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Perez Williams joins packed field of Syracuse mayoral candidates

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO News
Attorney Juanita Perez Williams at her announcement event Saturday.

Democratic committee members in the city of Syracuse started interviewing candidates this weekend, as they decide who to support for an open mayoral seat. And over the weekend, one more mayoral hopeful has joined the crowded field of Democrats hoping to get the nomination.

Juanita Perez Williams announce Saturday that she will jump in the race, following a grassroots campaign urging her to run.

"For me it was just more and more, these folks wanting me to come out and do something,” she said.

Perez Williams, a Navy veteran, has a wide ranging resume -- an attorney with stints at Syracuse University, the state attorney general office, as corporation counsel for Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, and most recently at the New York State Labor Department.

She says her priorities are to see that Syracuse isn’t defined by poverty and crime, and she promises to lead from the ground up.

“For me it starts in the neighborhoods, block to block, determining what the city voices are asking us. They want revitalization, they want safety, they want people who are there to make a difference for them.”

Perez Williams, a descendant of Mexican immigrants, says she would continue the current policy that claims Syracuse as a sanctuary city.

"Sanctuary has to mean more than just words. So I’m going to take it a step further. We need to create pathways of workforce, of housing, good education for all of our citizens, whether they are new Americans, or whether they’ve been living here for generations.”

Perez Williams, who quit her job to campaign for mayor, says if she doesn’t get the party designation, she’ll take her campaign to a primary in September. Also looking for that nomination, Syracuse City Auditor Marty Masterpole, Common Councilor Joe Nicoletti, Syracuse Innovation Director Andrew Maxwell and former mayoral hopeful Alfonso Davis. Current Mayor Stephanie Miner cannot run for re-election because of term limits.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.