Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll faces a tough election this November. Polls show a neck-and-neck race between him and the Republican challenger, Joanie Mahoney.

But Driscoll doesn’t let that stop him from keeping him down on the job.

‘I love what I do,’ Driscoll said, with a smile on his face.

Though he has held the top political position in the city of Syracuse for nearly four years, Driscoll said he continues to give the citizens what they want.

‘This is what the public says they want,’ Driscoll said.

Driscoll said the biggest challenge for the Syracuse community is the financial challenge; how to ‘continue to do more with less.’

Driscoll said when he first ran for mayor in 2001, there were several issues he thought the community wanted improved that still hold true. Driscoll has created SyraStat to help manage these issues.

SyraStat deals with the important problems in the community such as improving neighborhoods, public property and attending environmental issues.

These aspects of the community need money to function and it’s important to look toward the future, Driscoll said.

Driscoll’s administration has given state and federal money to housing, especially clustered development, he said. They are taking old and dilapidated buildings, infrastructures and warehouses and turning them into homes for families.

Since its beginning, SyraStat has expanded its service slightly to include monitoring the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative, a $35 million project.

SyraStat was created in 2002 and ‘initially identified nearly $14 million in efficiencies and benefits, and has continued as a management tool and is now incorporated in all city departments,’ Driscoll said.

It also includes the $7 million Community Development Block Grant. The grant supports nearly 45 agencies within the community.

As a native Syracusan, Driscoll said he has and continues to bring more businesses to the area.

‘The Central New York Business Journal said Syracuse is the No. 1 growing job central city in the upstate area,’ Driscoll said.

Small and large businesses alike are being supported and encouraged by the mayor, he said.

‘Things are happening here,’ Driscoll said.

As far as making things happen in the Syracuse area, the company DestiNY USA is an issue Driscoll said he wanted to clear up.

‘The notion that there’s no public money in this is false,’ Driscoll said.

Driscoll said the DestiNY USA Company is worth $300 million. The company got a loan approved for some of that money. He said DestiNY could have started in January, but they changed the deal and wanted the public to make up the difference.

Driscoll said that wasn’t the deal and it is his job as the mayor to do thorough business and make sure the tax-payers’ money is invested correctly.

‘There are those who don’t want the mayor to ask the tough questions,’ Driscoll said. ‘It’s my job as mayor to make sure the money is invested prudently.’

Part of improving the neighborhoods in Syracuse, Driscoll said, is actively trying to improve the police and fire departments.

Driscoll said he has spent the past four years building a larger, more diverse squad.

‘We want to have a department that reflects the community,’ Driscoll said.

One way in which Driscoll’s department plans to do that is through the education system.

One of Driscoll’s main projects with education is providing decent facilities for the Syracuse school districts. Children cannot learn with outdated technology and facilities, Driscoll said.

‘We want to be able to renovate all the buildings within the next 10 years,’ Driscoll said.

Driscoll said before he was mayor, the public schools had not been renovated for several years.

In his next term, Driscoll said he also plans to invest $600 million to be put into reconstruction schools.

His second main issue is the governor’s education bill, he said.

Driscoll said he was with Gov. George Pataki when the governor signed the bill that gives money to public education around New York state. He said he does not know why Pataki later vetoed the bill, but Driscoll said he thinks after elections are over in November, the bill will pass.

Additionally, the parks and green areas around the city are something Driscoll said he takes great pride in, and he said he feels other communities envy. That is why he said he has been and continues to make great strides to improve the environment around the area, as well as the local neighborhoods.

‘In 2001, I made a promise we would look outside for funding relief and to supplement community groups as we could when we reinvigorated our Research Department,’ Driscoll said. ‘I am happy to report that $21.6 million has come in as a result of that promise.’

‘Our Department of Water took an aggressive path in bringing in federal and state grants in the amount of $4.6 million,’ Driscoll said.

City and school building savings and energy grants, along with energy audits to LED traffic lights total nearly $1 million, he said.

Many of the environmental issues Driscoll has worked to improve are the same as his mayoral candidate, Howie Hawkins.

‘Howie endorses many of the things that I’ve done,’ Driscoll said. ‘Howie’s agenda fits into what we’ve done.’

Many citizens said they think anyone voting for mayoral candidate Howie Hawkins is taking away from Driscoll’s votes. When asked if he was worried, Driscoll nodded his head and simply said, ‘No.’

Hawkins is for many of the green-rated programs that Driscoll has started around the city, Driscoll said.

Driscoll said he thinks this is important because these are not just his issues; they are things that the community wants addressed.

Another issue Driscoll faces, especially one that concerns Syracuse University students, is how to keep young people interested in starting their careers in Syracuse.

Although the majority of SU graduates do not stay in the Syracuse community, Driscoll said he is not worried. He said he thinks that his and Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s plans will help tie the university to the community better, causing more SU graduates to want to stay in the area.

Even though the city of Syracuse and SU could function without one another, they both make each other stronger, Driscoll said.

‘We’ve been partners with the university. It’s a good thing for the community. It’s a good thing for the university. It’s a good thing for the region,’ Driscoll said.

Driscoll said he thinks projects such as the Armory Square Warehouse really tie the university to the community. He said Cantor is a wonderful person to work with because she and he are both interested in bettering both the university and community.

When asked if he was worried about the Syracuse Common Council’s endorsement of Joanie Mahoney, Driscoll gave the same head nod and said, ‘No.’

‘I know that that’s what the public wants,’ Driscoll said. ‘We are doing what’s right for the majority of the city.’

Published on October 25, 2005 at 12:00 pm