The three Democratic candidates for Syracuse mayor outline their visions for the Salt City in a debate Thursday evening, each laying out why they are the best candidate to meet the needs of a transforming community.

“Everybody knows I love this city, I always have,” Pat Hogan said, who serves as president pro-tempore on Syracuse’s Common Council. “I love the neighborhoods in this city, the neighborhoods I grew up in, played ball in, raised a family in.”

“I want to lead Syracuse into a future where families thrive, neighborhoods flourish, and opportunities are accessible,” said Common Councilor Chol Majok.

“It is not about theory for me,” current Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens. “It’s about rolling my sleeves up and getting the work done, which I’ve been doing.”

Central Current — a Syracuse-based nonprofit news publication — hosted a the debate at the Everson Museum of Art ahead of next month’s election.  

Some of the various topics discussed included Micron’s arrival and impact and the I-81 Viaduct Project.

“We got the I-81 project and we got the Micron project and we must seize these opportunities,” Hogan said.

 “The first thing I would do is to make sure that we protect our runoff so that we don’t continue to add more (contamination),” Majok said, “Micron is coming, yes, it’s going to be using a lot of water. What we need to do is to be able to hold Micron accountable.”

 “We are absolutely in a moment. We are here to ensure that all of us, collectively, benefit from the 81 project, from Micron, in both of those initiatives in preparing our individuals and preparing our residents for the opportunities to come. I have been on the forefront of those efforts to train our folks to get them prepared for this next generation opportunity.”

Candidates discussed federal immigration and how, if at all, they would interact with ICE. This came a day before Homeland Security called out Syracuse for “endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens.”

When asked what the candidates would do if the acting director of ICE asked them to appear at a press conference with them, the mayoral hopefuls had similar responses, showing their solidarity with Syracuse’s melting pot of a community.

“As somebody that is a naturalized citizen, anytime ICE asks for me, I’m concerned,” said Majok, who immigrated from South Sudan nearly 25 years ago, to the laughter of the audience and his fellow mayoral hopefuls. He added, “I’d be very skeptical as to why, but I still have to do the business of this city.”  

The deputy mayor shared the same sentiment.

“To Councilor Majok’s point, why are you [ICE] here? What is the purpose of you being here? If it’s to demand we rescind our policies about how our police department act, no I wouldn’t appear with you,” Owens said, “If it is to tell me that there are criminal entities in our community that you’ve identified, that more importantly, I trust our police have identified, I will work with you.”

Hogan kept his answer short and sweet, saying this is personal for him as his son is marrying a non-American citizen. 

“I think I’d be fishing at Onondaga Lake that day,” he said. 

Moderators Chris Libonati and Patrick McCarthy also asked the candidates how they would handle a situation in which the Syracuse Police Department shared surveillance technology data with ICE. 

Hogan said he would look into what data is being shared and how pertinent it is to solving crimes. Majok said he would make sure there is a court order before sensitive information is shared. Owens said she would be on the phone working to mitigate the concerns of the citizens.  

The candidates also discussed Syracuse’s recently finalized budget, something that has been a point of contention between Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and the Common Council.  

The battle began when the council rejected the mayor’s proposed $348 million budget proposal, cutting $16 million from the proposal with 82 amendments. Walsh initially called those cuts “draconic and dangerous” for their potential impact to city departments and essential services. Walsh vetoed 45 of those amendments, but the council voted unanimously to override those vetoes, locking in a final budget, bringing a final rebuke from Walsh.

Putting the candidates in the shoes of Walsh, they were each asked how they would negotiate and work the budget process. 

“I need to be able to engage the councilors early on,” said Majok, “making sure that every decision I make, it keeps the welfare of our city in mind.”  

“There’s an existing process,” said Owens. “And as mayor, I would ensure that process, my department heads are ready for that process to present to the council.

Central Current will post a video of the debate to its website next week.

The primary election is on June 24.  Syracuse residents who haven’t registered to vote need to do so by June 14.