Walt Shepperd is a veteran of Central New York's political scuffle, having covered government and politics in Syracuse for nearly four decades. He is the Senior Editor of the City Eagle and the Mayor of Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse.
Thousands of people help set new marks for the Guinness Book every year, the day after Thanksgiving, by emptying Clinton Square in record speed after the downtown Christmas tree lighting ceremony. This year the folks at the Hanover Square Association hope a good number of those people will tarry a bit one block over. They are sponsoring a storefront window design contest that extends the bounds of Hanover Square to the tip of the Atrium in City Hall Commons, south a block on Warren Street and perhaps west on Washington Street down to the copy center at the corner of Salina Street...
T-shirts heralded the 60th anniversary of Our Lady of Pompei’s annual Election Day Spaghetti Supper, which has become tradition as a lunchtime schmooze for candidates, political junkies and John Nicholson’s Newhouse School students. Stephanie Miner stood in one corner, expressing hopes that the low voter turnout she had been witnessing that morning might increase later in the day. Otis Jennings and Steve Kimatian stood in other corners, anticipating either campaigns to come or retirement from the arena. Campaign 2010 was beginning even before 2009’s results were tabulated...
TAGS: political junkies and John Nicholson, Newhouse School students,Syracuse politics 2009,Howie Hawkins, WellPoint insurance agency,Jessica Crawford,Fanny Villerreal,Stephanie Miner
The old synagogue at Crouse and Harrison may become condos, but no matter what renovations occur inside, any passing by of the majestic stone steps and columns will always be of Salt City. A drafty main theater, always a little dark, long in need of an enclosed orchestra space to balance volume for musicals. An intimate, questionably wired second theater with an atmosphere unmatched for its funk factor. Vast storage spaces and cramped dressing rooms. “It was my Southwest Center at the time,” Ken Jackson remembers of growing up on Harrison Street in the Seventies...
In 1993, the year he upset Joe Nicoletti in the mayor’s race, Roy Bernardi speculated that the person following him into the City Hall top spot would be African-American. He said then that he felt strongly that it would be good for the community.
Nicoletti agreed that it would be good for the community, but only after he had gotten his own eight years in the mayor’s chair. A decade ago, a survey conducted by the Concerned Citizens for Better Government to determine the candidate from the communities of color who had the most crossover appeal found Republican Sandra Townes, the highest citywide votegetter the year she ran for City Court Judge, could be mayor if she wanted the job...
As word spread last week that County Legislators had eliminated Julius Edwards’ position as director of the Human Rights Commission from County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s proposed budget, consigning the watchdog agency’s critical compliance role to the county Purchasing Department, the air got heavier on the 14th floor of the Mulroy Civic Center. Already tension fogged by CSEA’s refusal to reopen negotiations on their membership’s 2010 salary raises, the administration’s inner sanctum faced concerns from the communities of color, and supporters she had forged bonds with in her high school days at Corcoran. “(HRC) was fully funded in the budget I submitted,” Mahoney told City Eagle. “They cut Julius’s position...
TAGS: Walt shepperd, Onondaga County Legislators,Mulroy Civic Center,CSEA,Julius Edwards,Anthony ‘Amp’ Lewis,Murdered,Syracuse Stage to quiz mayoral candidates,funding local arts,Latin Festival,US Ballroom Dance Championship,stephanie miner,otis jennings,Steve Kimatian,Department of Cultural Affairs,Empire State Games,director Human Rights Commission,County Executive Joanie Mahoney
On Labor Day Howie Hawkins issued a white paper titled “How to Fight Poverty in Syracuse.” As sparkplug for the local Green Party, Howie established a perennial role running for Congress, Mayor or Council, as a candidate using the campaigns as bully pulpits, raising issues bluntly rather than mincing words in hopes of piling up votes. Eschewing the MO of European Green Parties, Howie has long stood fast against cross endorsing major party candidates, nor has he flirted with the big two for their ballot lines. This time around, however, he knows that for the Greens to move up a level in having impact on local action, or lack thereof, they have to win an election...
TAGS: Howie Hawkins,white paper,How to Fight Poverty in Syracuse,walt shepperd,Democrat Tom Seals,Working Families Party,teamsters,politics syracuse,4th Common Council District
Stephanie Miner speaking at weekly NAN meeting in Syracuse.
Steve Kimatian walked slowly around the office, which had headquartered the campaign Alfonso Davis waged in the Democratic mayoral primary, pausing for a knowing glance at the map on the wall demarcating the city’s political wards. It was a good space, he agreed with two of the campaign’s volunteers who were closing up shop. Kimatian, who had snatched the Republican nomination from the party’s designated candidate Otis Jennings in the GOP primary, asked if they came with the space.
“It depends on how much you’re paying,” one said with a laugh.
“We start paying in January,” Kimatian parried.
With his current operational base on North Midler, the former media executive was considering a downtown location...
TAGS: NAN local chapter, Walter Dixie,Steve Kimatian,Joe Nicoletti,National Action Network,communities of color syracuse,City Hall Commons,headquartered Alfonso Davis,Syracuse Democratic mayoral primary,Syracuse Mayoral candidate,Stephanie Miner,Sam Cook lyric,change is gonna come, Dr. King’s Dream
