(Syracuse, NY – October 12) — Syracuse mayoral candidates running in Tuesday, November 2nd General Election will participate in a Before the Ballot Candidate Forum hosted by the Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition (SPAARC). The forum, held on Saturday, October 23, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Martin Luther King School, will also be live-streamed on the National Action Network (NAAN) Syracuse Chapter Facebook page facebook.com/SyracuseNAN. Forum organizers pledge strict adherence to the most up-to-date COVID-19 safety protocols in order to protect in-person forum attendees. Mask-wearing is strongly advised.
The Candidate Forum moderators are Shukri Mohamed, and Yakeef Davis. The Before the Ballot forum provides the public and more pointedly historically excluded and disenfranchised communities with an opportunity to learn about the candidates and their views on important issues in our community. As an extension of the SPAARC mission to agitate and advocate this forum challenges candidates to drop safe, boilerplate stump speeches for clear policy insights that will help guide voters in their decision at the ballot. As part of a commitment to bipartisanship, all parties have been extended an invitation to participate. Confirmed mayoral forum participants include (in alphabetical order): asterisk indicates incumbent
Khalid Bey (Democrat) – Mayoral Candidate
Janet Burman (Republican) – Mayoral Candidate
*Benjamin Walsh (Independent) – Mayoral Candidate
Any voter who has a question to be considered for the forum can email “Candidate Questions” to: SPPARC at spaarc315@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 19, 11:59 p.m. EST. Audience members will be able to submit questions at the in-person forum and on our social media platforms during the live-stream. Due to time constraints and the number of candidates, not all questions will be asked. Questions should be on the issues and applicable to all candidates. No personal attacks or biased questions will be accepted.
What is SPAARC? Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition (SPAARC) is a grassroots collective committed to transformational, citizen-led police reform. Our organizational focus is driven by community concerns related to police misconduct and a lack of trust between the Syracuse Police Department and the many communities they serve.
