Early voting is underway this election season, and one of the most closely watched local contests is the Syracuse mayoral race.
There have been twists and turns in that race for Independent candidate Tim Rudd.
The former Syracuse councilor-at-large had been serving as the city's budget director under Mayor Ben Walsh until earlier this year.
The city removed him from his position, saying the dismissal was because of comments Rudd made about Syracuse Deputy Mayor and mayoral candidate Sharon Owens, comments which city officials called disrespectful and racist.
Rudd said he had clashed with the administration over transparency regarding a multi-million dollar IT project. He remains critical of Walsh, and he said a vote for Owens would be more of the same.
Rudd spoke with Grant Reeher on WRVO's “Campbell Conversations.”
"I do think that we have cowardly leadership, in particular with Ben Walsh, in that he is not honest,” Rudd said. “I don't think he's honest with himself or his staff or with anyone else, so he kind of believes the delusion. And I think we have to be honest, and until we're honest, we're not going to have any type of progress."
Rudd, who had been elected before as a Democrat, started his mayoral campaign as a Republican. But he lacked the support of the local Republican party, so he switched to become an Independent candidate.
He said creating more affordable housing and the fight against poverty are two of his priorities, but he disagrees with the administration’s current strategy.
"You don't need to be dedicating massive destroy, rebuild, and all that it takes to support that. We could be using those same monies to get denser developments along E. Genesee St., where they are happening already, to ignite it faster," he said.
Rudd, a Syracuse native who has also worked in New York City, said he has been slowly renovating homes in his neighborhood, and he wants to improve the quality of life in his hometown.
"I'm definitely a scrappy Syracusan who believes in our community and who has worked to have success professionally, and I'm still committed to this," he said.
In addition to Owens, Rudd is running against Republican Tom Babilon and Independent Alfonso Davis. Election Day is Nov. 4.
