Youth & Education

YOUTH and EDUCATION

• I will take responsibility and work with the superintendent to improve our graduation rates. Graduation rates of 50% (or worse among minority groups) are unacceptable. Drastic action is needed which is why I promise to spend one day a week in school with your kids, their teachers, staff, and administrators so I can build an unprecedented partnership between City Hall and the school district to improve the graduation rates and give our kids the skills and the tools to be successful.

• The Say Yes to Education Program, which offers a free college education to Syracuse school graduates, is a good start. It’s a good incentive for students interested in college but we also need programs for students interested in the skilled trades so they can find good jobs or start their own businesses.

• 60-percent of the City budget is devoted to education. I will monitor first hand how our tax money is being spent and find more efficient ways to produce better results. I will develop partnerships to bring in more funding to create a citywide, neighborhood-focused, and integrated youth service delivery system that goes beyond the traditional school day.

• I will work to further develop and incorporate community centers where young people can be mentored in a safe environment so our youth are not being influenced by gangs and enticed into a life on the street.

• The commitment of our school administrators and teachers to creating a top-notch school system is undeniable. But they need help and I promise there will be a concentrated and aggressive effort from Syracuse City Hall to bring that help. There has been too much talk and not enough action. Our teachers and our children deserve decent, up-to-date facilities and no school should be left behind. I believe that renovation projects such as Blodgett School can be accomplished with an alliance between Syracuse and Onondaga County. We need to be aggressive and creative.

• Quality schools are a magnet for young families, the kind that move in to neighborhoods and encourage entrepreneurs to develop new businesses that create jobs. Quality schools which infuse young people with the skills and tools necessary to succeed in college, find good jobs, or create new businesses will prompt more families to make or keep their homes in Syracuse.

Crime & Quality of Life

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE in SYRACUSE

The Issue of Crime

• The number one function of government is to keep the peace and to keep everyone in the community safe and I make that commitment to every resident of this city.

• I will take an active role developing the contacts which law enforcement needs to weed out the bad elements. We need a Mayor who can interact and communicate with every Syracuse neighborhood and can be trusted to make every neighborhood significantly safer. My 30 years of experience working with every community in Syracuse, especially my work with young people, is an invaluable asset for building relationships between residents and law enforcement.

• We must step up enforcement with more community policing. Syracuse will receive $3 million in Federal Stimulus funds to add 14 police officers. I will make sure those officers go into patrol, community policing, narcotics, criminal investigations, and crime reduction.

• We must make sure the extra police officers stay in place after this two-year temporary stimulus funding ends. All too often, extra officers disappear into the ranks used to fill slots left open by retirements and other departures. That’s a budgeting gimmick I won’t use. Understaffing the police department weakens the department, reduces response time, and leads to a rise in crime.

• FBI analysis has shown that the majority of juvenile crime occurs during the 3pm-8pm hours. I will initiate a community wide drive to create outstanding 3pm-8pm programs for the over 4,000 middle school children in our city. This program will provide a safe environment where they can learn the civic skills they need to become future adults in our society, and reduce the temptations of the gang lifestyle that are being offered to our youth.

• We need new ways for the police to connect with young people. I will create a Police Athletic League (PAL) to foster friendships and respect. I grew up in New York City and the local Police Athletic League helped me understand police officers are more than just law enforcement. They became friends and mentors.

• I promise my loyalty is to the voters who want to rid our City of crime from graffiti damaging the property of our business owners and marring the highway entrances to our City, sadistically maiming dogs to guard illegal drug dealing, all the way to committing the ultimate crime of taking another’s life. My administration will handcuff those who choose to hurt others and offer a hand-up to all who choose to improve their quality of life.

Quality of Life

• I want every neighborhood in Syracuse to be a pleasant neighborhood. People have to be respectful of one another and to help bring that about I will follow the example of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani by forcefully tackling nuisance crime. That means enforcing the laws covering noise levels, loitering, littering, verbal harassment, etc.

• I will work to remove the barriers that stand in the way of current and potential residents who want home ownership in Syracuse. Our City has affordable, available housing for people of all economic situations. We must find practical financial solutions that close the widening gap between available properties and potential buyers. We also need to implement the recommendations from the 2005 SUNY-ESF housing study to reverse the City’s declining population and restore the abandoned properties across much of our City.

• While downtown continues to build on the vibrant urban/metropolitan lifestyles offered by Armory and Franklin Squares, the city needs to take the next step. Immediate improvements include providing more lighting, parking and police presence to accommodate families, seniors, students and others who want to dine and shop in Syracuse.

• We also need to look toward the future and the upcoming possibility of removing the I-81 overpass from downtown Syracuse. I urge every City resident to participate in the upcoming discussions. We should all consider the potential benefits of unlocking close to 100 acres of prime development land as well as reconnecting neighborhoods.

Jobs, Business, & Economic Development

JOBS, BUSINESS, and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• I will promote job training programs, like those offered through Associated Builders and Contractors, which give people a chance to get into the skilled trades such as plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electrical, carpentry, masonry, home weatherization, etc. As the economy rebounds, these are jobs that offer good salaries.

• New Federal and State money is available for renovation of historic buildings. Development costs can be reduced by 30%, but the money must be used within 5 years.

• Our city has suffered from delays in development, like the Blodgett School building renovation project. I will make decisions that promote and initiate fast and efficient development.

• I will build an aggressive partnership with leaders in business, education, and county government through collaboration - not confrontation - which is vital to completing projects.

• I will hire an economic development specialist to work with a newly created position of construction manager to make sure projects are completed, who will help preserve present businesses, make the City business and job friendly, and pursue absentee landlords who neglect their property.

• Hancock Airport is a great asset. The agreement reached that settles the tax dispute between the City of Syracuse, the Town of Dewitt, and the East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District is a step forward to take advantage of this asset but, it will take a team of qualified individuals to make it work so we should carefully monitor the creation and staffing of a new Syracuse Regional Airport Authority. Again, collaboration not confrontation is needed to make it work.

• We must move forward on the rebuilding of the Syracuse City School buildings. Too much time and money has been wasted already. Good schools are a magnet for young families, the kind that rebuild neighborhoods and encourage entrepreneurs to develop new businesses that create jobs. Good schools producing young people with the skills and tools to succeed in college or find good jobs, or create new businesses will prompt more of them to stay right here.

• I will work to bring the Empire State Games back to Syracuse. I will form volunteer groups to support the operation of the games and organize an advocacy group to promote Syracuse as the host of the Empire State Games in 2011. People remember with pride that thrilling moment on August 16, 1978 when some six-thousand amateur athletes marched into old Archbold Stadium at Syracuse University and began a movement that dozens of states across the country emulated by creating similar competitions and I want to rekindle that spirit. At the same time, the Empire State Games generate $10 to 12 million in economic activity and that is a boost we need.

Fiscal Responsibility

SPENDING YOUR TAX DOLLARS WISELY

• As your mayor, I will evaluate and closely monitor the budget and spending habits of the various departments and programs within the city.

• A major focus of mine is streamlining government services, and consolidating government agencies with the county.

• I will aggressively address wasteful and unproductive spending issues, eliminating or consolidating efforts wherever needed in order to make the best use of your tax dollars.

• I will focus on programs that bring the most benefit to the citizens of Syracuse, and trim programs that are unnecessarily eating up resources that could be saved or better spent.