Juanita Perez Williams holds a slight lead over competitor Ben Walsh in the 2017 Syracuse mayoral election, according to a Syracuse.com/Spectrum News/Siena College poll released Tuesday.

Of likely voters, 35 percent said they would cast ballots for Perez Williams, a Democrat, and 28 percent for Walsh, an independent.

Both candidates have double digit leads over Republican candidate Laura Lavine, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and Working Families Party candidate Joe Nicoletti.

The poll found 9 percent of likely voters would cast ballots for Lavine, 9 percent for Nicoletti and 5 percent for Hawkins. The remaining 14 percent of respondents were undecided.

The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4.6 percent.

Nicoletti, originally the Democratic Party’s designated candidate, dropped out of the race after losing to Perez Williams in the party primary last month. Although he remained on the Working Families Party line, he endorsed Perez Williams and ended his campaign.

Almost half of the poll’s respondents said they believed the city was “headed in the wrong direction.”

The general election is on Nov. 7.

Published on October 10, 2017 at 11:06 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18