Stephanie Miner

Last updated

John Mannion
​
​
(m. 2006;died 2019)​
Stephanie Miner
Miner-Stephanie-2016-0326 (cropped).jpg
Miner in 2016
Chair of the New York Democratic Party
In office
June 5, 2012 –April 17, 2014
Servingwith Keith L. T. Wright
Education Syracuse University (BA)
State University of New York, Buffalo (JD)

Stephanie Ann Miner (born April 30, 1970) is an American attorney, politician, and former Mayor of Syracuse, New York. Miner served as Mayor of Syracuse from 2010 to 2018, and is the first woman to have held that office. Prior to her mayoralty, she was a member of the Syracuse City Council. Miner co-chaired the New York State Democratic Party from 2012 to 2014. In 2018, Miner ran unsuccessfully for Governor of New York on the newly-created Serve America Movement line.

Contents

Early life, education and career

On April 30, 1970, Miner was born in Syracuse, New York to Edward Miner, MD, a physician and an army officer, and Dianne Cooney, a nurse who later served as dean of the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher College. [1] [2] Miner became involved in politics at an early age by stuffing envelopes for local candidates at her grandmother's kitchen table in the Eastwood neighborhood. [3]

Miner attended high school in Homer, New York, where she was senior class president and voted most likely to succeed. [4] She received her B.A., magna cum laude , in journalism and political science from Syracuse University in 1992, and her J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1999. [1] [5] [6] [7]

In 1994, she served as a regional representative for then-governor of New York Mario Cuomo. Upon graduating from law school, Miner was hired at the Syracuse law firm Blitman and King LLP, where she worked until resigning in March 2009 to focus on her mayoral campaign. [1] [2]

Early political career

In her first run for public office in 2001, Miner ran for one of two at-large Syracuse Common Council seats that were up for election. She won, placing first among four candidates. Her tough leadership on important city issues propelled her to re-election in 2005 when she again placed first among four candidates for the two seats. [8] Miner received the most votes of any candidate on the ballot, including the incumbent mayor. [9]

As a Common Councilor, Miner championed and helped pass legislation that gave $1 million in initial funding to Say Yes to Education, a program that provides necessary support services for Syracuse City School Districts students and promises free or reduced college tuition to students who graduate from City high schools.[ citation needed ]

Mayor of Syracuse

In 2009, Miner—running as a Democrat—defeated Republican Steve Kimatian, 50%–39%, in the general election and became the city's first female mayor. [10] [11] Miner was re-elected in 2013, winning 68% of the vote in defeating two third-party candidates. [12]

Miner was the 53rd Mayor of the City of Syracuse. [13] She is the first woman elected Mayor of Syracuse and the first woman to lead one of New York's "Big 5" cities. [1] Her second term concluded on January 1, 2018, and she did not seek re-election.

Fiscal priorities

Miner vetoed $2 million in amendments passed by the council to her $657 million budget. Miner stated that the council's sales tax estimates were "phantom revenues" which, if they materialized, should be saved. [14]

In 2014, Miner announced that since she took office in 2010, the city had reversed the general funds deficit trend and achieved an $8.4 million budget surplus in the fiscal year ending in 2012. [15]

In 2013, Miner was named one of the "trailblazing women in public finance" by Northeast Women in Public Finance and The Bond Buyer in recognition of her role in drawing attention to the fiscal plight of cities. [16]

Opposition to Destiny USA tax breaks

In 2012, Miner announced that Robert Congel did not plan to build a promised future Destiny USA expansion, including a hotel and more retail space. However, Miner added that Congel would not have to pay property taxes or PILOT payments on the Carousel Center expansion or the original mall for 30 years under the terms of a 2007 agreement forged by former mayor Matt Driscoll. [17]

In 2014, Miner and County Executive Joanie Mahoney received a letter from Destiny signaling their intent to build a 252-room hotel. Destiny indicated it would be seeking new tax breaks from the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA). Destiny officials were seeking an 18-year payment in lieu of taxes deal exempting the developer from County and City taxes on the new hotel. The new exemption would cost taxpayers approximately $20 million in tax revenue. Miner believed that any hotel construction to support the mall should be privately financed. Destiny received a 30-year break on local taxes after it promised to build a LEED Platinum, 39-story, 1,342- room "Emerald 5 ShowTel and Conference Center." However, Destiny stated that they would not be building the hotel or the other amenities it promised, they were still legally entitled to its 30-year PILOT. [18]

Pension-smoothing opposition

Miner is a vocal opponent of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's policies on pensions and financially distressed cities. Mayor Miner publicized Gov. Cuomo was failing to take charge of the issue and had offered cities an "accounting gimmick" called pension smoothing instead. [19] Miner publicly broke with Cuomo on his proposal to stabilize rising pension costs earlier that year. [20] [21]

Ideas and innovation

In 2015, Miner established the first-ever Mayor's office of Innovation using a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. [22]

Miner was part of the Governing Institute Women in Government Leadership Program Class of 2015, a program that highlights the outstanding contributions of women currently in public office, and to encourage future generations of leaders. [23]

Infrastructure

Miner attended the Clinton Global Initiative America Conference in both 2014 and 2015 to discuss infrastructure for cities and states. [24] Miner also met with members of Congress and submitted testimony before the United States Senate and the New York State Legislature detailing the infrastructure needs of the City of Syracuse. Miner is a member of Rebuild New York Now, a coalition of construction trades, business owners, and elected officials. [25]

Joint Schools Construction Board

Miner revamped the Joint Schools Construction Board in an effort to rebuild and remodel Syracuse City School District buildings. Four schools were totally renovated, and the project was authorized to include $300 million of individual projects at up to 15 schools. Mayor Miner served as chair of the board. [26]

Syracuse Regional Airport Authority

Miner spearheaded the effort to develop the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority. Miner also opened a $60 million renovation for the airport in 2013. [27]

New York State Democratic Party Co-Chair

Miner served as Co-Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee from 2012 to 2014. [28] [29]

Post-mayoral career

On June 18, 2018, Miner announced that she intended to run for Governor of New York. [30] According to The New York Times , Miner, "once an ally of Mr. Cuomo's, became something of an outlier in Democratic circles when she emerged as a vocal and persistent critic of the governor and his policies, beginning five years ago and culminating now in a direct challenge as he seeks a third term." [30] Miner "[planned] to run under the banner of an upstart new group, the Serve America Movement, which calls itself SAM (coincidentally sharing Miner's initials), formed by people disaffected by the existing party structure after the 2016 elections. She will be the group’s first candidate." Miner circulated designating petitions to create a SAM Party in New York, and on August 21, her campaign announced that it had submitted over 40,000 petition signatures. [31] On Election Day, Miner and running mate Michael Volpe received 55,441 votes (0.91%). [32]

In 2021, Miner began writing a book about her two mayor terms. [33]

Personal life

Miner was married to John F. X. Mannion from 2006 [34] until his death in 2019. [1] [35]

Following her mayoral tenure, Miner was awarded the Charles Evans Hughes Visiting Chair of Government and Jurisprudence in the Department of Political Science position at Colgate University. [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Cuomo</span> Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994

Mario Matthew Cuomo was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1979 to 1982 and the secretary of State of New York from 1975 to 1978. He was the father of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and NewsNation anchor Christopher Cuomo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Cuomo</span> 56th Governor of New York (born 1957)

Andrew Mark Cuomo is an American politician, lawyer, and former government official who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo was elected to three terms to the same position that his father, Mario Cuomo, held for three terms as the 52nd governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative Party of New York State</span> Conservative third party in the United States

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Party of New York</span> Third party in New York, United States

The Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot status in 2020 under a change in the New York state election law that required at least 130,000 votes on the party line every two years. Although often associated with Ross Perot, as the party came to prominence in the wake of Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, it was created prior to Perot's run. In 2020, it affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021. It used to have one elected member of the New York State Assembly, Fred Thiele, until Thiele switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2022. On December 9, 2022, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed S1851A, banning the use of the words "Independent" and "Independence" from use in political party names in New York state.

Matthew John Driscoll is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from 2015 until 2017. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Syracuse, New York from July 10, 2001, until December 31, 2009. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Thruway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howie Hawkins</span> American activist and trade unionist (born 1952)

Howard Gresham Hawkins III is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee in the 2020 presidential election. His ideological platform includes enacting an eco-socialist version of the Green New Deal—which he first proposed in 2010—and building a viable, independent working-class political and social movement in opposition to the country's two major political parties, and capitalism in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inner Harbor, Syracuse</span>

The Inner Harbor is a former industrial quarter of Syracuse, New York, situated at the center of a larger district long colloquially known as Oil City, and since 1989 rebranded as the Lakefront. The waterfront zone was originally considered to be limited to just that area bounded by West Kirkpatrick, Solar, West Bear, and Van Rensselaer streets, but it has been gradually enlarged by the process of familiarity and promotion to include the opposite sides of some of those streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dede Scozzafava</span> American politician

Dierdre Kathryn "Queen Dedede" Scozzafava is an American politician in New York. She represented District 122 in the New York State Assembly from 1999 to 2010. Scozzafava held office as a member of the Republican Party, but later became a member of the Democratic Party.

John A. DeFrancisco is an attorney and Republican politician who formerly represented District 50 in the New York State Senate from 1993 to 2018. Senate District 50 comprises Skaneateles, Pompey, Van Buren, most of Onondaga County, and the western half of Syracuse, among other communities located in Upstate New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 New York elections</span>

New York held various elections in 2009.

The Reform Party of New York State was the New York branch of the Reform Party of the United States of America. The branch was founded in 2000 after the Independence Party of New York, which had been affiliated with the national Reform Party from 1994 to 2000, severed ties with the national party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Hochul</span> Governor of New York since 2021

Kathleen Hochul is an American politician and lawyer. Since August 24, 2021, she has served as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor and the first governor from Upstate New York since Nathan L. Miller in 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 United States elections</span>

The 2013 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. This off-year election cycle featured several special elections to the United States Congress; two gubernatorial races; state legislative elections in a few states; and numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lhota</span> American politician

Joseph J. Lhota is an American public servant and a former politician who served as the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was also a former deputy mayor of New York City. He was the Republican nominee in an unsuccessful bid for the 2013 election for Mayor of New York City. In January 2014, he became senior vice president, vice dean, and chief of staff at NYU Langone Medical Center. In 2017, he returned to the chairmanship of the MTA, but would not run the authority day-to-day. He resigned from that position in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 New York gubernatorial election</span> Election for Governor of New York

The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New York gubernatorial election</span> Election for Governor of New York

The 2018 New York gubernatorial election occurred on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican Marc Molinaro and several minor party candidates. Cuomo received 59.6% of the vote to Molinaro's 36.2%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serve America Movement</span> American big tent conservative party

The Serve America Movement (SAM) was a big tent political organization founded in 2017 by Morgan Stanley lawyer Eric Grossman. The party achieved its first state party in New York with ballot access, but as of November 4, 2021, it lost its ballot status. Under New York election law, parties must get more than 130,000 votes every two years to maintain ballot access. Party officials said afterward they intended to surpass the state elections vote requirement and use petitions to gain ballot access in other states, in order to contest future elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoral elections in Syracuse, New York</span> Elections for mayor of Syracuse, New York

Elections are held in Syracuse, New York, to election the city's mayor. Currently, these elections are regularly scheduled to be held once every four years, with the elections taking place in the off-year immediately after United States presidential election years.

Robert Joseph Congel was an American real estate developer known for his foundation of Pyramid Companies and development of projects such as Destiny USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Embry</span> American politician

Elizabeth M. Embry is an American politician who is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 43A in Baltimore. In 2018, she was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, running on the ticket of Prince George's County executive Rushern Baker. In 2016, she was a candidate for mayor of Baltimore.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Central New York (April 16, 2009). "A Closer Look at Syracuse Mayoral Candidates - Syracuse.com". Blog.syracuse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Miner Follows Family Tradition for Dems - DemocracyWise". Archived from the original on August 30, 2009.
  3. ↑ Tarr, Jason. "Mayor's Race '09: Miner Follows Family Tradition for Dems". DemocracyWise. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ Dick Blume / The Post Standard (October 19, 2009). "Syracuse mayoral candidate Stephanie Miner saves the intensity for issues important to the city". Syracuse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Stephanie Miner, Bio - DemocracyWise". Archived from the original on September 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Stephanie Miner". Linkedin. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ "UBT Class Notes". Buffalo.edu. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ "About Stephanie Miner". Miner for Mayor. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Mayor's Biography". City of Syracuse. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ Central New York (November 3, 2009). "Syracuse elects Miner as next mayor; she becomes City Hall's first woman in top job". Syracuse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Vote 2009 Results - 9wsyr.com".
  12. ↑ Michele Breidenbach (November 5, 2013). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner wins election to a second term". Syracuse.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ Breidenback, Michelle (November 5, 2013). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner wins election to a second term". Syracuse.com. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ Mike Greenlar / The Post-Standard (May 8, 2012). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner says she won't spend $2 million council added to budget". syracuse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ Miner, Stephanie (January 23, 2014). "2014 State of the City Address" (PDF). City of Syracuse. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ Knauss, Tim (November 23, 2013). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner picked for 'trailblazing women in public finance' award". Syracuse.com. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  17. ↑ Syracuse.com (June 6, 2012). "A chronology of Robert Congel's Destiny USA project". Syracuse Post Standard. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ Office of the Mayor (February 12, 2014). "MINER ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO NEW TAX DEAL FOR DESTINY HOTEL" (PDF). Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ Knauss, Tim (September 1, 2013). "Ten battles Stephanie Miner has fought as Syracuse mayor". Syracuse.com.
  20. ↑ "Cuomo endorses mayoral candidate - YNN". Rochester.ynn.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  21. ↑ Rick Moriarty (September 6, 2013). "A hug for Mayor Miner, but no endorsement, from Lt. Gov. Duffy". syracuse.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  22. ↑ Knauss, Tim (January 29, 2015). "Miner's State of the City: New Office of Innovation to tackle Syracuse infrastructure problems". Syracuse.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  23. ↑ Cota, Patty. "Governing Institute Women in Government Leadership Program Class of 2015". Governing.com. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ Knauss, Tim (June 9, 2015). "Miner, two aides, travel to Denver for Clinton Global Initiative". Syracuse.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  25. ↑ Knauss, Tim (March 24, 2015). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner renews her call for state infrastructure funding" . Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ Contreras, Sharon L. "Mayor Miner and Superintendent Contreras Announce JSCB Legislation Signed by Governor Cuomo". Syracuse City School District. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Mayor's Welcome". SyrAirport. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  28. ↑ Knauss, Tim (May 22, 2012). "Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner nominated to co-chair state Democratic Party" . Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  29. ↑ Weaver, Teri (April 18, 2014). "Stephanie Miner resigns as co-chair of NY Dem Party". syracuse.com.
  30. 1 2 Shane Goldmacher (June 18, 2018). "Stephanie Miner to Make Independent Bid to Challenge Cuomo". New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  31. ↑ Roy, Yancey (August 21, 2018). "Stephanie Miner, a Cuomo ally-turned-foe, files petition to run as independent". Newsday. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  32. ↑ https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2018/general/2018Governor.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  33. ↑ Weiner, Mark (October 11, 2021). "Stephanie Miner is writing a book about her 2 terms as Syracuse mayor". The Post-Standard . Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  34. ↑ Rubado, Meghan (October 19, 2009). "Syracuse mayoral candidate Stephanie Miner saves the intensity for issues important to the city". syracuse.com.
  35. ↑ "John Mannion Obituary - Syracuse, NY | Syracuse Post Standard".
  36. ↑ "Directory, Colgate University, Stephanie Miner".
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Syracuse, NY
2010–2018		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.