Becoming co-chair of the Democratic Party in New York state will allow Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner to do more of what she already does. Miner is expected to be elected co-chair of the party when members meet this week.
Miner says the job means she goes around the state talking up the party and its candidates - something that really isn't any different than what she does now.
"Since I became elected mayor, I routinely go to other places around the state to talk to people who want to talk to me. And the governor and I have talked about that, and then he decided it was time to really put me in a role where more people would have the ability and I could go out there and talk to more people," Miner said.
If elected, she'll share the job with Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright, an important consideration for her in accepting the nomination.
"Candidly, if it was just me as chair, I wouldn't have enough time to do it. Splitting the co-chair responsibilities allows us to both do our day jobs and then spend the weekend doing what the governor has asked us to do," Miner said.
Miner expects to be spending a lot of time touting Democratic candidates in three highly contested Congressional races in upstate New York, including the Syracuse-area Congressional race that pits former Representative and Democrat Dan Maffei against incumbent Republican Representative Ann Marie Buerkle.
