Local politics doesn’t have the soaring rhetoric or emotion of national politics. But what happens in the mayor’s office affects us more than what happens in the White House.

With its wide field of candidates slowly narrowing, it’s time to start focusing on Syracuse’s mayoral election. There are three mainstream candidates for Syracuse mayor: Republican nominee Laura Levine, independent candidate Ben Walsh and Democratic nominee Perez Williams.

Each candidate has a different economic vision for how they want Syracuse to function. Here’s a breakdown of one economic platform each candidate stands on.

Juanita Perez Williams

Perez Williams has released a plan for her first 100 days as mayor. Much of it revolves around the proposed merger of Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse governments. The merger was proposed by a citizens group called Consensus.

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In her first 100 days in office, Perez Williams said she would intend to coordinate and organize industrial development agencies in both the county and city. The current system pits Onondaga County and the city against each other when it comes to negotiating tax breaks with developers.

These tax breaks, known as PILOT deals, allow a government to waive a developer’s future property taxes to encourage developers to build immediately. The city and county have used this system with Destiny USA and the Inner Harbor.

As it stands, if Syracuse doesn’t want to offer a PILOT deal on a project, Onondaga County can undercut the city and offer its own deal. That’s what’s happening in the case of a proposed Armory Square hotel. After all, developers pay property tax in both Syracuse and Onondaga county.

Perez Williams explicitly addressed this issue during the Democratic debate. She said she wants to implement a set of rules to prevent developers from receiving tax credits for projects that don’t create jobs. She specifically called out retail and student housing developers.

The competitive nature of these deals highlights the problem in two separate legislative bodies controlling the same area. This issue should be one of the top priorities for Perez Williams as the city and county move toward the Consensus referendum. The city has a projected $18.5 million deficit in next year’s budget, per Syracuse.com.

If Perez Williams is elected mayor, she can’t let the county dictate tax breaks for a city that needs all the money it can get.

Ben Walsh

Walsh has also called for a swift merger of Syracuse and Onondaga County’s developmental agencies.

In an interview, Walsh expressed his support of ReZone Syracuse’s efforts to update the city’s zoning ordinance and map.

“I am encouraged by the Syracuse rezoning effort,” Walsh said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to streamline the process and to use the zoning code to clearly articulate our priorities.”

The project has five goals that aim to keep the city’s economy growing while making development regulations more efficient and moving Syracuse toward environmental sustainability.

ReZone Syracuse is a solid and attainable idea. It’s a broad initiative, but its individual goals could steer Syracuse toward becoming a more business-friendly city.

The problem with ReZone Syracuse is that it fails to address how Syracuse coordinates construction projects with Onondaga County. As long as the county can grant tax exemptions in the city, development issues will continue.

I admire Walsh’s recognition of the problem, but he’ll have to go further and directly address Consensus if he’s elected mayor.

Laura Lavine

As a former superintendent of LaFayette School District, Lavine believes addressing problems within its school system will solve the city’s problems in the long run.

Instead of hiring a superintendent, Lavine said she will seek mayoral control of the school district.

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Mayoral control is commonly proposed as a solution for failing school districts like Syracuse’s, which faces low graduation rates and test scores.

Lavine’s focus on better schools is important. Syracuse City School District has a 60 percent graduation rate, which is up from last year. Also, nine SCSD schools are in receivership, meaning they have been some of the worst performing schools in the state for at least five years.

Lavine isn’t against boosting funding to the district because “no school would say no to additional funding,” she said in an interview. But she does want an independent analysis completed before she discussing raising revenue.

School budgets are contentious issues in any city. Throwing money at a problem doesn’t always fix it, and that’s especially true in education. Economically, Lavine’s plan is a wait-and-see approach.

If elected, Lavine aims to run the school district. But it’s not entirely clear if taking complete control of the SCSD is worth the mayor’s time, especially when the city faces so many other issues.

The next mayor will face complex issues involving the school district, businesses and economic hardships. Regardless of who is elected in November, it’s evident the Consensus merger will be the defining factor in the future mayor’s economic plans and tenure as a whole.

Adam Friedman is junior broadcast digital journalism and economics dual major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at arfri100@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @friedmanadam5.

Published on September 27, 2017 at 10:56 pm