During her first 10 weeks as mayor of Syracuse, Stephanie Miner has already experienced the difficulty of advocating for her city on a statewide level, she told Syracuse University’s College Democrats Tuesday.

Miner said she didn’t feel New York state Senator Kirsten Gillibrand had paid enough attention to the city of Syracuse, so she arranged meetings and lunch with Harold Ford, a former Democratic congressman from Tennessee who was considering a run for Gillibrand’s Senate seat.

“(Gillibrand) has not yet spent any time in Syracuse at all, and she doesn’t know what my people need or what my people want,” Miner said. “I know so many needs, I could fill the World Book Encyclopedia.”

She said after hearing of her meeting with Ford, Gillibrand’s staff reacted negatively and ultimately gave $4 million to Say Yes for Education.

In addition to sharing her experiences dealing with state government, Miner spoke to students in Crouse-Hinds Hall about Say Yes to Education and the mid-term elections. After she spoke, students had a chance to ask questions.

Further explaining her conflict with Kirsten Gillibrand, Miner said people expected her to love Kirsten Gillibrand just because they were both women in politics. But she said advocating for her city was more important.

In response to education, Miner said she advocates for longer school days and school years, citing low graduation rates in Syracuse, where only 45 percent of high school students earn a diploma.

“That’s a death sentence for those kids who aren’t graduating,” Miner said in reference to the Say Yes program. “As a mayor, you can’t walk away from education.”

The mayor also addressed the 2010 mid-term elections, in which many New York Democrats will face stiff challenges, and urged students to get involved in campaigns.

“When I was in college, Ronald Reagan kind of ruled the day,” she said, eliciting chuckles from the crowd of College Democrats.

Miner called potential gubernatorial candidate and current state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a “singularly impressive candidate,” noting that she used to work for his father, former governor Mario Cuomo. She also said senators Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, Rep. Dan Maffei and state Senator David Valesky are in need of students’ support.

Nory Mitchell, a sophomore environmental biology major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, agreed with Miner’s main points but said she hoped the process of reforming education would not be conducted hastily.

“You see a lot of instances where projects are rushed,” Mitchell said. “I hope we don’t rush kids and get a cycle where they’re just coming back uneducated.”

After Miner left, Rachel Gazdick, executive director of Say Yes Syracuse, spoke to the crowd for half an hour.

“I’ve never met a child who isn’t brilliant,” Gazdick said. “Our job is to ignite their intellectual potential.”

As the crowd filed out, Alex Shimrat, a junior sport management major, said he believed that the mayor meant what she said about turning graduation rates around.

“The main thing I care about is to try and care,” he said. “I could tell she had genuine passion for education, Say Yes and where it’s going.”

Published on March 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm