 new officers on the street is a great move. . . . Meanwhile, I can't get a sense of Mahoney. I'm blind, but I try to stay very well informed. Frankly, she just hasn't done or said anything that has made me take notice."
Tabitha Love, a Valley Republican, disagrees. She sees Mahoney as a woman of integrity and a welcome change from Driscoll. "The city schools are just awful," Love said. "If you are the mayor of a city with such dreadful schools, you have to do more to address that than he (Driscoll) has done."
Michael Burton said the election is coming down to one issue for him - Destiny. He's a small-business owner, and believes the mega development would ultimately hurt the city. A registered Republican who lives on West Colvin Street, he feels both Mahoney and Driscoll pay too much lip service to Destiny, but feels Driscoll would do a better job standing up to big business.
George Tork is a Republican who often votes Democratic locally. But he has started to lean strongly toward Mahoney.
"I'll vote for a Democrat, but it just seems to me that, over the past year and half, the city has stalled. It just doesn't seem like the Driscoll administration is going anywhere," said Tork, who lives on Belden Avenue.
Velma Dippold, a Democrat who lives in the university neighborhood, is still undecided. She thinks Driscoll has improved basic city services, but that he needs a more comprehensive approach to crime.
"The crackdown on gangs is fine, but they'll just get out as hardened criminals," Dippold said. "More needs to be done."
Like Tork, Dippold has no problem voting against her party locally. "On the national level, party affiliation means more to me," she said.
Yet she's not sold on Mahoney. For one, Destiny makes her nervous and she isn't sure Mahoney is the best person to deal with developer Robert Congel.
Dippold also said that it didn't seem like Mahoney had a solid plan for addressing the city's problems. Echoing a comment made by three of the dozen people interviewed for this story, she said Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins seemed to have the best plan for the city, but that she won't vote for him.
"He has a plan and a good one," she said. "But I doubt he could get elected, and if he did, I doubt he'd have the clout to implement his vision."
© 2005 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.
Posted by syracusegreens at October 23, 2005 11:22 PM