Hanah Ehrenreich pulled off an upset bid, beating out incumbent Amir Gethers in the Democratic primary for two at-large Common Council seats. Credit: Maddi Jane Brown | Central Current

Hanah Ehrenreich will appear on the ballot as a Democrat in November in the race for one of two seats on the Syracuse Common Council, upsetting incumbent Amir Gethers. 

Ehrenreich, a self-described democratic socialist and a nonprofit development expert, won the seat defeating Gethers and challenger Hasahn Bloodworth. She earned about 31.3% of the vote — or 3,919 votes according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections. 

Incumbent Rasheada Caldwell will also appear on the ballot as a Democrat in November, garnering around 37.37% of the vote. 

If elected in the general election, Ehrenreich and Caldwell will serve four-year terms on the council. There are no Republican or independent candidates contesting the two seats. 

“I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment,” Ehrenreich told Central Current Tuesday night. 

Ehrenreich is a relative newcomer to Syracuse electoral politics. She ran a relatively modest campaign, focusing on door-to-door outreach, sending mailers, engaging with voters on social media, and showing up to a candidate forum exclusively focused on housing issues in the city. 

“The strategy worked,” she said. “I think people want to know who their candidates are. Making that information findable and meeting people where they’re at, I think that that’s huge.”

Ehrenreich spent election night at Harvey’s Garden surrounded by supporters, but moved to the watch party of mayoral candidate Sharon Owens’ election watch party at Attilio’s by 10 p.m. 

Owens’ victory in the mayoral Democratic primary, alongside her own, feels invigorating, Ehrenreich said. 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. 

If Ehrenreich is elected in November, she said she wants to focus on pragmatic solutions. 

“We want roads to be safe. 
We want kids to be safe,” she said. “We want common sense policies that put more money in people’s pockets. Democratic socialists focus on infrastructure, and we focus on making people’s lives better.”

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Eddie Velazquez is a Syracuse journalist covering economic justice in the region. He is focused on stories about organized labor, and New York's housing and childhood lead poisoning crises. You can follow...