An election is a pinnacle moment for a community to demonstrate its exigent voice by casting votes for their representatives. For Syracuse’s 2021 mayoral election, community members cast their votes, and Ben Walsh was reelected as the mayor of Syracuse.

Mayor Walsh was an incumbent candidate, who served the previous term, while Common Councilor Khalid Bey was running for the position for the first time. If elected, Bey would have been Syracuse’s first Black mayor, bringing representation of people of color to the mayoral position. Although Councilor Bey won the Democratic primary, the power of incumbency seeped through and the people of Syracuse chose a familiar face.

I believe that Bey as mayor would have been better for the city of Syracuse. But the familiarity of Walsh was too much for Bey to overcome. Walsh won the election with over 60% of the vote, while Bey had about 27%. 

Incumbents always have an upper hand, especially when it comes to funding and familiarity with the people of the city. Further, Bey could not match Walsh’s campaign funding which reached $199,852.33 on advertisements, while Bey spent $37,056.94. Publicity for Bey was drastically unmatched to his opponent. 

From his political campaign, Walsh made it clear that he wishes to continue pushing plans of infrastructural updates, public safety improvements and development of city neighborhoods. Bey’s campaign stressed the importance of reducing crime in Syracuse. His appeal was that he is from a community that has experienced violent crime firsthand. As someone who has seen violence in the community, he has expressed that these issues are personal and that a commitment to reducing crime in Syracuse is necessary to impact change.

While Walsh understands that these issues need to be solved, Bey’s firsthand experience of these issues would have given him deeper insights in how to properly address them.

Bey’s top goals include reducing crime and unemployment and improving access to safe and affordable housing, according to his political campaign. Although Walsh has these goals in his agenda, Bey, as a representative from a marginalized community, has a personal reason to attend to these issues in the community and brings insight as a person of color. Bey’s leadership would have made these complicated issues more likely to see progress. 

Bey envisioned a future for Syracuse with efforts in place to reduce gun violence. His plan meant deploying officers to neighbors to establish relationships with communities, with volunteers and officers working together to make communities safer. This means an amenable understanding from both law enforcement and neighbors to establish trust. 

Bey rising to the mayoral position would have been a historical moment for Syracuse. Syracuse could have witnessed a hands-on approach to some of the pressing issues in the city. It could have had a seat at the table for Black representation, with a leader like Bey, who could influence change to the city as a member of a marginalized community.

Rainu George is a freshman classical studies major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at rcgeorge@syr.edu.

Published on November 3, 2021 at 11:09 pm