Program transcript:
Grant Reeher: Welcome to the Campbell Conversations, I'm Grant Reeher. This November, Syracuse will elect a new mayor. Joining me today is the Democratic candidate for the position, Sharon Owens. In addition to serving as the city's deputy mayor in the Ben Walsh administration, Ms. Owens is also the board president of Blueprint 15, which is helping to lead the effort to develop the East Adams Street area, following the tearing down of Interstate 81 in the city. I'd like you to note that you can find interviews with two out of the other three candidates for mayor on the Campbell Conversations webpage, and that's a drop down in the local programing tab on the main WRVO web page. But, Deputy Mayor Owens, welcome back to the program, it's your turn today, thank you for joining me.
Sharon Owens: Thank you, it's always a pleasure to be on with you.
GR: Well, we appreciate you making the time. So let me just start by saying that, you know, we had a previous interview last May, it was before the Democratic primary and our listeners can find that interview on the Campbell Conversations webpage, too. But I asked you a lot of the standard candidate questions then, such as how your leadership style might differ from Ben Walsh's, your vision for the city, and so on. And in this interview, I wanted to go beyond that, since I think we covered that pretty well. So this is kind of like part two in a way. So, I do want to start though with my first question, I want to start with that primary because, we talked before it happened and the result of it was a bit of a surprise, I think, to a lot of local political observers. You were the front runner, I think, I said that publicly. You were the front runner, but it was looking to be a, you know, competitive primary. You had two other candidates who had won elective office in the city, they've run for other offices before. But in the end, it was, well, it was a blowout pretty much for you. What do you attribute that to?
SO: It was absolutely a good night. If you don't think you're going to win, then why are you running? So, I believe that I was going to win. But to win by, I think it was 40 points, was really satisfying for just not me, my team. We worked hard during that primary. While I think generally we all were respective of each other, it was a hard fought primary, you know, and I believe it was the message, Grant. My opponents really came after me, came after the Walsh administration and it's interesting, it's for, seven years it's been the Walsh administration and now it’s the Walsh-Owens administration during the political year.
GR: (laughter)
SO: But, I think that, and I know I heard from people that it was the messaging. The messaging never went at anyone else. The messaging was the messaging needed for people to hear about why I believe I’m the right candidate to be the next mayor, what my vision is for Syracuse. And all those things we talked about before, safety, housing, economic opportunity. And I kept the message, the message. I didn't spend time talking about other people and taking shots at other people. And quite frankly, in this political climate, I think people are sick of hearing that. And so, regardless of what's happening in the general and the same kind of retrenching of that model from the opponents I'm running against now, I'm going to stay focused on what was successful for me before, and that is talking about Syracuse and the vision for Syracuse and the opportunity that lays before Syracuse. And I think that was the game changer for the primary.
GR: Okay, yeah. I was going to ask you about whether maybe this said something about the public's frustration with where we are right now that you already addressed that. And I agree with you, I think that that probably was an ingredient in it. Well, I want to combine kind of two things we talked about in our previous conversation in May and reframe it in terms of one kind of question. And so I'll start by saying the city's facing, and we talked about this before, the city's facing two big important inflection points. The redevelopment of the area in the footprint of the elevated portion of the highway in the city of I-81. That's a big one, and then the arrival of Micron and that, you know, the whole playout of that over the next few years and, maybe Micron probably better described as a potential new birth rather than inflection, I mean, it's really big. But one of the big concerns and challenges for both of these projects is how inclusive will they be? How much of the city will be brought along in the successes there? For example, what will happen to those who are currently living in public housing under the highway that are going to be displaced, at least for a period of time? How many of the city's poorer residents will benefit either directly or indirectly, from the huge investments that Micron is making and going to make? And so the question I wanted to get to, that's a long introduction there, I apologize, but do you think it's important for someone with your background, and I'll just state of plainly, you know, your ethnicity to be leading the city during those big transitions? Do you think that is something that is going to be helpful, both symbolic and in other ways, to try to realize these opportunities for everybody in the city?
SO: What we're talking about, Grant, is nothing new just because I'm running for mayor. From the moment I graduated from Syracuse University and stepped foot as a resident of Syracuse, my calling, my mission has been assisting people who are less fortunate than me, who didn't have the opportunity to go to a top tier university, and get a degree and go down a career path, and who's been fortunate to be in safe, affordable, clean housing. And so this conversation is the driving force of my DNA, my just who I am, and ensuring. And it's been, unlike my opponents, it has been, I am not just speculating about this. I've been on the ground working to, particularly let's talk about the workforce opportunity, I've said before, when we talk about poverty, unless we are setting a path for getting people to work, we're just talking about changing the trajectory of poverty until we're changing the household incomes of individuals. So for the I-81 project, everything that Pathways to Apprentice for Syracuse Build started on a whiteboard with a marker in my hand that created a now nationally known workforce initiative that is getting people to work and putting money in their homes. I had a young man say, you know, for the first time in his life, and he's in his early 30’s, he was able to take his family on vacation. That's what the job is about, that's what a job is about. Not just punching in, but changing the quality of life, and that includes the housing. Adding to, not the 81 project, but one more thing to add to those folks in that footprint that is just continue to be inundated with information that affects their day to day lives, is the changes in HUD in real time that we're seeing because the, you know, the Housing Authority is a HUD funded initiative and all the changes from the Trump administration that we see coming through, really targeting so-called illegal citizens in our community. So we have layers upon layers of changes happening in that community. We’re finally at a place where we are headed towards a closing that we can start getting demolition done over there to start, you know, one of my opponents said that, you know, they didn't see the need to redevelop that property. And clearly, you must not have been in it. That property is unworthy of the folks who live there. It is old. It is the original housing that was developed in this country. And so, this is 2025, they deserve a 2025 era housing there. What is critical for us to ensure that that happens without displacing people who want to live in their neighborhood and have lived there for generations. And so, I've been on the forefront of that. I get criticized, it hasn't moved fast enough. No, it hasn't moved fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. But it is moving and it is hard, painstaking work.
GR: Yeah, I appreciate that. You're listening to the Campbell Conversations on WRVO Public Media. I'm Grant Reeher, and I'm speaking with City of Syracuse Democratic mayoral candidate Sharon Owens. Well, I wanted to stick with that though, and just ask you this. You've kind of addressed it in a way, but if someone comes into this and looks at this from the outside and says, okay, somebody tells them, here are the two things that are about to happen to this city. They might say as first reaction, this has got gentrification written all over it.
SO: Sure.
GR: What do you say to someone that sort of looks at that?
SO:I would say the same, I would say this, I was working in the community when, if you remember Kennedy Square over there where the biotech center is, I was working in the community at the time that that happened. I remember, and Grant by no means was that quality housing. It was lousy housing for people, but it was home for people. And then the transaction happened with SUNY Upstate and those, I remember being on the ground in the community working for not for profit. It was a Thanksgiving during the holiday when those folks were given notices that they had to move. It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen and experienced. And I have to say, I have to give credit for the housing authority because they implement Section 8 vouchers in our community, one of two agencies. And they were able to get those individuals Section 8 houses to be able to relocate, but relocate during a major holiday? We cannot let that happen. So, there has to be, the difference between that and this is that this is HUD funded housing, there are HUD regulations that weren't even there when the highway was built, when all that dislocation happened. It is also critical why I was a voice that spoke, if you can remember, Grant, when the news had kind of broken that SUNY Upstate was looking at part of the Housing Authority property, right behind it. And it was duringone of my standard meetings when I noticed that was going on and I said, what is that? And when it was explained to me, I said, that cannot happen, that absolutely cannot happen. That is the fear that the people in that community have is that the university and the Hill is going to continue to encroach. It is another reason why the city must, and we're continuing to push this issue with the New York State DOT, the city must get control of the land under the viaduct now, once it comes down. It is owned by New York State. We need to be in possession of that, because then we go through a local public process of zoning it appropriately for the needs of our community to ensure that the use of that is just not for those who have the most money or the most influence. And so that is going to be another critical process for this next mayor is negotiations with DOT. Which, by the way, Grant, I have on a regular basis now, for every part of this quickly moving project that's going on. The next mayor, you know, we talked about Micron, and I'll hopefully be able to answer just a little bit about that. But for 81, this mayor has to keep this city moving and open. And if you, we always think that, oh, construction projects take years and it'll be delay upon delay. Oh, no. If you are driving in Syracuse, each phase of this contract is moving like gangbusters. And now the big part of it is everything going on behind City Hall now at that 690 intersection. And then we’ll be moving the preparation on Almond Street and then the viaduct coming down if everything's on track in 2027. That's not a long time from now. And so what's going on now is the environmental protections that need to happen before that preparation goes on. Social activists making sure those calls and those meetings are happening right now. And there's been amazing collaborative efforts between DOT, Upstate hospitals, doctors and social activists to make sure that environmental quality of life continues for people in that footprint.
GR: You're listening to the Campbell Conversations on WRVO Public Media. I'm Grant Reeher and I'm talking with Sharon Owens, the Democratic city of Syracuse deputy mayor is running for mayor in this November's election. So I wanted to get into a couple of the things that your two, well, you have three opponents, but two of the opponents that I spoke with mentioned to me about the city. Like in the primary, the these criticisms that have been leveled are pretty serious against the Walsh administration. Tom Babilon said that there were inefficiencies throughout the city administration, and that's part of the reason why the spending and the budget have increased during the last eight years and he listed a few examples. He talked about trash pick-up, talked about the codes department, talked about the initiative to reduce gun violence. And I wanted to just put the question to you this way, are there currently significant inefficiencies in the city administration?
SO: No, there are not significant inefficiencies in the city's administration. Any operational organization has areas where it needs to improve and areas where it is doing what it needs to do to serve the people of Syracuse. I would never say that it is perfect, not even close to perfect, there's always room for improvement. But, for how they describe the city and the way the city is run, you know, we should be in bankruptcy and receivership and no functioning activity at all. I just don't know how people who want to be the mayor of the city think it's just so bad. And so, some of the things you mentioned, that trash can program was a game changer for the cleanliness of this city. The sidewalk program that was implemented was a game changer for accessibility for the city. Our ability to provide services on a day to day basis, it was during this administration that our fleet was just abysmal for DPW and we, you know, got out there and purchased what needed to happen to be able to serve our people, both for picking up for fall refuge and also for snow plowing and included the public in naming these new vehicles. Our fire department needed new equipment, we stepped up to the plate to do that. This lighting infrastructure that we have now, LED lighting that we have now, and what we're doing now with the EPA to do private side lead replacement. There has been multiple things that have happened in this administration. And again, yes, the code enforcement, oh my goodness, we are online now, getting applications and processing online. Mr. Babilon in particular, if he had his druthers, there would be no permitting process. Permits are issued for protection of people that are going into businesses and structures that are being renovated. It is a public protection and mechanism. And so, we have, the numbers are there over the last year, approaching $1 billion in economic growth because of our ability to get things through. There are other things that we're going to do, we’ve outsourced permitting to streamline it. So we have been, and I have been, because these entities have been under my watch and my background in ensuring that individuals in this community and businesses in the community can thrive, have been my responsibility. Unprecedented housing initiatives going on in the city under my watch. So I'm not speculating about what, has happened or what can happen. I live it every day. I put my shoes on and go into City Hall every day to get the job done.
GR: So let me ask you a question about Micron that builds a little bit on this, because it has to do with spending in the budget. And this is probably, you know, a problem that a lot of mayors would like to have. But if I'm looking at Micron coming in, I might be tempted to say something like the following, that there's going to be a lot more people in and around Syracuse who are making high salaries, they're going to be spending their money. The property values of the most desirable parts of the city are going to keep going up. They already are, I'm seeing it in the university neighborhood, for example. The prices are really launching up. And so if I'm a mayor looking at this, I might think I'm going to have more money in my budget even if I don't lift a finger, it's just going to come in. So, my question I guess, is don't you think that might be a temptation to start a lot of new programs, spend a lot? I mean, you're going to have a lot, you mentioned the activist groups just a second ago and talking about I-81. You're going to have a lot of pressure from those groups saying, this is the moment to do some of the things I've been wanting to do. How are you going to navigate that? I mean, it's a good problem to have, but how are you going to navigate it?
SO: I hope and pray that is a problem I inherit. Right now, I'm looking at a 25 or $30 million deficit. One of the things that I plan to do is to reach across the aisle, Rita Paniagua will be the next president of the Common Council. What I want to avoid is another council administration battle that we had with the budget this time. The oversight, fiscal oversight and execution of the city's budget is the responsibility of us jointly, the administrative wing and the legislative wing. I want to jointly put together a commission to really look at how we can look at our costs without sacrificing the services that the taxpaying people deserve in Syracuse, but also looking at how we can generate revenue. The growth of our region and the growth of our city is one way to do that. But we have to do it without pricing out our residents in this community. Affordable housing, the federal government is a big part of those subsidies that make that housing affordable. That is going to change, Grant, you know, the funding coming from the Trump administration. But how can we reduce the cost of affordable housing reconstruction? Manufactured housing, the Land Bank has a project it's working on now that reduce the costs of building houses that can be affordable to keep people in Syracuse who are going to stay in Syracuse in new homes to increase our tax base, but also addressing the rental issue, 60% of our city residents rent. So ensuring the quality of housing for rentals are there as well. And so, we have to be responsible. I mean, we were responsible with ARPA funds. We used it for a project that we normally would not have the funding to use for. It was one of the ways we started the sidewalk program. So we have to be responsible, but we have to work collaborative because, you know, my mother has always taught me, save the money, but the money is there for a rainy day. It feels like it's raining, but let's make sure that when it's different from sprinkling to a good rainstorm to a hurricane. And so, we have to adjust accordingly to our fiscal status.
GR: If you've just joined us, you're listening to the Campbell Conversations on WRVO Public Media. I'm Grant Reeher, and my guest is Syracuse mayoral candidate Sharon Owens. So, I’ve got about five minutes left or so, I want to try to squeeze in at least, two, maybe three questions if I can. The first one is, both Tim Rudd and Tom Babilon claim that the administration hasn't been as transparent as it could have been with the city council and otherwise, and I think also the newspaper has suggested some things similar to that. So rather than ask you whether it's true or not, I just wanted to ask you this, do you have plans for making what the administration does more transparent to the public and the council? You mentioned you want to work with the council, but are you going to try to make it more transparent?
SO: Well, first of all, I must answer that, it's not true. We have $123 million of ARPA money. If we weren't going to be transparent, we wouldn't have created a public dashboard so the public can see exactly how we were planning the spending, actually did spend that money. This administration was the administration that actually put in the infrastructure to make the council meetings accessible by video in live streams, it was us that did that. So when we talk about transparency, and it all, you know, really comes down to that, modernization, payroll modernization project. We, I, have said that could things have been done differently, the management of it? Absolutely. Grant, when I came to the city in 2018 from Southwest Community Center, when I was at the Southwest Community Center, there was an automated way by which I would scan and be able to get paid. I come to the city and we're doing that on paper timesheets. We're a 300 plus million dollar organization, and so this process has been hard, but we are making progress and I don't regret doing it at all. I am a transparent individual, I have been my entire life.
GR: Okay, thank you. So, just a couple of minutes left now, and two questions here. The first one, Mr. Babilon also made on air a no new taxes pledge for his four years. I'm going to ask you, are you running on a similar pledge? How would you handle that question?
SO: That would be, we just talked about transparency. That would be disingenuous to say that over the course of four years, you can make that commitment right now, that there would be no new taxes. I do not want to tax the people of Syracuse, but I'm not going to make that pledge predicting four years from now.
GR: Okay. Fair enough.
SO: Irresponsible.
GR: It didn't help George H.W. Bush.
SO: (laughter)
GR: And so last question, and you got about a minute and a half, two minutes to answer it. I wanted to give you kind of a big picture question and a chance to sort of take everything from your campaign and your vision and put it all under one thing. Imagine that I am a 30-something person okay? (laughter) You have to have to put on your rose-colored glasses there, and I'm relocating to Syracuse because I'm going to work for Micron, okay? I want you to convince me and about a minute to live in the city, as opposed to the suburbs.
SO: I am so happy that you are coming to this community. You have picked a amazing place to live, an amazing place to grow yourself personally and to raise your family. Syracuse has a long history of individuals in this community that have helped it grow over the course of its existence, and you are about to be a part of its history and a pinnacle time, a game changing time, where we have technology that we are going to be implementing here in Syracuse that rivals any other place in the world. And here you are right now. You can take advantage of our amazing city, our amazing parks, our affordable living, and just the best people you're going to find on the face of the Earth here in Syracuse, so welcome aboard.
GR: Okay, all right, I'm in, all right. So, we'll leave it there. That was Sharon Owens, she's a candidate for Syracuse mayor. Again, I want to remind everybody that my conversations with the other candidates are available on the Campbell Conversations webpage. And my previous conversation with Deputy Mayor Owens when she was running in the primary is also available there. We covered in that conversation some general things about vision for the city and other important issues. But Deputy Mayor Owens, again, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me. Best of luck with the rest of the campaign trail, I know it's hard work.
SO: Thank you. Great to be here and I'll see you on the other side.
GR: Okay. You've been listening to the Campbell Conversations on WRVO Public Media, conversations in the public interest.
