FIGHTING SPIRIT: Mayor Stephanie Miner reflects on her 8-year tenure, leading the city of Syracuse, fighting for the underdog

Photo/Mark Nash

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By Delaney Van Wey

November 1, 2017

For some, a government position is just a title. For Stephanie Miner, that title became an identity.

In January, when the new mayor takes over leading the city of Syracuse, “Mayor Miner” will become Stephanie again, although a different Stephanie than she was before. She’s a better listener with more diverse experiences, but the first woman mayor of Syracuse will always remain a fighter for the underdogs.

“When you represent people who were born with two strikes against them, you understand how good public policy is for them and how easy it is for them to be taken advantage of by the system,” Miner said. “I did not want to be a silent conspirator in allowing that to happen.”

That fighting spirit is both Miner’s greatest strength and greatest weakness, her colleagues say.

Marty Masterpole, the city’s auditor who has known Miner for 16 years, said sometimes she comes on too strong. In 2013, Miner wrote an op-ed in The New York Times criticizing New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which led to a breakdown in their relationship and has probably cost the city, Masterpole said.

Ultimately, though, she was fighting for the city. Masterpole said the deal she was criticizing — pension easing — was going to cost taxpayers more, and Miner wouldn’t stand for that.

“She’s a straight shooter and expresses her opinions as she sees appropriate,” Masterpole said. “And that’s honorable.”

Bill Ryan, her chief of staff, said people should not mistake this strong will as the mayor being “difficult.” Rather, it’s the manifestation of her passion. She will “go at it” with someone if they challenge what she believes in, he said, which only means she’s fighting harder for what she believes in most — the people of Syracuse.

Daily Orange File Photo

During a farewell speech in Syracuse University’s Maxwell Auditorium on Friday, Miner repeatedly thanked the people of Syracuse for everything they’ve given her. She said residents have been “gracious and warm and welcoming” to her since the day she took office, even though she’s aware that they’ve critiqued her as well.

“I was not somebody who ran for office to be loved, I was somebody who ran for office to be respected,” Miner told the crowd. “And I feel like I accomplished that, bad decisions and all.”

In the packed auditorium, a ripple traveled through the room as she stepped inside. Then it went completely silent.

Her colleagues describe a leader who has inspired loyalty and stood up for what she believed in.

Even those Miner has disagreed with do not deny her respect. Van Robinson, president of Syracuse’s Common Council, said he knows the two have had their differences after 15 years in City Hall together but has respected her dedication to the city and hopes she would consider him a friend.

A reputation like Miner’s is built through hard-fought victories and tough losses. Gun violence, poverty and education have been the key issues facing Miner’s administration, none of which have been fixed completely over the last eight years. In 2016, Syracuse had its deadliest year on record with 31 homicides. The city is ranked one of the poorest in the nation.

But the Syracuse City School District achieved a 60 percent graduation rate in 2016. And Say Yes to Education, a program that Miner fervently supported, has sent about 2,900 Syracuse children to college with full scholarships.

Stephanie Miner speaks to a group of demonstrators at Syracuse Hancock International Airport during a protest of President Donald Trump’s first travel ban. Daily Orange File Photo

Miner recognizes that things are, and probably never will be, perfect, though.

“When you make 150 decisions every day, seven days a week for eight years, you’re going to make some bad ones,” Miner said in her speech. “I’ve tried not to focus on the bad ones because you want to get up every day and start over again.”

Perfection isn’t what Miner was ultimately striving for. Government is complicated, she said, and the problems and solutions are never simple or easy.

Rather, they require extensive discussion and input from a variety of perspectives, she said. Miner said her desire to be inclusive of more perspectives stems from knowing how her experiences, as the first mayor who was a woman of a major city in New York state, have been different from her counterparts.

Although this makes solving problems more arduous, she said, it results in better policies and ideas. Some of her colleagues say this is what Miner did best. She brought people with many different backgrounds around the table and empowered them to do their best work.

Recently, at a reception in their honor, the mayor thanked city services employees for their work “from the bottom of her heart,” Ryan said. He said it has become one of his favorite memories of Miner because it’s so real.

“Part of what I saw my role (as) was to hire the best people possible, tell them I hired them because they were the best and then support them,” Miner said in an interview.

Come January, Miner will be teaching future leaders and policymakers about how to build strong teams for challenged cities. After leaving office, she will take up a teaching position at New York University as a “Visiting Distinguished Urbanist,” where Miner said she will be able to reflect on all the issues she confronted as a member of city government for 16 years.

Miner said she is not sure how it will fit into her career in the long term, but she is looking forward to being able to reflect on everything she learned as “Mayor” while she figures out who “Stephanie” wants to be next.

“Any other job seems to pale in comparison to this one,” Miner told the crowd in Maxwell Auditorium, “So I’m going to take some time to figure out what it is that’s next and try to be graceful about a transition that is inherently difficult for me.”