If unofficial election results hold, Sharon Owens will become the Democratic nominee for mayor come November. Owens, Syracuse’s deputy mayor, ran a campaign focused on maximizing opportunities that will shape the future of the city.
Her Tuesday night watch party at Attilio’s on James Street showed a glimpse of what that coalition that might steer the city into the future could look like: the architects of Syracuse’s present, labor unions and progressive Democrats.
“This moment is for everyone, everyone who thinks that they don’t see themselves in the future of Syracuse,” Owens said, addressing supporters. “Well, I got news for you right now: you are part of the future.”
That future could feature Owens as the city’s first ever Black mayor if she prevails in the general election in November.
By the end of Tuesday night, the county Board of Elections’ unofficial results showed Owens had tallied more than 4,700 votes. She overcame challenges from Common Council President Pat Hogan and Councilor Chol Majok
As mayor, Owens would have to address significant challenges: a major, multi-million dollar fiscal deficit, the redevelopment of public housing in the shadows of the Interstate 81 viaduct and the teardown of that same viaduct.
The coalition of state and municipal elected leaders, department heads, and city administrators backing her believe she is up to the challenge.
Owens, a Geneva native who arrived in the city in 1981 to run track at Syracuse University, has been the deputy mayor for the past seven and a half years. She was appointed by Walsh, who on Tuesday night praised Owens, referring to the deputy mayor as the “best person to continue moving the city forward.”
“She brings the perfect mix of head and heart,” Walsh told Central Current. “I couldn’t have done what we have achieved without her by my side.”
An emotional Walsh was joined by members of his administration, all of whom have enthusiastically supported Owens throughout the campaign.
Syracuse Fire Department Chief Michael Monds, City Chief Administrative Officer Corey Driscoll Dunham, and Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development Michael Collins were among some of the deputy mayor’s most ardent supporters Tuesday.
Monds, whose tenure as fire chief overlaps with Owens’ as deputy mayor, said Owens is typically the first city leader to learn about the needs of his department.
“She faces issues head on like no one else I have ever seen,” Monds said of Owens. “She is going to do what is best for the greater good of everybody.”
Monds said an example of Owens’ leadership was on display when the department needed to rejuvenate its fleet of fire engines. Owens helped the department with refurbishment of old engines and new additions to the department’s fleet in the past seven and a half years.
“They were in poor shape,” he said. “She is the first one there to bridge the gap between us, the administration, and the council.”
Owens also cast a wide net of support among elected leaders beyond Walsh. State Senator Rachel May, whose district encompasses parts of Syracuse, County Legislators Nodesia Hernandez and Maurice Brown, and Common Council at-large candidate Hanah Ehrenreich, all stood with Owens as she declared victory.
Ehrenreich, a self-described democratic socialist and a relative newcomer to Syracuse’s electoral politics said she was excited to, alongside Owens, make up a new wave of progressive women wielding political power.
Both candidates came together at a forum hosted earlier this month by statewide housing advocacy organization Tenant Bloc.
They bonded over their support of housing policies such as the local version of “good cause” eviction, a bill that advocates say could help tenants avoid unjust evictions and unfair rent hikes.
“Good cause” disappeared from the common council’s radar in February, when the council voted 5-4 to withdraw the bill from the agenda. Tenant Bloc advocates pushed for Ehrenreich and Owens, asking city residents to “vote like a tenant,” and support the two candidates. Ehrenreich said she would vote for “good cause” if elected, and Owens said she would sign the bill if elected mayor.
“It’s been an amazing thing being part of a ticket of progressive women candidates who are really getting people fired up,” Ehrenreich said.
Capturing that excitement is easier when voters know candidates will show up for them, Owens said.
“The issues we’re talking about are not speculative,” she said. “I’m on the ground doing it.”
“Tomorrow, the work continues,” Owens added.
Owens said that a “clean, positive campaign” approach to her campaign was another element that attracted voters.
“I kept it visionary about where we were going,” she said. “Are there areas that we need to improve? Absolutely. But I think people are ready in this community to see the vision and the hope for where Syracuse is going to go.”
As Owens prepares to face Republican candidate Thomas Babilon and possibly two other independent candidates in the general election, she will continue working in her capacity as deputy mayor. That includes keeping open communication with Hogan and Majok, her two adversaries in the primary.
“We’re all public servants and my hope is that we are going to get back to work on the people’s business, and all of us are obligated to do that,” Owens said. “I’m ready to do that, and I’m sure that they will be too.”
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